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Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane is a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service.
The Triplane was developed by the firm's experimental department as a private venture, the project was headed by the designer Herbert Smith. Aside from its obvious difference in wing configuration, the aircraft shared many similarities with the company's successful biplane fighter, the Sopwith Pup. The prototype Triplane performed its maiden flight on 28 May 1916 and was dispatched to the French theatre two months later, where it garnered high praise for its exceptional rate of climb and high manoeuvrability. During late 1916, quantity production of the type commenced in response to orders received from the Admiralty. During early 1917, production examples of the Triplane arrived with Royal Naval Air Service squadrons.
The Triplane rapidly proved to be capable of outstanding agility, and thus was quickly deemed to be a success amongst those squadrons that flew it. Praise for the type extended to opposing pilots; Imperial Germany extensively studied the Triplane via captured examples and produced numerous tri-winged aircraft shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, the Triplane was built in comparatively small numbers to that of the more conventional Sopwith Pup. It had been decided to withdraw the Triplane from active service as increasing numbers of the Sopwith Camel arrived in the latter half of 1917. Surviving Triplanes continued to serve as operational trainers and experimental aircraft until months following the end of the conflict.
During the First World War, the Sopwith Aviation Company became a prominent British manufacturer of military aircraft. It was amid this conflict that one of its employees, Herbert Smith, designed the Sopwith Pup, a single-seat biplane fighter aircraft which was described by aviation author J.M. Bruce as being "one of the world's greatest aeroplanes". While it was a capable fighter that possessed impressive handling qualities for its era, from an aerodynamic perspective, the Pup was an entirely conventional design. Certain figures, including those within Sopwith's experimental department, sought to develop a successor which would instead pioneer new concepts for such an aircraft; out of such ambitions would emerge the Triplane.
Early on, Sopwith decided to pursue development of the Triplane concept as a private venture initiative. The design, which was passed by the company's experimental department on 28 May 1916, was contemporary to the Sopwith L.R.T.Tr. project, which never progressed beyond the prototype stage; Bruce speculated that Smith may have been inspired by the L.R.T.Tr.'s atypical wing configuration to adopt the iconic triplane configuration for the new project. Beyond the obvious difference in terms of wing configuration, the Triplane's design largely conformed with that of the Pup. It has been described as being a "remarkably simple aircraft".
The initial "prototype of what was to be referred to simply as the Triplane" first flew on 28 May 1916, with Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker at the controls. Within three minutes of takeoff, Hawker startled onlookers by looping the aircraft, serial N500, three times in succession. Hawker noted that this was due to his high confidence in the aircraft despite its radical design. The Triplane was very agile, with effective, well-harmonised controls. When maneuvering, however, the Triplane presented an unusual appearance. One observer noted that the aircraft looked like "a drunken flight of steps" when rolling.
While initially lacking any armament, N500 was subsequently furnished with a single Vickers machine gun, which was mounted centrally in front of the cockpit. In July 1916, N500 was sent to Dunkirk for evaluation with "A" Naval Squadron, 1 Naval Wing. Being put into action within 15 minutes of its arrival to intercept enemy aircraft, N500 quickly proved to be highly successful. According to Bruce, it demonstrated exemplary maneuverability and a phenomenal rate of climb for the era.
The second prototype, N504, performed its maiden flight in August 1916. Its primary difference from the first prototype was the installation of a 130 hp Clerget 9B engine. N504 was eventually dispatched to France in December of that year. This aircraft served as a conversion trainer for several squadrons.
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Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane is a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service.
The Triplane was developed by the firm's experimental department as a private venture, the project was headed by the designer Herbert Smith. Aside from its obvious difference in wing configuration, the aircraft shared many similarities with the company's successful biplane fighter, the Sopwith Pup. The prototype Triplane performed its maiden flight on 28 May 1916 and was dispatched to the French theatre two months later, where it garnered high praise for its exceptional rate of climb and high manoeuvrability. During late 1916, quantity production of the type commenced in response to orders received from the Admiralty. During early 1917, production examples of the Triplane arrived with Royal Naval Air Service squadrons.
The Triplane rapidly proved to be capable of outstanding agility, and thus was quickly deemed to be a success amongst those squadrons that flew it. Praise for the type extended to opposing pilots; Imperial Germany extensively studied the Triplane via captured examples and produced numerous tri-winged aircraft shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, the Triplane was built in comparatively small numbers to that of the more conventional Sopwith Pup. It had been decided to withdraw the Triplane from active service as increasing numbers of the Sopwith Camel arrived in the latter half of 1917. Surviving Triplanes continued to serve as operational trainers and experimental aircraft until months following the end of the conflict.
During the First World War, the Sopwith Aviation Company became a prominent British manufacturer of military aircraft. It was amid this conflict that one of its employees, Herbert Smith, designed the Sopwith Pup, a single-seat biplane fighter aircraft which was described by aviation author J.M. Bruce as being "one of the world's greatest aeroplanes". While it was a capable fighter that possessed impressive handling qualities for its era, from an aerodynamic perspective, the Pup was an entirely conventional design. Certain figures, including those within Sopwith's experimental department, sought to develop a successor which would instead pioneer new concepts for such an aircraft; out of such ambitions would emerge the Triplane.
Early on, Sopwith decided to pursue development of the Triplane concept as a private venture initiative. The design, which was passed by the company's experimental department on 28 May 1916, was contemporary to the Sopwith L.R.T.Tr. project, which never progressed beyond the prototype stage; Bruce speculated that Smith may have been inspired by the L.R.T.Tr.'s atypical wing configuration to adopt the iconic triplane configuration for the new project. Beyond the obvious difference in terms of wing configuration, the Triplane's design largely conformed with that of the Pup. It has been described as being a "remarkably simple aircraft".
The initial "prototype of what was to be referred to simply as the Triplane" first flew on 28 May 1916, with Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker at the controls. Within three minutes of takeoff, Hawker startled onlookers by looping the aircraft, serial N500, three times in succession. Hawker noted that this was due to his high confidence in the aircraft despite its radical design. The Triplane was very agile, with effective, well-harmonised controls. When maneuvering, however, the Triplane presented an unusual appearance. One observer noted that the aircraft looked like "a drunken flight of steps" when rolling.
While initially lacking any armament, N500 was subsequently furnished with a single Vickers machine gun, which was mounted centrally in front of the cockpit. In July 1916, N500 was sent to Dunkirk for evaluation with "A" Naval Squadron, 1 Naval Wing. Being put into action within 15 minutes of its arrival to intercept enemy aircraft, N500 quickly proved to be highly successful. According to Bruce, it demonstrated exemplary maneuverability and a phenomenal rate of climb for the era.
The second prototype, N504, performed its maiden flight in August 1916. Its primary difference from the first prototype was the installation of a 130 hp Clerget 9B engine. N504 was eventually dispatched to France in December of that year. This aircraft served as a conversion trainer for several squadrons.