| M.12 Mohawk | |
|---|---|
| Miles M.12 Mohawk flown by Charles Lindbergh | |
| Role | Civil touring aircraft, trainer |
| Manufacturer | Miles Aircraft |
| Designer | G.H. Miles |
| First flight | 22 August 1936 |
| Primary users | Charles Lindbergh Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 1 |
The Miles M.12 Mohawk was a 1930s British two-seat, tandem cabin monoplane built by Miles Aircraft to the order of Charles Lindbergh in 1936. After being used by Lindbergh in Europe it was impressed into service with Royal Air Force as a communications aircraft in 1941.
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In 1936, when Lindbergh was on an extended mission to Europe, he asked George Miles to build a fast, long-range machine for use between the various capitals. Coming from such an expert, this was no small compliment to the Miles organisation and as a result of close co-operation between the pilot and designer, a first-class design was produced.
The M.12 Mohawk followed earlier Miles Nighthawk and Miles Hawcon designs and practice in having a low wing cantilever monoplane design of spruce structure covered in plywood. The centre section had no dihedral and of constant section, with outer sections having dihedral and taper towards the tip. The fuselage was similarly a spruce structure with plywood covering. The M.12 was a conventional taildragger with fixed main wheels, each encased in an aerodynamic fairing beneath the wing and featuring a tail wheel. In incorporating an American 200 hp Menasco Buccaneer B6S engine to the classic Miles low-wing configuration, the M.12 was distinctly an Anglo-American machine. A second set of Miles M.12 wings were used in the M.7A hybrid.
The M.12 as G-AEKW first flew on 22 August 1936, and received its certificate of airworthiness on 28 January 1937. After use by Lindbergh, the aircraft was impressed for RAF service as HM503 in November 1941. However the M.12 was little used, other than by the Maintenance Command Communications and Ferry Squadron (September 1943-January 1944), because of difficulties with the Menasco Buccaneer engine.
G-AEKW survived the war and after extensive restoration is now on display at the 'Milestones of Flight' exhibition at the RAF Museum Hendon.
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