Behind the Name: The Hawk

The Hawk is one of Randolph Engineering’s newest sunglass styles. In the vein of the classic aviator, The Hawk forges its unique appeal with our characteristic rugged durability and its aerodynamic curved edges.

The Hawk’s namesake is the Hawk pursuit fighter plane line built by Curtiss Aeroplane Company for the U.S. Army Air Corps from the 1920s to the 1940s. The line started with the P-1 Hawk, first built in 1923, and went through many variations over decades of use.

The Curtiss Hawk, like the Randolph Hawk, is a testament to innovation and technology. The P-1 Hawk was an open cockpit biplane that took to the skies less than 20 years after the Wright Brothers flew the first powered, controlled aircraft in North Carolina. It had a top speed of 155 mph and was armed with two fixed Browning machine guns.

By the time the line had matured into the P-40 Warhawk, about twenty years later, the top speed had increased to 360 mph, the cockpit was enclosed, and the Browning machine guns were now paired with 250 to 1,000 lb bombs on three hardpoints. Over 13,000 were built from 1939 – 1944, with orders coming from the US. Air Force, the French Air Force, and the Royal Air Force, among many others. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was the third most popular fighter in World War II and was a dominant fighter for the Allies in the North Africa, Pacific, and China theaters.

The Randolph Hawk with Dark Ruthenium frames with Gray lenses.

Like it’s airborne namesake, The Hawk by Randolph incorporates all of our latest innovations in sunglass technology. The Hawk features both our new lite gradient lenses and new titanium nose pads, as well as the Dark Ruthenium finish. Built using our standard 200+ step process with the finest materials in the world, The Hawk combines our classic engineering disciplines with our newest innovations in sunglasses.