Sopwith 1½ Strutter

The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British aircraft to be designed with an interrupted machine gun and, along with the DH.2 and F.E.2, contributed to the ending of the German period of dominance on the Western Front known as the Fokker Scourge. Download high resolution version (1120x300, 49 KB)Sopwith 1½ Strutter Origin of photo unknown but believed to be WWI-era. ... Download high resolution version (1120x300, 49 KB)Sopwith 1½ Strutter Origin of photo unknown but believed to be WWI-era. ... A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings of similar spans, normally one mounted above, and the other level with, the underside of the fuselage. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat biplane pusher aircraft which operated as a fighter during the First World War. ... F.E.2b in profile. ... For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... The Fokker Scourge, a term coined by the British press, was a period of time in World War I in the summer of 1915. ...

Designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company, the 1½ Strutter was so nicknamed because the upper and lower wings on each side of the aircraft were connected by a pair of full struts near the tip while a pair of half struts connected the upper wing to the fuselage fore and aft of the pilot's cockpit. The aircraft also featured airbrakes on the lower wings. It was powered by a 130-hp (97 kW) Clerget rotary engine. The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that manufactured aeroplanes for the British Military in the first world war, most famously the Sopwith Camel. ... A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Nick is short for Nicholas). ... In aeronautics air brakes (sometimes called spoilers or lift dumpers) are a type of flight control used on aircraft to reduce speed during landing. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wikibooks. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The main armament was a .303-in Vickers machine gun and up to four 56 lb (25 kg) bombs could be carried. The observer was armed with a Lewis gun in a Scarff ring mount. The Ross interrupter gear used by the forward-firing gun was unreliable and many aircraft flew with the non-interrupted trigger still fitted so that, if necessary, the pilot could trust to luck and the Strutter's good glide performance, and fire uninterrupted through the propeller. Consequently 1½ Strutter squadrons were known to go through a few propellers. .303 cartridge The . ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ... The Lewis Gun was a pre-WWI era British machine gun that continued to see service all the way through WWII. It is visually distinctive because of the wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel, and the top mounted drum magazines. ... The interrupter gear, also known as synchronisation gear, was a triggering device attached to a fighter aircrafts machine gun so that it would fire only at certain times. ... In its earliest usage, trigger refers to a mechanical mechanism, the pulling or pushing of which sets a device into action. ... A Squadron is a grouping of aircraft, naval vessels, armoured fighting vehicles or soldiers. ...

The prototype two-seater flew in December 1915 and the first aircraft entered service in April 1916. A single-seat bomber version was also built. Large numbers — in excess of 4000 — of the 1½ Strutter were built in France. Another variant, known as the Ship Strutter, was built for service from aircraft carriers and other warships of the Royal Navy. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1915: Events January January 19 - First Zeppelin raid on the UK by the German Navy. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1916: Events January January 12 - German aces Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke, with 8 kills, are the first pilots awarded with Pour le Mérite (the Blue Max) January 29 - the second and last Zeppelin raid on Paris inflicts 54 casualties. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft. ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ...

The first great British dog fighter of the war, the Sopwith Pup, was essentially a scaled-down, single-seat version of the 1½ Strutter. Dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between two or more military aircraft. ... The Sopwith Pup was a single seater biplane fighter aircraft used by the British in World War I. It was manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company and was officially named the Sopwith Scout. ...

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot & observer
• Length: 25 ft 3 in (7.7 m)
• Wingspan: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
• Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
• Wing area: 346 ft² (32.14 m²)
• Empty: 1,260 lb (570 kg)
• Loaded: lb ( kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 2,149 lb (975 kg)
• Powerplant: 1x Clerget rotary engine, 130-hp (97 kW)

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Performance

• Maximum speed: 102 mph (164 km/h)
• Range: 350 miles (565 km)
• Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,960 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)

Armament

• 1x .303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Vickers machine gun with Ross interrupter gear
• 1x .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun in observer's cockpit
• up to 224 kb (100 kg) bombs

.303 cartridge The . ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ... The interrupter gear, also known as synchronisation gear, was a triggering device attached to a fighter aircrafts machine gun so that it would fire only at certain times. ... The Lewis Gun was a pre-WWI era British machine gun that continued to see service all the way through WWII. It is visually distinctive because of the wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel, and the top mounted drum magazines. ...

Related content

Related development: Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup was a single seater biplane fighter aircraft used by the British in World War I. It was manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company and was officially named the Sopwith Scout. ...

Comparable aircraft: Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. ...

Designation sequence: Tabloid - Baby - 1½ Strutter - Pup - Triplane The Sopwith Tabloid was a biplane sports aircraft, one of the first to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. ... The Sopwith Pup was a single seater biplane fighter aircraft used by the British in World War I. It was manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company and was officially named the Sopwith Scout. ... Categories: Aircraft stubs | British fighter aircraft 1910-1919 | World War I aircraft ...