Sopwith Snipe
7F.1 Snipe | |
---|---|
A Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe replica | |
Role | Fighter |
Manufacturer | Sopwith Aviation Company |
Designer | Herbert Smith
|
First flight | October 1917 |
Introduction | 1918 |
Primary users | Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force |
Number built | 497 |
Variants | Sopwith Salamander Sopwith Dragon |
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of the conflict, in late 1918.
The Snipe was not a fast aircraft by the standards of its time, but its excellent climb and manoeuvrability made it a good match for contemporary German fighters.
It was selected as the standard postwar single-seat RAF fighter and the last examples were not retired until 1926.
Design and development
In April 1917,
The second prototype was completed with the new, more powerful
The Snipe's structure was heavier but much stronger than earlier Sopwith fighters. Although not a fast aircraft for 1918, it was very manoeuvrable and much easier to handle than the Camel, with a superior view from the cockpit - especially forwards and upwards. The Snipe also had a superior rate of climb and much better high-altitude performance compared with its predecessor, allowing it to fight Germany's newer fighters on more equal terms. Further modifications were made to the Snipe during the war and postwar. The Snipe was built around the
Production began in 1918, with more than 4,500 being ordered. Production ended in 1919, with just under 500 being built, the rest being cancelled due to the end of the war. There was only one variant, the Snipe I, with production by several companies including Sopwith,
Operational history
First World War
In March 1918, an example was evaluated by No.1 Aeroplane Supply Depot (No.1 ASD) at
The first squadron to equip with the new fighter was No. 43 Squadron, based at Fienvillers in France, which replaced its Camels with 15 Snipes on 30 August 1918. After spending much of September training, it flew its first operational patrols equipped with the Snipe on 24 September.[11] The Snipe also saw service with No. 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps (AFC) from October 1918. While 43 Squadron's Snipes saw relatively little combat, the Australians had more success, claiming five victories on 26 October and six on 28 October, while on 29 October, 4 Squadron claimed eight Fokker D.VIIs destroyed and two more driven down out of control for the loss of one of 15 Snipes.[12][13] No. 208 Squadron RAF converted from Camels in November, too late for the Snipes to see action.[14]
One of the most famous incidents in which the Snipe was involved occurred on 27 October 1918 when Canadian Major William Barker attached to No. 201 Squadron RAF flew over the Forêt de Mormal in France. Barker's Snipe (No. E8102) had been brought with him for personal evaluation purposes in connection with his UK-based training duties and was therefore operationally a "one-off". The engagement with enemy aircraft occurred at the end of a two-week posting to renew his combat experience as Barker was returning to the UK. While on his last operation over the battlefields of France, he attacked a two-seater German aircraft and swiftly shot it down. However, he was soon attacked by a formation of at least 15 Fokker D.VIIs, an aircraft widely considered to be the best operational German fighter of the First World War. The ensuing melee was observed by many Allied troops. In the engagement, he was wounded three times, twice losing consciousness momentarily, but managing to shoot down at least three D.VIIs before making a forced landing on the Allied front lines. Barker was awarded the Victoria Cross for this action.[15][16] The fuselage of this Snipe is preserved at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.[14]
Postwar operations
Following the
In 1919, the Snipe took part in the
Although the performance demonstrated by the Snipe was unimpressive (tests at
The
Operators
- Australian Flying Corps
- No. 4 Squadron AFC in France.
- No. 5 (Training) Squadron AFC in the United Kingdom.
- No. 8 (Training) Squadron AFC in the United Kingdom.
- Brazilian Naval Aviation operated 12 Snipes.[27]
- Canadian Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron RCAF
- Soviet Air Force- Postwar.
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Survivors and reproductions
Two complete, original, Sopwith Snipes survive. E6938 is displayed in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Formerly owned by film star Reginald Denny, it was restored in the 1960s.[17] E8105 is exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Previously, it had been at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, in Rhinebeck, New York. It passed to the NASM after Cole Palen's death in December 1993.[30] The fuselage (minus landing gear, engine and cowl) of Major William G. Barker's Snipe, E8102 is on display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.
Reproductions
Antique Aero in California has completed construction of an airworthy, very detailed reproduction Sopwith Snipe. It awaits a new-build 230 h.p. Bentley B.R.2 engine.
Another Snipe reproduction marked as E8102 was built in New Zealand by The Vintage Aviator Ltd., and was subsequently purchased by Kermit Weeks for his Fantasy of Flight aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. This is airworthy and uses an original Bentley rotary engine.
The RAF Museum in August 2012 took delivery of a static display reproduction of the Snipe. Marked E6655, it was constructed in the Wellington workshops of The Vintage Aviator Ltd. in New Zealand. The inclusion of original, non-airworthy parts precludes this aircraft from flight status.
The first reproduction was built by Richard Lincoln Day of Colonia, NJ. This Snipe, marked as E6837, flew for one summer at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, in Rhinebeck, NY before being purchased by Doug Champlin for his collection in Mesa, Arizona. This collection was later donated to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
Tyabb Airport in Victoria, Australia, hosts a reproduction snipe VH-SNP E8050. The aircraft first flew on the 17th of October 2014, and is powered by a W670 Radial. This snipe has since been relocated to the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, Victoria
Specifications (Snipe)
Data from British Aeroplanes 1914–18.[31]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
- Upper wingspan: 31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)
- Lower wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
- Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
- Wing area: 271 sq ft (25.2 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,312 lb (595 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,020 lb (916 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 38.5 imp gal (46.2 US gal; 175 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Bentley BR2 nine-cylinder rotary engine, 230 hp (170 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 121 mph (195 km/h, 105 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
- Endurance: 3 hr
- Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,900 m)
- Time to altitude:
- 5 min 10 s to 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
- 18 min 50 s to 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
- Wing loading: 7.4 lb/sq ft (36 kg/m2)
Armament
- Guns: 2 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
- Bombs: 4 × 25 lb (11 kg) bombs
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
Notes
- Bentley BR.1), the 150 hp (110 kW) Gnome Monosoupape, the 130 hp (97 kW) Clerget 9B or 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhône 9J.[2]
Citations
- ^ a b Lumsden Aeroplane Monthly October 1990, p. 588.
- ^ Bruce Air International April 1974, p. 190.
- ^ Bruce Air International April 1974, pp. 190–191.
- ^ a b Davis 1999, p. 136.
- ^ Bruce Air International April 1974, pp. 191–192.
- ^ Lumsden Aeroplane Monthly October 1990, p. 589.
- ^ Bruce Air International April 1974, p. 191.
- ^ Lumsden Aeroplane Monthly October 1990, pp. 588–589.
- ^ Bruce 1982, p. 548.
- ^ Bruce Air Enthusiast International April 1974, pp. 195, 206.
- ^ Bruce Air Enthusiast International June 1974, p. 290.
- ^ Davis 1999, pp. 141–142.
- ^ Bruce Air Enthusiast International June 1974, pp. 290–291.
- ^ a b Bruce Air Enthusiast International June 1974, p. 291.
- ^ Davis 1999, p. 142.
- ^ Flight 5 December 1918, p. 1369.
- ^ a b c Thetford Aeroplane Monthly November 1990, p. 670.
- ^ Davis 1999, pp. 144–145.
- ^ Robertson 1970, p. 137.
- ^ a b Thetford Aeroplane Monthly November 1990, p. 666.
- ^ Bruce Air Enthusiast International June 1974, p. 299.
- ^ Mason 1992, p. 138.
- ^ Bruce Air Enthusiast International June 1974, p. 296.
- ^ Thetford Aeroplane Monthly November 1990, p. 665.
- ^ Thetford Aeroplane Monthly November 1990, pp. 666, 670.
- ^ Thetford Aeroplane Monthly November 1990, p. 667.
- ^ Davis 1999, p. 145.
- ^ Halley 1980, p. 354.
- ^ Davis 1999, p. 144.
- ^ "Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ^ Bruce 1957, p. 613.
Bibliography
- Bruce, J. M. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30084-X.
- Bruce, J. M. British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London: Putnam, 1957.
- Bruce, J. M. "Sopwith Snipe...the RAF's first fighter: Part 1". Air Enthusiast International, April 1974, Vol 6 No 4. Bromley, Kent, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. 190–195, 206–207.
- Bruce, J. M. "Sopwith Snipe...the RAF's first fighter: Part 2". Air Enthusiast International, June 1974, Vol 6 No 6. Bromley, Kent, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. 289–299.
- Davis, Mick. Sopwith Aircraft. Ramsbury, Malborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 1999. ISBN 1-86126-217-5.
- Franks, Norman. Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War I (Aircraft of the Aces). London: Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-317-9.
- Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbrige, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians), 1980. ISBN 0-85130-083-9.
- "Honours: Two More VCs". Flight, 5 December 1918, Vol X No 49. p. 1369.
- Lumsden, Alec. "On Silver Wings: Part 1". Aeroplane Monthly, October 1990, Vol 18 No 10. London:IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 586–592.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
- Robertson, Bruce. Sopwith–The Man and His Aircraft. Letchworth, UK: Air Review, 1970. ISBN 0-900435-15-1.
- Thetford, Owen. "On Silver Wings: Part 2". Aeroplane Monthly, November 1990, Vol 18 No 11. London:IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 664–670.
External links
Media related to Sopwith Snipe at Wikimedia Commons