Sopwith Pup

From Wings of Linen
Sopwith Pup
Role Fighter
Manufacturer Sopwith
Designer Herbert Smith [1]
First flight Feb 1916[2]-May 1916 [3]
Introduction Sept 1916 [3][4][note 1]
Primary users U.K. (RNAS)
U.K. (RFC/RAF)
Belgium
Number built 1770 [6] [note 2]
Wingspan 8.08 m (26 ft 6 in) [7][8][9][2]
Propeller Diam. 2.60 m (8 ft 6.4 in)[9]
Engine 80hp Le Rhône rotary
or 80-100hp Gnome rotary
Armament sync. fixed Vickers [note 3]
sometimes 8×Le Prieur rockets or some 11 kg (25 lb) bombs[9]
Ammo 500 rounds[10] [note 4]
Max Speed see table
Climb see table
Service Ceiling see table
Endurance see table

The Sopwith Pup first arrived in France in September 1916 with the RNAS. Of course "Pup" was an unofficial designation; to the Admiralty it was Sopwith Type 9901. All that flew it described it as a joy: responsive yet docile and quite easy to fly, unlike the mercurial Sopwith Camel that followed it. The standard armament was a synchronized Vickers, though some shipbourne Pups used an upward-firing Lewis instead. Both the RNAS and RFC were delighted with the little fighter as it was a match for the early German biplane fighters and easily bested the Fokker monoplanes. The RNAS used it not only as a conventional fighter but as a ship-bourne aeroplane from various battle cruisers and carriers.

By autumn of 1917 it was clear that the Pup, with its modest engine and single gun, could no longer compete and it was phased out on the Western Front in the last few months of the year. However, even at the end of the war there were still some Pups on hand in Egypt and Palestine, the Med, Home Defense, on training, and with the Grand Fleet. [3]

Shipbourn Pups were carried by many capital ships and on the H.M.S. Vindex, Campania, and Furious. Ships Pups used skids and arresting hooks. Ships Pups were beginning to be replaced with Camels by the end of 1917 and had been completely withdrawn by the end of the war.[11]


EngineSpeedClimbCeilingEndurance
80hp Le Rhône 9C 179 km/h (111 mph)[7][12][8][9][2] 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in 5:20[7][12]
2,000 m (6,500 ft) in 8:00[9]
3,000 m (10,000 ft) in 14:00[7][12]-14:15[2]-14:25[9]
4,600 m (15,000 ft) in 29:10[7][12]-30:06[9]		 5,300 m (17,500 ft)[7][12][8][9] 3:00[13][12][8][9][2]
100hp Gnome Monosoupape 180 km/h (110 mph)[7][12][9][2] 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in 5:40[7]
2,000 m (6,500 ft) in 7:05[12][9]
3,000 m (10,000 ft) in 12:15[2]-12:25[7][9]
4,600 m (15,000 ft) in 23:25[7][12][9]		 5,600 m (18,500 ft)[7][12][9] 1:45[12][9][2]

For more information, see Wikipedia:Sopwith Pup.

Timeline [note 5]

Game Data

Wings of Glory

Unofficial Stats
Availability Maneuver Damage Dmg Points Max Alt. Climb
16Q4-17Q4 D B 12 12 4

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Orthographic Drawings

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    standard model

  • Lewis-Armed RNAS model

    Lewis-Armed RNAS model

References

Notes
  1. ↑ RFC use began in December 1916.[5]
  2. ↑ 64 in 1916; 973 in 1917; 733 in 1918.[6]
  3. ↑ Or a Lewis on a tripod mount on Ship's Pups, firing upward through the center section.[9]
  4. ↑ 3 drums of 47 or 97 rounds for Lewis-armed Pups.[10]
  5. ↑ British usage numbers are approximate, derived from the squadron histories.[14]
Citations
  1. ↑ Bruce'65, p.3.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Argus Vol. 1, p.30.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bruce'69, p.552.
  4. ↑ Bruce'65, p.5.
  5. ↑ Bruce'65, p.7.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bruce'69, p.562.
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Lamberton, pp.214-215.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Angelucci, p.43.
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 Bruce'65, p.12.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kelly, p.230.
  11. ↑ Nowarra, p.97.
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 Bruce'69, p.561.
  13. ↑ Munson, p.67.
  14. ↑ Philpott'13, pp.379-444.
Bibliography
  • Enzo Angelucci, ed. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. New York: The Military Press, 1983 edition. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
  • Argus Books, Airplane Archive: Aircraft of World War One, Volume 1. Great Britain: Argus Books, 1989. ISBN 0-85242-983-5
  • J.M. Bruce. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. Great Britain: Funk & Wagnalls, 1957, 1969. ISBN 0370000382
  • J.M. Bruce, Profile Publications 13: The Sopwith Pup. Great Britain: Profile Publications, Ltd., 1965.
  • J.M. Bruce, Windsock Datafiles 2: Sopwith Pup. Great Britain: Albatros Publications, 1986, 1987. ISBN 0-948414-06-5
  • Kevin Kelly, "Belts and Drums: A Survey of First World War Aircraft Ammunition Totals". Over the Front, Vol. 5, No. 3, Autumn 1990. Walsworth Publishing Co, Inc. and The League of World War I Aviation Historians.
  • W.M. Lamberton and E.F. Cheesman, Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Great Britain: Harleyford Publications Limited, 1960.
  • Kenneth Munson, Fighters 1914-19, Attack and Training Aircraft. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976. ISBN 0713707607
  • Heinz J. Nowarra, Bruce Robertson, and Peter G. Cooksley. Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Letchworth, Herts, England: Harleyford Publications Limited, 1966. ISBN 0900435070
  • Ian Philpott, The Birth of the Royal Air Force. Great Britain: Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2013. ISBN 978-1-78159-333-2
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