Everything about Sopwith Snipe totally explained
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.
Design and development
In early 1917,
Herbert Smith, the chief designer of the Sopwith Company, began design a fighter to meet a new specification. It was intended to be the replacement for Sopwith's most famous aeroplane, the highly successful
Sopwith Camel. The Snipe began production in 1918, with more than 4,500 being ordered.
Prototype Snipes had a number of minor technical problems. In particular, maximum speed was initially well below expectations. In fact, the Snipe was never a fast aeroplane, even for its day. In March 1918, an example was successfully evaluated by No.1 Aeroplane Supply Depot (No.1 ASD). Lieutenant
L. N. Hollinghurst (later an
ace in
Sopwith Dolphins, and an
Air Chief Marshal) flew to 24,000 ft in 45 minutes. The new fighter went to France with
No. 43 Squadron in September 1918. The Snipe also saw service with
No. 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps (AFC) from October 1918. and
No. 208 Squadron RAF converted from Camels in November, too late for the Snipes to see action. The
Canadian Air Force (CAF) operated the Snipe after the war, but it was phased out in 1923, a year before the
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was formed.
The Snipe's structure was rather heavier, but much stronger, than earlier Sopwith fighters. Although not a fast aircraft for 1918, it was very maneuverable, 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 to 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 post-war. The Snipe was built around the
Bentley BR2 engine - the last rotary to be used by the RAF. It had a maximum speed of 121 mph at 10,000ft compared with the Camel's 115 mph (185 km/h) at the same altitude and an endurance of three hours. Its fixed armament consisted of two
0.303 in (7.7 mm)
Vickers machine guns in the
cowl, and it was also able to carry up to four 25 lb (11 kg) bombs for
ground attack work, identical to the Camel's armament. The design allowed for a single
Lewis gun to be mounted on the centre section in a similar manner to those carried by the
Dolphin - in the event this wasn't fitted to production aircraft.
There was only one variant, the
Snipe I, but production was by several companies including Sopwith,
Boulton & Paul Ltd,
Coventry Ordnance Works,
D. Napier & Son, Nieuport and Rushton Proctor & Co Ltd.
Two aircraft we re-engined with a 320hp (239kW)
ABC Dragonfly radial engine and these entered production as the
Sopwith Dragon.
Operational history
The Snipe entered operational service near the end of the First World War, yet it would prove to be a potent fighter despite its brief involvement in the war, performing a variety of duties. One of the most famous incidents in which the Snipe was involved, occurred on
27 October 1918 when
Canadian Major
William G. Barker from
No. 201 Squadron RAF flew over the
Forêt de Mormalin 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, Major Barker attacked a two-seater German aircraft and swiftly shot it down. However, Barker was soon attacked by a
Fokker D.VII, which after some resistance, was shot down by the Canadian. Barker, by himself, was subsequently attacked by a formation of about 60 D.VIIs, an aircraft widely considered to be the ultimate German fighter design of the First World War. In the engagement, Barker was wounded three times, losing consciousness momentarily on each occasion. The ensuing melee was observed by hundreds of thousands of Allied troops. The final combat report of the incident (not written by Barker, due to his injuries) lists claims for three enemy aircraft (although four are referred to in the citation for his
Victoria Cross). Barker managed to return to British lines safely where he crashed his Snipe.
The Snipe gained a significant number of combat victories in its short operational history during the war. In 1919, the Snipe also took part in the Allied intervention on the side of the
White Russians during the
Russian Civil War against the
Bolsheviks. A small number of RAF Snipes were actually captured by the Bolsheviks and pressed into service. The production of the Snipe ended in 1919, with just under 500 being built, the rest were cancelled due to the wide-ranging postwar cuts imposed on the British armed forces.
Selected as the standard postwar single-seat fighter of the RAF, the last Snipes were retired by that service in 1926.
Operators
:
:
Canadian Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron, Canadian Air Force
:
Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force
Specifications (Snipe)
|crew=1
|length main=19 ft 2 in
|length alt=5.84 m
|span main=31 ft 1 in
|span alt=9.47 m
|height main=9 ft 6 in
|height alt=2.90 m
|area main=274 ft²
|area alt=25.46 m²
|empty weight main=1,305 lb
|empty weight alt=590 kg
|loaded weight main=2,105 lb
|loaded weight alt=955 kg
|max takeoff weight main=
|max takeoff weight alt=
|engine (prop)=Bentley BR2
|type of prop=rotary engine
|number of props=1
|power main= 230 hp
|power alt=172 kW
|max speed main=121 mph
|max speed alt=195 km/h
|max speed more=at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
|ceiling main=20,000 ft
|ceiling alt=6,100 m
|climb rate main= 970 ft/min
|climb rate alt= 296 m/min
|more performance=
Endurance: 3 hours
Time to altitude: 9 min 25 sec to 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
|armament=
Two 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
Four 25 lb (11 kg) bombs
}}Further Information
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