The Hawker Hedgehog was a three-seat reconnaissance biplane, to be used for naval scouting produced to meet Air Ministry Specification 37/22. It was designed in 1923, and had its first flight the next year, piloted by FP Raynham. The crew consisted of the pilot, an observer and an air gunner. Construction was typical of the period; a wooden structure covered with fabric. The powerplant was a nine cylinder Bristol Jupiter IV radial engine driving a two-bladed wooden propeller.