Sopwith Aviation Company [SEP] founder
Sopwith Aviation Company


The Sopwith Aviation Company later Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. Sopwith aircraft were also used in varying numbers by the French, Belgian, and American air services during the War. In April 1919 the company was renamed Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company Limited. In September 1920 the company entered voluntary liquidation after a move to build motorcycles failed
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Sopwith Aviation Company


. The patents and assets were bought by a new company H.G. Hawker Engineering . The Sopwith Aviation Company (based at Brooklands) was created in June 1912 by Thomas Octave Murdoch (Tommy, later Sir Thomas) Sopwith, a wealthy sportsman interested in aviation, yachting and motor-racing, when he was 24 years old. Following their first military aircraft sale in November 1912, Sopwith moved to the company's first factory premises which opened that December in a recently closed roller skating rink in Canbury Park Road near Kingston Railway Station
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Sopwith Rhino


The Sopwith 2B2 Rhino was a British two-seat triplane bomber designed and built by Sopwith Aviation Company as a private venture. The Rhino was powered by a Beardmore Halford Pullinger inline piston engine. Only two aircraft were built and the type did not enter production. In mid-1917, the Sopwith Aviation Company prepared a design for a single-engine bomber aircraft, the Sopwith Rhino. As it did not match any official specification, it received no orders from the Royal Flying Corps or Royal Naval Air Service, but Sopwith was granted
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Hawker Aircraft


Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bankruptcy of the Sopwith Aviation Company. Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker and three others, including Thomas Sopwith, bought the assets of Sopwith and formed H.G. Hawker Engineering in 1920. In 1933 the company was renamed Hawker Aircraft Limited, and it took advantage of the Great Depression and a strong financial position to purchase the Gloster Aircraft Company
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Victor Mahl


Victor Mahl (28 October 1889 – 2 April 1915) was an early English aviator and Chief Mechanic of the Sopwith Aviation Company. Mahl was born in Twickenham in Middlesex, England on 28 October 1889. By 1911 he was a motor engineer and he became the Chief Engineer to the Sopwith Aviation Company. Mahl married Winifred Day in 1912 in Wolverhampton. He worked as Howard Pixton's engineer when he won the 1914 Schneider Trophy. On 14 May 1914 Mahl obtained his aviators licence flying a Sopwith Biplane at Brooklands. Mahl test
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William Currie (British politician)


, the computer pioneer and Lord Byron's daughter, and Sir Thomas Sopwith, the founder of the Sopwith Aviation Company, which featured predominantly in the First World War. After that war, the estate was broken up and sold in lots. Currie was returned in 1790 as Member of Parliament for Gatton. He continued there until the 1796 election, when he was returned for Winchelsea until 1802. Gatton and Winchelsea were rotten boroughs and Gatton was an extreme example. It returned two MPs to the House of Commons, but only
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Sopwith Aviation Company


RFC at the start of the war. With higher power and floats, the type evolved into the Sopwith Baby, which was a workhorse of the RNAS for much of the First World War. In 1916, Herbert Smith became Chief Engineer of the Sopwith company, and under his design leadership its other successful World War I types included the larger Type 9901. This aircraft, better known as the 1½ Strutter due to its unconventional cabane strut arrangement, was used from 1916 by the RNAS, RFC and the French "Aviation Militaire
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Sopwith Aviation Company


in duty. The meeting concluded that the best result would be to sell the business as a going concern. The Ham factory, which was included in 38 acres of freehold land, was sold to Leyland Motors. The newly formed H.G Hawker Engineering Company obtained the Sopwith patent rights and a government contract to refurbish Sopwith Snipe biplanes. Upon the liquidation of the Sopwith company, Tom Sopwith himself, together with Harry Hawker, Fred Sigrist and Bill Eyre, immediately formed H.G. Hawker Engineering, forerunner of the Hawker Aircraft and Hawker Siddeley
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Thomas Sopwith


40 hp engine, Harry Hawker took the British Michelin Endurance prize with a flight of 8h 23m. Sopwith Aviation got its first military aircraft order in November 1912, and in December moved to larger premises in Kingston upon Thames. The company produced more than 18,000 World War I aircraft for the allied forces, including 5747 of the Sopwith Camel single-seat fighter. Sopwith was awarded the CBE in 1918. Bankrupted after the war by punitive anti-profiteering taxes, he re-entered the aviation business in 1920 with a
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Sopwith Aviation Company


produce aircraft for the civil market based on their wartime types. These included aircraft such as a single-winged Camel and the Dove, a derivative of the Pup and the Swallow, but the wide availability of war-surplus aircraft at knock-down prices meant this was never economical. In 1919 the company was renamed as Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company and the factory was re-organised to produce ABC motorcycles under licence; this included an investment of £100,000 in new machinery. In September 1920 the Kingston factory closed for
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Sopwith Swallow


The Sopwith Swallow was a British parasol wing fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single example was built, but it saw no production, offering no performance advantages over contemporary biplanes. In June 1918, the Sopwith Aviation Company flew an unarmed parasol monoplane derivative of the Sopwith Camel, the Sopwith Monoplane No. 1, also known as the Sopwith Scooter. It used a normal Camel fuselage, with the wing mounted just above the fuselage, with a very small gap. The wing was braced using RAF-wire (
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Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom


, Gloster Aircraft Company formed from Cheltenham-based luxury liner outfitters H. H. Martyn. Nonetheless there was still determination to stay particularly from the enthusiastic pioneers such de Havilland and Sopwith. As soon as Airco and Sopwith Aviation Company were declared bankrupt,(due to the Treasury demanding payment for excess profits) within months Tommy Sopwith and Geoffrey de Havilland both established new companies, H.G. Hawker Engineering later Hawker Aircraft and De Havilland Aircraft Company. The Government established a Civil Aerial Transport Committee (that included H.G. Wells and Tommy Sopwith) that reported in December
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Harry Kauper


powered flight made by Harry Houdini in March 1910 and in May 1911, with his mechanic friends H. G. Hawker and Harry Busteed,( known as the three Harry's), Kauper went to England to study aviation. After working for Sunbeam, in June 1912 he got a job as a mechanic with Thomas Sopwith's flying school at Brooklands. Kauper later introduced Hawker to Sopwith, who employed him as a mechanic. When the Sopwith Aviation Company was formed in 1913 Kauper became foreman of works. In August 1913 Kauper,
18939018
Herbert Smith (aircraft designer)


the Sopwith Aviation Company as a draughtsman. Later that year, he became Sopwith's chief engineer. Smith went on to design the Pup, Triplane, Camel, and Snipe. He worked for the Sopwith firm until it dissolved in October 1920. In February 1921 the Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing Company in Nagoya invited Smith, along with several other former Sopwith engineers to assist Mitsubishi in creating an aircraft manufacturing division. After moving to Japan, they designed the 1MT, B1M, 1MF, and 2MR. Smith returned to
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Sopwith Antelope


The Sopwith Antelope was a British three-seat transport aircraft built after the end of the First World War. A single-engined biplane based on the Sopwith Wallaby long-range aircraft, only a single Antelope was built. In 1919, the Sopwith Aviation Company developed a three-seat transport aircraft, the Sopwith Antelope, based on its Wallaby long-range aircraft built to compete for a £10,000 prize for an England-Australia flight, which was in turn based on the Sopwith Atlantic, which had crashed during an
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Thomas Sopwith


Wright 1910 Biplane. On 18 December 1910, Sopwith won a £4000 prize for the longest flight from England to the Continent in a British-built aeroplane, flying 169 miles (272 km) in 3 hours 40 minutes. He used the winnings to set up the Sopwith School of Flying at Brooklands. In June 1912 Sopwith, along with Fred Sigrist and others, set up the Sopwith Aviation Company, initially at Brooklands. On 24 October 1912 using a Wright Model B completely rebuilt by Sopwith and fitted with an ABC
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Sopwith Aviation Company


in South West London. An early collaboration with the S. E. Saunders boatyard of East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, in 1913, produced the Sopwith "Bat Boat", an early flying boat with a Consuta laminated hull which could operate on sea or land. A small factory subsequently opened in Woolston, Hampshire in 1914. During the First World War, the company made more than 16,000 aircraft. Many more of the company's aircraft were built by subcontractors rather than by Sopwith themselves. These included Fairey, Clayton and
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Sopwith Tabloid


The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The "Tabloid", so named because of its small size, caused a sensation when it made its first public appearance. A floatplane variant was prepared and entered for the 1914 Schneider Trophy race; piloted by Howard Pixton. This aircraft comfortably won the competition, the prizewinning variant being known as the Sopwith Schneider. Production orders for
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Sopwith Snapper


The Sopwith Snapper was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined biplane designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company to replace the Sopwith Snipe fighter, it first flew after the end of the war, but did not enter service owing to the failure of its engine, only three aircraft being built. In 1918, the British Air Ministry developed a requirement for a single-seat fighter to replace the Royal Air Force's Sopwith Snipes, even though the Snipe had yet to enter service. This requirement
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Sopwith Cobham


The Sopwith Cobham was a British twin-engined triplane bomber aircraft designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. The only twin-engined aircraft built by Sopwith, the Cobham did not fly until after the end of the war, and was unsuccessful due to the failure of its engines, only three prototypes being built. The Sopwith Cobham was designed to meet a June 1918 requirement for a twin-engined long-range medium bomber to equip the Royal Air Force (to meet RAF Type IV,
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Sopwith Dolphin


The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on the Western Front in early 1918 and proved to be a formidable fighter. The aircraft was not retained in the postwar inventory and was retired shortly after the war. In early 1917, the Sopwith chief engineer, Herbert Smith, began designing a new fighter (internal Sopwith designation 5F.1) powered by
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Sopwith Atlantic


to win the prize, notably by Rodman Wanamaker, who ordered two Curtiss America flying boats, with John Cyril Porte selected to be the pilot, the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 put a stop to these plans. Following the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the competition was reopened, Thomas Sopwith, the head of the Sopwith Aviation Company decided to build an aircraft to compete for the prize. George Carter of Sopwith based his design for the transatlantic aircraft on the single-engined Sopwith B.1 bomber aircraft.
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Thomas Sopwith


Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was an English aviation pioneer, business executive and yachtsman. Sopwith was born in Kensington, London on 18 January 1888. He was the eighth child and only son of Thomas Sopwith (a civil engineer and managing director of the Spanish Lead Mines Company, Linares, Jaén, Spain) and his wife Lydia Gertrude née Messiter. He was a grandson of mining engineer Thomas Sopwith. He was educated at Cottesmore School in Hove and
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Sopwith Snail


The Sopwith 8F.1 Snail was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was unsuccessful, being abandoned due to an unreliable engine. The Sopwith 8F.1 Snail was designed by Herbert Smith of Sopwith Aviation Company to meet the Air Board Specification A.1A for a light fighter with superior performance to the Sopwith Camel. Herbert Smith designed a small single-bay biplane, powered by the 170 hp (127 kW) ABC Wasp radial engine. An initial order was placed on 31 October 1917 for six prototypes with a conventional wood
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London Air Park


, was partly culverted and covered, to permit aircraft to taxy over it. Large factory buildings and assembly sheds were constructed on the separate northwest site, to accommodate production of an order from Sopwith Aviation Company of Kingston upon Thames for Sopwith Pups. The original company was taken over by Whitehead Aviation Construction Co Ltd, that later became Whitehead Aircraft (1917) Ltd. The first Pups, initially built at Whitehead's Richmond works, were flown from Hanworth aerodrome in early 1917. In 1917, the aerodrome was officially designated an Aircraft
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Sopwith Camel


The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the earlier Sopwith Pup and became one of the best known fighter aircraft of the war. The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized machine guns. Though proving difficult to handle, it provided for a high level of manoeuvrability to an experienced pilot, an attribute which was highly valued in the type's principal
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Sopwith Aviation Company


the end of the war the company produced the Cuckoo torpedo-bomber and the Salamander armoured ground-attack development of the Snipe, but these types were too late to see action. Many other experimental prototypes were produced throughout the war, mostly named after animals (Hippo, Gnu etc.), leading to some referring to the 'Sopwith Zoo'. Following World War I, the Sopwith Snipe was chosen as the standard fighter of the much-reduced Royal Air Force, and soldiered on until finally replaced in the late
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Sopwith Hippo


The Sopwith 3F.2 Hippo was a prototype British two-seat fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was a single-engined biplane with considerable negative stagger. It was not successful, the Bristol F.2 Fighter (already in production) being preferred by the Royal Flying Corps. In the summer of 1917, the Sopwith Aviation Company designed a two-seat fighter aircraft, the 3F.2 Hippo, possibly to replace the Sopwith 1½ Strutter in French service. While the British Air Board did not place an order for the Hippo,
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Sopwith Bulldog


The Sopwith 2FR.2 Bulldog was a prototype British two-seat fighter of the First World War. A single-engined biplane, the Bulldog was a fighter/reconnaissance aircraft intended to replace the Bristol F.2 Fighter, but was unsuccessful, with no replacement for the Bristol Fighter being purchased. In August 1917, the Sopwith Aviation Company started design of a two-seat fighter reconnaissance aircraft intended to replace the Bristol F.2 Fighter, and received permission to build prototypes of the Sopwith FR.2. It was intended to power the FR.2 with a
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Sopwith Gunbus


The Sopwith Gunbus was a British fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was a single-engined pusher biplane based on a floatplane built by Sopwith before the war for Greece. Small numbers were built and used by the British Royal Naval Air Service, mainly as a trainer. In 1913, the Sopwith Aviation Company received an order for six two-seat floatplane from the Greek Government for the Greek Naval Air Service, which was in the process of being set up on the basis of advice from Rear Admiral Mark Kerr
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Sopwith Triplane


The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It was the first military triplane to see operational service. The Triplane joined Royal Naval Air Service squadrons in early 1917 and was immediately successful. It was nevertheless built in comparatively small numbers and was withdrawn from active service as Sopwith Camels arrived in the latter half of 1917. Surviving Triplanes continued to serve as operational trainers until the end of the war. The Triplane began as a private venture by the
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Sopwith Three-seater


The Sopwith Three-seater was a British aircraft designed and built prior to the start of the First World War. One of the first aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company, it was operated by both the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), being used briefly over Belgium by the RNAS following the start of the War. In 1912, Thomas Sopwith, who had learned to fly during 1910 and had set up a flying school at Brooklands, built a tractor configuration biplane using
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Harry Hawker


"Lake Charleville". The wheels from the undercarriage, jettisoned soon after takeoff were later recovered by local fishermen and later donated to the Rooms Provincial Museum in St John's. One wheel is currently on display at Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl. In September 1920, Sopwith Aviation was liquidated because of fears the government would examine the wartime aircraft production contracts of companies like Sopwith and impose a crippling retrospective tax liability on them. Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigrist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company
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Sopwith Aviation Company


Pup was widely used on the Western Front by the RFC and from ships by the RNAS from the autumn of 1916 to the early summer of 1917, and was considered a delight to fly by its pilots. It continued in use as an advanced trainer for the remainder of the War. The Pup began the famous series of "animal"-named Sopwith aircraft during the war, which, as a whole, would become renowned in aviation history as "The Flying Zoo". Experimentally equipped with three narrow-chord wings and a more
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Sopwith Type 807


The Sopwith Admiralty Type 807 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company. In July 1914, Sopwith produced a two-bay tractor biplane powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine to compete in the 1914 "Daily Mail" Circuit of Britain race for seaplanes. It made its maiden flight as a landplane on 16 July 1914, before being fitted with its planned floatplane undercarriage. On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 the Circuit of
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Sopwith B.1


The Sopwith B.1 was an experimental British bomber aircraft of the First World War. A single-seat, single-engined biplane, the B.1 was built by the Sopwith Aviation Company for the Royal Navy. Although only two were built, one was used for bombing raids over France. In late 1916, Sopwith, whose earlier 1½ Strutter had proved successful as a light bomber, (particularly when operated as a single seater), designed a new, single-engined bomber aircraft. The new bomber was developed in parallel with
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Sopwith Salamander


The Sopwith TF.2 Salamander was a British ground-attack aircraft of the First World War designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company which first flew in April 1918. It was a single-engined, single-seat biplane, based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter, with an armoured forward fuselage to protect the pilot and fuel system from ground fire during low level operations. It was ordered in large numbers for the Royal Air Force but the war ended before the type could enter squadron service, although two were in France in October 1918.
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Sopwith Aviation Company


Shuttleworth, William Beardmore and Company and Ruston Proctor. Towards the end of the war, Sopwith took out a lease on "National Aircraft Factory No.2", constructed in 26 weeks during the winter of 1917 a mile to the north of the Canbury works in Ham. The company were able to greatly increase production of Snipe, Dolphin and Salamander fighter planes as a result. At the beginning of the war the company had 200 employees; this had reached 6,000 employees by the Armistice. After the war, the company attempted to
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Francis Stewart Briggs


and they had to land in a field about two miles from the aerodrome. A rock outcrop concealed by the long grass caught the centre of the axle and the aircraft gently turned over. There was only slight damage to the aircraft. Rather than be delayed by the necessary repairs, de Garis (on 12 July) bought a Sopwith Gnu (from the Larkin-Sopwith Aviation Company), so that they could continue flying on 17 July. The crashed plane was sold back (where it lay) to Aviation Ltd,
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Sopwith Aviation Company


lineage. Sopwith was Chairman of Hawker Siddeley until his retirement. Hawker and its successors produced many more famous military aircraft, including the inter-war Hart, and Demon; World War II's Hurricane, Typhoon, and Tempest; and the post-war Sea Fury, Hunter and Harrier. These later jet types were manufactured in the same factory buildings used to produce Sopwith Snipes in 1918 as Hawker Aircraft bought the Ham Factory when Leyland's lease expired in 1948. Initially, Tom Sopwith himself, assisted by his former personal
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Larkin Aircraft Supply Company


The Larkin Aircraft Supply Company (Lasco) was an Australian aircraft manufacturer based at Coode Island in Melbourne. After returning from the First World War Herbert Joseph Larkin, a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, and his brother Reg Larkin formed an agency for Sopwith aircraft. The company was formed in 1919 as the Larkin-Sopwith Aviation Company of Australia Limited, manufacturing aircraft components. The original company went into liquidation and Herbert Larkin then started the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company (known as Lasco) in 1921. In 1925 the
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Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames


South London and 3.2% for England. In 2015, year on year growth in the Merton, Kingston and Sutton economy was 2.7%, above South London (2.3%) and England (3.2%). Sopwith Aviation Company had a factory in the Canbury Park area of Kingston, where the famous Sopwith Camel was produced during World War I. The Hawker Hurricane was designed in a site in Kingston town centre and built in the aviation factory near Ham now known as the Hawker Centre. Primary responsibility for education in the borough
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Sopwith Aviation Company


mechanic Fred Sigrist, led the design of the company's types. Following a number of pre-war designs for the Royal Naval Air Service, such as the Three-seater and the Bat Boat, Sopwith's first major success was the fast and compact (hence the name) Tabloid, a design which first showed the influence of the company's test pilot, the Australian Harry Hawker. A float-equipped version of this aircraft won the Schneider Trophy in 1914. The landplane version was used by both the RNAS and
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Sopwith Snipe


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, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of the conflict, in late 1918. The Snipe was not a fast aircraft by the standards of its time, but its excellent climb and manoeuvrability made it a good match for contemporary German fighters. It was selected as the standard postwar single-seat RAF fighter and the
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Sopwith 1½ Strutter


The Sopwith Strutter was a British single- or two-seat multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War. It was significant as the first British two-seat tractor fighter and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun. It was given the name Strutter because of the long and short cabane struts that supported the top wing. The type was operated by both British air services and was in widespread but lacklustre service with the French "Aéronautique Militaire". In December 1914, the Sopwith Aviation Company
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Sopwith Gnu


The Sopwith Gnu was a 1910s British touring biplane designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company of Kingston-upon-Thames. It was one of the first cabin aircraft designed for civil use. Designed for the postwar civil market, the Gnu was a conventional equal-span biplane. It had an open cockpit for a pilot with seating for two passengers under a hinged and glazed roof. Most of the aircraft were powered by a 110hp Le Rhône rotary engine. The enclosed passenger cabin was cramped and unpopular and most
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Sopwith 1919 Schneider Cup Seaplane


the race was organised by the British Royal Aero Club, and was planned to be held at Bournemouth on 10 September that year. In order to compete in the 1919 race, the Sopwith Aviation Company designed a small floatplane, powered by the new Cosmos Jupiter radial engine. It was of all-wooden construction, with single bay wings. The Sopwith entry, registration "G-EAKI", along with entries from Supermarine (the Sea Lion) and Fairey (the Fairey III) was one of three British entries to
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Harry Hawker


at Brooklands, then the hub of British aviation, and in June 1912 he got a job as a mechanic for the Sopwith Aviation Company. He soon persuaded Sopwith to teach him to fly, and succeeded in making his first solo flight after only three lessons. He was awarded his pilot's licence, No.297, in September 1912 and shortly afterwards, on 24 October, he won the Michelin Cup for flight endurance with a flight lasting 8 hr 23 min. He also appears to have been the first person to perform an
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Sopwith Pup


The Sopwith Pup was a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good manoeuvrability, the aircraft proved very successful. The Pup was eventually outclassed by newer German fighters, but it was not completely replaced on the Western Front until the end of 1917. Remaining Pups were relegated to Home Defence and training units. The Pup's docile flying characteristics also made it ideal
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Sopwith Two-Seat Scout


The Sopwith Two-Seat Scout (or Type 880) was a 1910s British biplane Anti-Zeppelin scout biplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was nicknamed the Spinning Jenny due to a tendency to enter a spin. First flown in November 1914 the Two-Seat Scout was developed from the 1914 Circuit of Britain seaplane. It was two-bay unswept biplane with equal span wings and ailerons fitted on all four wings and a braced tailplane and a single rudder. It had a fixed tailskid
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Thomas Sopwith


new firm named after his chief engineer and test pilot, Harry Hawker. Sopwith became chairman of the new firm, Hawker Aircraft. He became a Knight Bachelor in 1953. After the nationalisation in 1977 of the aviation interests of what was by then Hawker Siddeley, he continued to work as a consultant to the company until 1980. In 1979, Sopwith was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. His authorised biography is "Pure Luck" (2005) by Alan
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Sopwith Wallaby


The Sopwith Wallaby was a British single-engined long-range biplane built during 1919 by Sopwith Aviation Company at Kingston upon Thames. The Wallaby was designed to compete in an Australian government £10,000 prize for an England to Australia flight. It was a single-engined biplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine. It had an open cockpit with two seats that could be retracted inside the enclosed cabin. The Wallaby registered "G-EAKS" departed Hounslow on 21 October 1919 for Australia. On 17 April 1920
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Sopwith Three-seater


the wings from a Wright Biplane and the fuselage and tail of a Coventry Ordnance Works biplane. and powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Gnome Gamma rotary engine. The resulting aircraft, known as the Hybrid, first flew on 4 July 1912. The Hybrid was rebuilt in October 1912 and sold to the British Admiralty, being delivered in November 1912. When the Admiralty tendered further orders for an improved tractor biplane based on the design,Sopwith created the Sopwith Aviation Company, with a factory in a disused roller rink
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Brooklands


until the school closed in August 1914. In February 1912 Thomas Sopwith opened his flying school and in June, with several others, he set up the Sopwith Aviation Company there, although their manufacturing premises were at Kingston upon Thames. Other aviation pioneers came to Brooklands before World War One including Prince Serge de Bolotoff who tried to build a large tandem triplane in a shed there in 1913. Blériot, Martinsyde and Vickers also later produced military aeroplanes at Brooklands which became Britain's largest aircraft manufacturing centre by 1918. Many flying schools
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Sopwith Type 860


The Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane torpedo bomber designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company. First flown in December 1914 the Type 860 was an unswept biplane. The upper wings had a strut braced extension and ailerons were fitted on all four wings. It had twin strut-mounted floats under the fuselage and a float mounted under the tail and each wingtip. Some models were powered by a nose-mounted 200 hp 14-cylinder engine; others used a 225 hp (168 kW) Sunbeam
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Fairey Hamble Baby


The Fairey Hamble Baby was a British single-seat naval patrol floatplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation for the Royal Naval Air Service Fairey Aviation built a number of Sopwith Baby floatplanes at its Hamble works. A variant of the Sopwith Baby was built by the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd. On 23 October 1916, Sopwith Baby "No.8134" was sent to the Fairey works for repair, and the opportunity was taken to rebuild the aircraft to incorporate a number of modifications. The most significant was the Fairey Patent Camber Gear, which
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Sopwith Gnu


production aircraft had an open rear cockpit. One prototype and twelve production aircraft were built. A postwar slump ended production and the company had problems selling the aircraft although two aircraft were sold in Australia. The United Kingdom-based aircraft were mainly used to provide joyrides in the early 1920s. Two aircraft that were used for exhibition and stunt flying in the late 1920s crashed. Most of the production aircraft were not sold and were dismantled, including four aircraft that remained unsold when the Sopwith Aviation Company folded in 1920. Two Australian
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HNoMY Norge


in the Royal Navy as an armed yacht during the Second World War. The vessel was built in 1937 by Camper and Nicholsons in Gosport, Hampshire as a luxury yacht for Thomas Sopwith, a wealthy British aviation engineer and industrialist, who was then the chairman of the Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Company. One of the world's largest privately owned motor yachts of its time, it was intended for leisure cruising and for Sopwith to use as a base at ocean racing events, in which he was a keen patron and participant. The
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Sopwith Salamander


and ground-attack work. As a result of the high losses sustained during strafing and after seeing the success of the new German types, the RFC instructed the Sopwith Aviation Company to modify a Camel for close air support, by fitting downward-firing guns and armour. The modified Camel, known as the "TF.1" (trench fighter 1), flew on 15 February 1918. Two Lewis guns were fixed to fire downwards and forwards at an angle of 45 degrees and a third gun was mounted on the upper wing
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Harry Hawker


intentional spin and recovery. In 1914 demonstrating one method (though generally not the one used today) to return to level flight from this unusual attitude. Because spins had killed several pilots, this was a major advance in aviation safety. Having established his name as an aviator, he became chief test pilot for Tom Sopwith. At Sopwiths in 1916, Hawker had the personal use of a small aircraft, the Sopwith Bee. He was also a regular competitor in motor car and motorcycle races at Brooklands before and after the First
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Sopwith Aviation Company


" as a single-seat bomber, two-seat fighter and artillery spotter and trainer. Soon after came the small and agile single-seat Scout, which quickly became better known as the Pup because of its obvious descent from the 1½ Strutter. The Pup and 1½ Strutter were the first successful British tractor fighters equipped with a synchronisation gear to allow a machine gun to fire through the rotating propeller. This gear was known as the Sopwith-Kauper gear from its designers, although several other designs were used later. The
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Sopwith Triplane


Sopwith Aviation Company. The fuselage and empennage closely mirrored those of the earlier Pup, but chief engineer Herbert Smith gave the new aircraft three narrow-chord wings to provide the pilot with an improved field of view. Ailerons were fitted to all three wings. By using the variable incidence tailplane, the aircraft could be trimmed to fly hands-off. The introduction of a smaller 8 ft span tailplane in February 1917 improved elevator response. The Triplane was initially powered by the 110 hp Clerget 9Z nine-cylinder rotary engine,
6253545
Tommy Sopwith (racing driver)


Thomas Edward Brodie Sopwith (15 November 1932 – 4 May 2019) was a British businessman and car racing driver. Thomas Sopwith was the son of English aviation pioneer and yachtsman Sir Thomas Sopwith – builder of the Sopwith Camel and later chairman of Hawker Aircraft – and Phyllis Brodie. He was educated at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire. His success as a racing driver saw him win the first-ever round of the British Saloon Car Championship in 1958. That year he narrowly lost out on the driver's title to Jack Sears after
4642932
C. D. Barnard


Royal Flying Corps. His service included postings to 2 Squadron and 3 Squadron. In October 1918, he was appointed acting Captain, and ended his commission in June 1919. Thereafter, he served on the Royal Air Force reserve list until July 1936.The National Archives file AIR 76/23/12 In 1919, he was employed by Sopwith Aviation Company, and was briefly assigned to operating Sopwith Gnu (K-101) on pleasure flights from the beach at Southport, where on 10 June 1919, his engine caught fire. He managed to crash land on
8125666
Military Aviation Museum


Morane Saulnier AI, a Nieuport 11, a Nieuport 17, a Nieuport 24, a Sopwith Pup, a Sopwith Camel, a Sopwith 1½ Strutter, and a deHavilland D.H.2. Both the Morane Saulnier AI and the Sopwith 1½ Strutter have arrived at the museum. Associated with the museum is an aircraft restoration and maintenance organization, called The Fighter Factory, started in 1996 to restore the collection's first aircraft (the P-40E). It was originally located at Norfolk Airport, and later moved to premises at the Suffolk Municipal Airport
2797271
Bert Hinkler


with the "Blériot", the world's first monoplane. In 1913, Hinkler went to England where he worked for the Sopwith Aviation Company, the beginning of his career in aviation. During the First World War, Hinkler served with the Royal Naval Air Service as a gunner/observer in Belgium and France, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1918 Hinkler was posted to No. 28 Squadron RAF with which he served as a pilot in Italy. Hinkler was an "exceptional mathematician and inventor"
10024091
Sopwith Aviation Company


stocktaking and the company decided to enter voluntary liquidation; the works manager at Kingston announced in a letter to the 1400 employees: At a meeting of creditors held in October 1920 it was explained that although the company had previously accumulated a surplus of £900,000 in 1918, following a slump in the sale of motorcycles the company had liabilities of £705,430 (which included £583,510 for excess profits duty) and assets of £862,630. The amount of excess profit duty was being disputed by the company which had already paid £450,000
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Surrey


changes of ownership, this business continues to operate in Guildford. Kingston and nearby Ham became a centre of aircraft manufacturing, with the establishment in 1912 of the Sopwith Aviation Company and in 1920 of its successor H.G. Hawker Engineering, which later became Hawker Aviation and then Hawker Siddeley. During the Second World War a section of the GHQ Stop Line, a system of pillboxes, gun emplacements, anti-tank obstacles and other fortifications, was constructed along the North Downs. This line, running from Somerset to Yorkshire, was intended
3809781
Sopwith Admiralty Type C


The Sopwith Admiralty Type C was an early British seaplane designed and built by Sopwith Aviation to drop torpedoes. A single engined tractor biplane seaplane, three were delivered to the Royal Navy in November 1914 but proved unable to lift a torpedo. The Admiralty had ordered a special torpedo carrying biplane (the Sopwith Special torpedo seaplane Type C, serial number "170") in February 1914 and followed it with an order in July 1914 for three similar Type C seaplanes (serial numbers 157, 158 and 159). The specification called
19075935
Guy William Price


County Dublin, Ireland. On 9 December 1914, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Guy William Price RNAS was awarded Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 987, earned on a Grahame-White biplane at their school at Hendon Aerodrome. Price was promoted to flight lieutenant on 28 June 1915, and on 3 July 1917 he was one of the four founder members of the Seaplane Defence Flight (later No. 13 Naval Squadron). This unit, flying Sopwith Pup fighters, was formed at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer
9026406
Sopwith Snipe


cowl) of Major William G. Barker's Snipe, "E8102" is on display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. Antique Aero in California has completed construction of an airworthy, very detailed reproduction Sopwith Snipe. It awaits a new-build 230 h.p. Bentley B.R.2 engine. Another Snipe reproduction marked as "E8102" was built in New Zealand by The Vintage Aviator Ltd., and was subsequently purchased by Kermit Weeks for his Fantasy of Flight aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. This is airworthy and uses an original
11107328
History of Australian naval aviation


Commonwealth Naval Board expressed interest to the British Admiralty, they were rebuffed with claims that the use of seaplanes for naval aviation was "dying out". In August 1917, was the first warship to be fitted with a rotatable aircraft launch platform. The cruiser was initially fitted with a Sopwith Pup, which was replaced in 1918 with a Sopwith Camel. On 1 June 1918, the Camel was launched to intercept two German aircraft, one of which is believed to have been shot down: naval historian David Hobbs calls it "
19001842
Curtiss JN-4


from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company. The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft cockpit. It was deficient in performance, particularly climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by a wheel. In addition, a foot bar was added to control the rudder. The 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915
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Kingston upon Thames


eventually British Aerospace. The renowned Sopwith Camel, Hawker Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier were all designed and built in the town and examples of all of these aircraft can be seen today at the nearby Brooklands Museum in Weybridge. Well known aviation personalities Sydney Camm, Harry Hawker and Tommy Sopwith were responsible for much of Kingston's achievements in aviation. British Aerospace finally closed its Lower Ham Road factory in 1992; part of the site was subsequently redeveloped for housing but the riverside part houses a community centre and sports complex.
17021970
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard


at Thomas Sopwith's flying school at Brooklands, he told Sopwith than he only had 10 days to gain his aviator's certificate. He succeeded in going solo on 31 July, gaining his Royal Aero Club aviator's certificate (No. 270) on a Henry Farman biplane. The course had cost £75, involved a meagre two-and-a-half weeks tuition and a grand total of 64 minutes in the air. Although Copland Perry, Trenchard's instructor, noted that teaching him to fly had been "
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Boulton Paul Atlantic


publicity associated with the first non-stop Atlantic crossing, which came with the additional bonus of the £10,000 prize for the first such flight by a British aircraft on offer by the "Daily Mail" since before the war, was sought by many companies. Thus in late 1918 and early 1919 the Alliance Aeroplane Company, Boulton & Paul, Fairey Aviation Company, Handley Page, Martinsyde, Short Brothers, Sopwith and Vickers Ltd were preparing competitors. The P.8 Atlantic was Boulton & Paul's entrant and was also intended to
12962563
Sopwith 1919 Schneider Cup Seaplane


one of the turning points, the race being declared void. In 1920, the Schneider Cup racer was rebuilt as a landplane and re-engined with a 320 hp (239 kW) ABC Dragonfly as the Jupiter engine which powered it in 1919 was unavailable, and known as the Sopwith Rainbow. It was entered into the 1920 Aerial Derby, but was disqualified. It was rebuilt again in 1922 by H.G. Hawker Engineering, (Sopwith Aviation having gone into receivership in 1920), being fitted with a Bristol Jupiter II.
2152394
André Robert Lévy


Sergent André Robert Lévy was a French World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. André Robert Lévy was born in Paris, France on 6 June 1893. He was mobilized for infantry duty at the start of World War I, on 2 September 1914. André Robert Lévy transferred to aviation on 8 October 1916. He qualified as a pilot on 4 March 1917. He was initially assigned to fly a Farman for "Escadrille 29". However, he flew a Sopwith Aviation Company Sopwi 1.A2 for his first victory
19206283
Naval Air Service (Greece)


front, as well as Izmir, Ottoman Empire. In 1918 the Naval Aviation had four squadrons of Sopwith Camel biplanes and other aircraft, while each one counted ca. 10-12 aircraft. Aristeidis Moraitinis, the commander of the Hellenic Naval Air Service, acquired the nickname "the Fearless Aviator" by his British colleagues and counted nine victories in total, becoming so Greece's only World War I ace. In one occasion, on 20 January 1918, Moraitinis, fought ten enemy aircraft which attacked two British Sopwith Baby seaplanes
19827808
Aviation in World War I


did all-American squadrons begin active operations. Technically America had fallen well behind the European powers in aviation, and no American designed types saw action, with the exception of the Curtiss flying boats. At first, the Americans were supplied with second-rate and obsolete aircraft, such as the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, Dorand AR and Sopwith Camel, and inexperienced American airmen stood little chance against their seasoned opponents. General John J. Pershing assigned Major General Mason Patrick as Chief of the US Air Service to remedy these issues in May
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Herbert Larkin


in Glenhuntly. Along with some old comrades from No. 87 Squadron, plus his brother Reg, Larkin founded an Australian Sopwith agency named Larkin Sopwith Aviation Co. of Australia Ltd. Larkin claimed the honor of the first night flight in Australia on 25 October 1919 when he piloted the Dove over Australia's version of the Henley Regatta. In 1920, Larkin organized Victoria, Australia's first air derby. On 28 February, he testified in court during an inquest into the death of a spectator killed during a buzzing incident during an aviation
4890383
Sopwith Bat Boat


The Sopwith Bat Boats were British flying boats designed and built from 1912 to 1914. A single-engined pusher biplane, the Bat Boat was the first successful flying boat and amphibious aircraft built in the United Kingdom, with examples used by the Royal Navy and by Greece and Germany. In summer 1912, the British pioneer aviator Thomas Sopwith, also a keen yachtman and power-boat racer, started design of a flying boat, to be called the "Bat Boat" after a flying machine in Rudyard Kipling's short story
11819973
OpenAirplane


(CAP) procedure and pilots holding the relevant CAP approval do not need to carry out a further checkout. The company has been endorsed by Starr Aviation, a member of Starr International Company (insurance), and the Cessna Aircraft Company. OpenAirplane launched on June 17, 2013 with operators in six US locations: Chicago, Long Island, Kissimmee, Troy, Long Beach, and San Jose. As of Sep 2014, OpenAirplane had grown to over 71 locations. At Sun 'n Fun 2014, OpenAirplane announced the expansion
15913091
Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom


although many of them only made one or two planes. But even the production of the larger firms was not very substantial, British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, one of the largest produced just over 200 planes between 1910 and 1914. Most of the aviation pioneers, such as Geoffrey de Havilland, Thomas Sopwith, Richard Fairey, Robert Blackburn, Frederick Handley Page, A.V. Roe and the Short Brothers had a training in engineering and their companies were usually privately financed. There were several large engineering companies who also got involved, such
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Ham, London


fluvial deposits. Towards the end of World War I, Lord Dysart sold some land south of Ham Common to the Ministry of Munitions for the construction of an aircraft factory on land adjoining what was then still called "Upper Ham Road". "National Aircraft Factory No.2" was built in 26 weeks during the winter of 1917. The factory was leased to the Sopwith Aviation Company, based a mile to the south in Canbury Park Road, Kingston, and the company were able to increase greatly its production of Snipe, Dolphin
11824331
Thomas-Morse S-4


equal span and a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome rotary engine. The S-4 was designed by Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas (no relation to the company owners), formerly with the Sopwith Aviation Company, who also assisted with the design of the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. The S-4 made its maiden flight in June 1917 in the hands of Paul D. Wilson. Twelve planes went to the Navy. The S-4B, with a Gnome, a span of 27’ (8.22 m), and length of 20’3” (6.17 m
18835680
Cyril Ridley


and built a man-carrying Chanute-type biplane glider, with a wingspan of 18 feet. Ridley was also a builder of both powered and unpowered model aircraft, taking part in numerous events, often competing against his fellow Arundel Aero Club member Reginald F. Mann, and his teacher and Aero Club secretary, Robert P. Grimmer — who would go on to form their own model aircraft company in 1913, before moving on to a full size aircraft in 1915. After leaving school Ridley worked for the Sopwith Aviation Company as an
10292120
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company


. Curtiss was instrumental in the development of U.S. Naval Aviation by providing training for pilots and providing aircraft. The first major order was for 144 various subtypes of the Model F trainer flying boat. In 1914, Curtiss had lured B. Douglas Thomas from Sopwith to design the Model J trainer, which led to the JN-4 two-seat biplane trainer (known affectionately as the "Jenny"). The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company worked with the United States' British and Canadian allies, resulting in JN-4 (Can) trainers (
13947492
RAF Northolt


Bleriot Experimental biplanes, whose slow speed led to heavy losses in combat with the German Fliegertruppe. In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas. Aircraft equipping the squadron included the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, built by the Fairey Aviation company, then in Hayes. The Strutter made its first test flight from Northolt in 1916 with Harry Hawker at the controls. Fairey conducted test flights at Northolt from 1917 until 1928 when the Air Ministry gave the company notice to vacate the aerodrome. Flights later resumed
6990972
Leslie Frise


. In 1915 he started Boulton Paul Aircraft's first aircraft factory at Mousehold Heath, Norwich to make 100 Sopwith Camels. The company was previously a general manufacturing firm that had begun in 1873. In August 1915, Frank Barnwell rejoined Bristol Aeroplane Company and was looking for an assistant. He interviewed Leslie Frise and employed him in 1916; Frank Barnwell would become one of Bristol's main aircraft designers until his death on 2 August 1938 in an aviation accident. With Barnwell he developed the 1916 Bristol F.2 Fighter. He invented the
20497836
George Carter (engineer)


From 1916-20 he was Chief Draughtsman of Sopwith Aviation Company, then Chief Designer from 1920–1924 of Hawker Engineering Co. Ltd, working on the Heron and Hornbill fighter aircraft, and the Horsley bomber. From 1924–1928 he worked with Short Bros of Rochester, designing a seaplane for the 1927 Schneider Trophy. From 1928–1931, Carter worked for de Havilland. From 1935–1936, he also worked for Avro. Carter joined the Gloucestershire (later Gloster) Aircraft Company, at Brockworth, Gloucestershire, in 1931. He initially worked on the De
21825699
Luke & Co


an aviation centre at around 1910, and Luke built a prototype Seaplane to the design of F. Murphy, the HL1, as "Hamble River, Luke & Co." It was exhibited at Olympia’s in March 1914 but was not a success. At the start of World War I, they started building aircraft components. They built at least one machine for Sopwith in 1913. It was the Sopwith Bat Boat (Type 1) No.BB2. This machine was assembled at the Salterns Yard of Hamble River, Luke &
15240161
All American Aviation


All American Aviation Inc (Pittsburgh) was an airline company founded by Dr. Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become US Airways, whose merger with American Airlines in 2013 created the largest airline in the world. All American Aviation was founded in 1937 as a patent holding company. Its sister company, Tri-State Aviation, was founded on the same date, serving as the physical operating company. Founder Dr. Lytle Schooler Adams was the first President of both companies. Dr. Adams had started experimenting with
14260859
Hawker Woodcock


The Hawker Woodcock was a British single-seat fighter built by the Hawker Engineering Company as the first fighter to be produced by Hawker Engineering (the successor to Sopwith Aviation). It was used by the RAF as a night fighter in the 1920s. The Hawker Woodcock was designed as a night fighter in 1922 to meet specification 25/22. The chief designer was Captain Thomson, and the prototype, serial number "J6987", was first flown with a 358 hp (267 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar II engine in March 1923
10035168
Sopwith Aviation Company


powerful engine, the Pup led to the Triplane, which was used by just four squadrons of the RNAS during 1917, but became well known for its startling fighting qualities, put to best use by Raymond Collishaw's famous 'Black Flight' of 'Naval 10' (No. 10 Squadron RNAS). This flight was so called due to the black identification colour of the flight's aircraft, which in turn led to their naming as Black Maria, Black Prince, Black Death, Black Roger and Black Sheep. Such
10875584
Mitsubishi 1MF


Imperial Japanese Navy to produce three types of aircraft for operation from aircraft carriers: a fighter, a torpedo bomber and a reconnaissance aircraft. To produce these aircraft, it hired Herbert Smith, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company to assist the design of these aircraft, Smith bringing to Japan Jack Hyland and a team of six other British engineers . The fighter designed by Smith and his team, designated the 1MF by Mitsubishi, and known as the Navy Type 10 Carrier Fighter by the Japanese Navy (referring to the year of design
16595487
Mitsubishi 2MR


. Mitsubishi hired a team of British engineers led by Herbert Smith, formerly of Sopwith Aviation Company to design these aircraft. Smith's design for a reconnaissance aircraft, designated by Mitsubishi the 2MR, first flew on 12 January 1922. The 2MR was of similar layout to the contemporary 1MF fighter (i.e. a single-bay wooden biplane), but scaled up to accommodate a two-man crew, and was powered by a similar license-built Hispano-Suiza engine. After successful testing, the 2MR was adopted by the
20838946
Seaplane


the United Kingdom. This was displayed at the London Air Show at Olympia in 1913. In that same year, a collaboration between the S. E. Saunders boatyard of East Cowes and the Sopwith Aviation Company produced the "Bat Boat", an aircraft with a consuta laminated hull that could operate from land or on water, which today is called an amphibious aircraft. The "Bat Boat" completed several landings on sea and on land and was duly awarded the Mortimer Singer Prize. It was the first all-British aeroplane capable
4975232
Sopwith Snipe


RCAF) was formed. Two complete, original, Sopwith Snipes survive. "E6938" is displayed in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Formerly owned by film star Reginald Denny, it was restored in the 1960s. "E8105" is exhibited at the National Air And Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Previously, it had been at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, in Rhinebeck, New York. It passed to the NASM after Cole Palen's death in December 1993. The fuselage (minus landing gear, engine and
11107327
Frontiers of Flight Museum


as archives to the University of Texas at Dallas as the nucleus of one of the world's finest aviation collections, the History of Aviation Collection. The museum features an extensive collection of aviation history artifacts and vehicles, and focuses on the history of aviation and space exploration with an emphasis on the role of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Exhibits include the Apollo 7 Command Module; a World War I Sopwith Pup biplane replica; artifacts from the German airship "Hindenburg" and other airships; and over 200 World War II
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