RNAS Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup was a single-seater biplane fighter aircraft used by Great Britain in WWI. Manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company, it was officially named the Sopwith Scout but nicknamed the Pup because it looked like a smaller version of the two-seat Sopwith 1½ Strutter.
The Pup was a conventional biplane with a mainly wooden framework covered in fabric. Although rather underpowered, its performance was lively especially at altitude mainly due to a light wing loading. It had half the horsepower and armament of the German Albatros D.III, but was much more manoeuvrable than the German type, especially at altitudes over 15,000 ft. Armament was a single 0.303 inch synchronised Vickers machine-gun.
1,770 Pups were built by a total of four factories. The Pup was used by both the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from October 1916. By spring 1917, the type was already outclassed by the newest German fighters and the RNAS had replaced theirs, first with Sopwith Triplanes, and then Sopwith Camels. The RFC Pup squadrons on the other hand had to soldier on, in spite of increasing casualties, until the autumn of 1917. It continued in various second-line roles for the remainder of the war.
Sopwith Pups were also used in many pioneering carrier experiments. On 2 August 1917, a Sopwith Pup flown by Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning became the first aircraft to land aboard a moving ship, HMS Furious, although Dunning was killed on his third landing when the Pup fell over the side of the ship. Pups began operations on carriers in early 1917, with the first aircraft fitted with skid undercarriages in place of wheels. Landings utilised 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. The US Navy also employed the Sopwith Pup with testing of the use of carrier-borne fighters in the 1920s. - Wikipedia.
The above aircraft is actually a modified Sopwith Dove and can be seen landing at the Shuttleworth Collection where it routinely still flies.
RNAS Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup was a single-seater biplane fighter aircraft used by Great Britain in WWI. Manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company, it was officially named the Sopwith Scout but nicknamed the Pup because it looked like a smaller version of the two-seat Sopwith 1½ Strutter.
The Pup was a conventional biplane with a mainly wooden framework covered in fabric. Although rather underpowered, its performance was lively especially at altitude mainly due to a light wing loading. It had half the horsepower and armament of the German Albatros D.III, but was much more manoeuvrable than the German type, especially at altitudes over 15,000 ft. Armament was a single 0.303 inch synchronised Vickers machine-gun.
1,770 Pups were built by a total of four factories. The Pup was used by both the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from October 1916. By spring 1917, the type was already outclassed by the newest German fighters and the RNAS had replaced theirs, first with Sopwith Triplanes, and then Sopwith Camels. The RFC Pup squadrons on the other hand had to soldier on, in spite of increasing casualties, until the autumn of 1917. It continued in various second-line roles for the remainder of the war.
Sopwith Pups were also used in many pioneering carrier experiments. On 2 August 1917, a Sopwith Pup flown by Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning became the first aircraft to land aboard a moving ship, HMS Furious, although Dunning was killed on his third landing when the Pup fell over the side of the ship. Pups began operations on carriers in early 1917, with the first aircraft fitted with skid undercarriages in place of wheels. Landings utilised 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. The US Navy also employed the Sopwith Pup with testing of the use of carrier-borne fighters in the 1920s. - Wikipedia.
The above aircraft is actually a modified Sopwith Dove and can be seen landing at the Shuttleworth Collection where it routinely still flies.