The Sopwith Pup was a single seater biplane fighter aircraft used by Great Britain in the First World War. It was manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company and was officially named the Sopwith Scout. It was nicknamed the Pup because it looked like a smaller version of the two-seat Sopwith 1½ Strutter; the name Pup was not used officially as it was reportedly thought to be undignified [1]. The Pup's docile flying characteristics made it the ideal aircraft to use in carrier deck landing and takeoff experiments. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x624, 140 KB)Sqn Cdr E. H. Dunning landing on HMS Furious in a Sopwith Pup, August 2nd, 1917. ... Hs123 biplane. ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... 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. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Personnel of No 1 Squadron RNAS in late 1914 The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I, when it merged with the British Armys Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force. ... The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) is the volunteer reserve part of the Royal Air Force. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918: // January 25 - 2nd Lt Carl Mather was killed in an aircraft collision. ... The Alcock Scout was a curious one-off experimantal fighter biplane flown briefly during World War I. It was assembled by Flight Lieutenant John Alcock at Moudros out of components recovered from a crashed Sopwith Triplane and Sopwith Pup, reassembled into a new aircraft. ... Hs123 biplane. ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. ... Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. ...

Design and development

The design was based on the personal plane of the company's test pilot, Harry Hawker. The Pup was a conventional biplane with a mainly wooden framework covered in fabric, with single bay, unswept, staggered, equal-span wings and a cross axle type main landing gear supported on V-struts attached to the fuselage lower longeron with a tail skid. Although it was powered by a 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhone rotary engine, its performance was lively especially at altitude mainly due to a light wing loading. Pilots valued the Pup because it was simple, reliable and pleasant to fly. Its large wing area gave it a good rate of climb and agility was enhanced by ailerons being fitted on all four wings. It was underpowered and underarmed compared to its contemporaries including the German Albatros D.III, but was much more maneuverable than the Albatros, especially over 15,000 ft.(4,500m). Armament was a single Vickers 0.303 calibre (7.7 mm) synchronized machine gun. Harry George Hawker (22 January 1889–12 July 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aviation, the firm responsible a long series of successful military aircraft, including the Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier. ... The Albatros D.III was a highly successful single seat, biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (Luftfahrtruppen) during the First World War. ... Damaged propeller from a Sopwith Baby aircraft circa 1916/17 with evidence of bulletholes from a machine gun fired behind the propeller without an Interruptor. ...

A total of 1,770 Pups were built by Sopwith (96), Standard Motor (850) and Whitehead Aircraft (820) with 30 Pups constructed at the Beardmore factory.

Operational history

The Sopwith Pup was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. The first Pups reached the Western Front in October 1916, with No. 8 Squadron R.N.A.S.. The first R.F.C. Squadron to re-equip with the Pup was No. 54 Squadron, which arrived in France in December. At the peak of its operational deployment, the type equipped only four R.N.A.S. squadrons (3,4,8 and 9), and three R.F.C. units (54, 46 and 66 Squadrons). By spring 1917, the type was already outclassed by the newest German fighters and the R.N.A.S. had replaced theirs, first with Sopwith Triplanes, and then Camels. The R.F.C. Pup squadrons on the other hand had to soldier on, in spite of increasing casualties, until it was possible to replace the last frontline Pups with Camels, in Autumn 1917. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Personnel of No 1 Squadron RNAS in late 1914 The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I, when it merged with the British Armys Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force. ... Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... No 208(R) Squadron is a squadron of the RAF based at Valley AB, Anglesey,Wales. ... No. ... Sopwith Triplane Sopwith Triplane in the Aero Space Museum of Calgary. ... The Sopwith Camel Scout was a British World War I single-seat fighter aircraft that was famous for its maneuverability. ...

This was far from being the end of the little fighter's career as it continued in various second line roles for the remainder of the war.

The raids on London by Gotha bombers in mid-1917 caused far more damage and casualties than the earlier airship raids - and also occasioned a good deal of scandal, as they were not intercepted by any British fighters. In response No. 66 Squadron was withdrawn to Calais for a short period, and No. 46 was transferred for several weeks to Sutton's Farm airfield near London. Two new Pup squadrons were formed specifically for Home Defense duties, No. 112 in July, and No. 61 in August. Home defence Pups were often fitted with the more powerful 100 hp Gnome Monosoupape to improve their performance. The Gotha G were a series of heavy bombers used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial Air Service) during the First World War. ... Categories: | ... No. ... RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the south of Hornchurch in what is now the London Borough of Havering. ...

Sopwith Pups were also used in many pioneering carrier experiments. On 2 August 1917, a Sopwith Pup flown by Sqn Cdr Edwin Dunning became the first aircraft to land aboard a moving ship, HMS Furious. Dunning was killed on his third landing when the Pup fell over the side of the ship. The Pup began operations on the carriers in early 1917; the first aircraft were fitted with skid undercarriages in place of the standard landing gear. Landings utilized a system of deck wires to "trap" the aircraft. Later versions reverted to the normal undercarriage. Sopwith Pups were used as ship-based fighters on three carriers: HMS Campania, Furious and Manxman. A number of other Pups were deployed to cruisers and battleships where they were launched from platforms attached to gun turrets. August 2 is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Squadron Commander Ernest Harris Dunning DSC (17th July 1892 - 7th August 1917) was the first pilot to land his aircraft on a ship when he landed his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney on 2nd August 1917. ... HMS Furious was a modified Courageous class large light cruiser (an extreme form of battlecruiser) converted into an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Furious was a modified Courageous class large light cruiser (an extreme form of battlecruiser) converted into an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. ...

The US Navy also employed the Sopwith Pup with famed Australian/British test pilot Edgar Percival testing the use of carrier-borne fighters. In 1926, Percival was catapulted in a Pup off the USS Idaho battleship at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Edgar Wikner Percival (1897 - 1984) was a British aircraft designer and pilot whose aircraft were noted for speed and grace. ... USS Idaho (BB-24), a Mississippi-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 43rd state. ... ...

The Pup was an excellent advanced trainer, and served as such for the remainder of the war and after - although many "trainer" Pups were in fact reserved by senior officers as their personal runabouts.

Variants

Sopwith Pup replica at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Sopwith Admiralty Type 9901

The original Admiralty designation.

Sopwith Pup

Single-seat fighter scout biplane.

Sopwith Dove

Two-seat civilian biplane, only ten were built.

Alcock Scout

Aircaft built partially from the remains of a crashed Pup.

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3456 × 2304 pixel, file size: 3. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3456 × 2304 pixel, file size: 3. ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... The Alcock Scout was a curious one-off experimantal fighter biplane flown briefly during World War I. It was assembled by Flight Lieutenant John Alcock at Moudros out of components recovered from a crashed Sopwith Triplane and Sopwith Pup, reassembled into a new aircraft. ...

Operators

 Australia

• Australian Flying Corps
• Royal Australian Air Force

 Greece

 Japan

• Imperial Japanese Army

 Netherlands

 Russia

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
• Royal Flying Corps
• Royal Naval Air Service

 United States

• United States Navy

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The RAAF Roundel is based on that of the British Royal Air Force, with the central circle replaced by a Kangaroo, a symbol of Australia. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國陸軍, Shinjitai: , Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Russian_Empire_1914_17. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Personnel of No 1 Squadron RNAS in late 1914 The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I, when it merged with the British Armys Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... {{ USN redirects here. ...

Survivors

Several airworthy and static replicas of Sopwith Pup exist today. One of Sopwith Dove (G-EBKY) was converted to Pup configuration in the 1930s and continues to fly today.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 19 ft 3.75 in (5.9 m)
• Wingspan: 26 ft 6 in (8.1 m)
• Height: 9 ft 5 in (2.9 m)
• Wing area: 254 ft² (23.60 m²)
• Empty weight: 856 lb (388 kg)
• Loaded weight: 1,225 lb (556 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,225 lb (556 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Le Rhone air-cooled rotary engine, 80 or 100 hp (60 or 75 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 92 knots (106 mph, 171 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 18,500 feet (5,600 m)
• Endurance: 3 hours

Armament

• 1 × .303 in (7.62 mm) Vickers machine gun fired forward through the propeller by means of an interrupter gear

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... Starry Night Over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh (1888) The River Rhône (French Rhône, Occitan Ròse, Franco-Provençal Roun, standard German Rhone, Valais German Rotten) is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... .303 cartridge The . ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ...

References

• Franks, Norman and Dempsey, Harry. Sopwith Pup Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces). London: Osprey Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-84176-886-3.
• Winchester, Jim, ed. "Sopwith Pup Naval Fighter." Biplanes, Triplanes and Seaplanes (Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-641-3.

External links

• Sopwith Pup

Related content

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft

See also