A development by Gloster Aircraft Company of the earlier Nieuport Nighthawk fighter, 50 aircraft were built by Gloster for the Imperial Japanese Navy, with a further 40 being assembled in Japan, being operated from 1921 to 1928.
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The Sparrowhawk entered service with the Japanese Navy in 1921, with the 10 Sparrowhawk IIIs being used for flight training operations from ramps built on one of the gun turrets of the Battleship Yamashiro, as the carrier Hōshō was not yet ready.
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When the British aircraft manufacturer Nieuport & General closed down in 1920, the services of its chief designer, Henry Folland were hired by the Gloster Aircraft Company, who also acquired the rights for Nieuport's Nighthawk fighter, a promising design that had been ruined by the use of the unreliable ABC Dragonfly radial engine.
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