Sopwith Snipe

The promising Bentley B.R.2 rotary engine was the center of a new fighter based roughly on the Sopwith Camel, the Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe. Huge numbers were ordered, and the first deliveries came in the summer of 1918. However, relatively few reached the front before Armistice: ninety-seven were in France on 31 Oct 1918, despite plans to replace all Camels in early 1919. They had a thicker, faired fuselage than the Camel to accommodate the larger engine, and the wings had equal dihedral. The tail surfaces were larger to deal with the torque of the larger engine. Early Snipes featured a stepped fin and rudder and unbalanced ailerons. As the war progressed, a larger, rounded fin+rudder combination was introduced and the upper ailerons were balanced. The plane retained excellent maneuverability and climb, but it eliminated the hair-trigger sensitivity of the Camel.

The original single-bay wings in the prototype were increased to two-bay wings for increased strength and load-bearing, as early specifications imagined a third gun on a Foster mount, armor plating, heating and oxygen equipment, of which the first two were abandoned.

Squadron No.43 was the first to be equipped with the Snipe and it flew its first operational sortie on 23 September 1918. As well as conventional patrol, the Snipe was also intended to replace the Camel in shipbourne duties and Home Defense (as a night fighter), and it served on after the war as late as 1927.

Those who flew the Snipe thought it was the best Entente fighter available at the end of the war.

Aircraft Chart

1:144 Scale

 * Ares: WGF116A Barker; WGF116B Kazakov; WGF116C Sapozhnikov
 * Shapeways:
 * Early-production model: Reduced Aircraft Factory
 * Mid-production model: Decapod
 * Late-production model: Kampfflieger, Reduced Aircraft Factory
 * Metal kit: ,
 * Wings of War: WW08D Barker; WW08E Richmond-Baker; WW08F Ryrie

1:285/6mm/1:288 Scale

 * Shapeways: Decapod, Reduced Aircraft Factory
 * Metal Cast:

1:300 Scale

 * Metal kit: Heroics & Ros GWA109

1:350 Scale

 * Shapeways: Decapod