Sopwith Snapper

{{short description|British WW1 biplane fighter aircraft}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Use British English|date=December 2016}}  {{Infobox aircraft | name = Snapper | logo = | logo_size = | image = | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = [[Fighter plane|Fighter]] | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = [[United Kingdom]] | manufacturer = [[Sopwith Aviation Company|Sopwith]] | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = Prototype | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 3 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 1919 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }} The '''Sopwith Snapper''' was a prototype [[United Kingdom|British]] [[fighter aircraft]] of the [[World War I|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.

==Development and design== In 1918, the British [[Air Ministry]] developed a requirement for a single-seat fighter to replace the [[Royal Air Force]]'s [[Sopwith Snipe]]s, even though the Snipe had yet to enter service. This requirement, RAF Type 1, specified the new [[ABC Dragonfly]] air-cooled [[radial engine]], which had been ordered into production in large numbers on the basis of excellent promised performance and ease of production despite the fact that it had yet to complete testing.

To meet this requirement, Sopwith produced two new and completely different designs, a [[triplane]] (the [[Sopwith Snark]]) and a more conventional biplane, which was named the '''Snapper'''. The Air Ministry ordered three prototype Snappers, along with three Snarks.<ref name="Bruce v3 p56">Bruce 1969, p.56.</ref> (In addition Sopwith received orders for 300 Dragonfly powered Snipes as the [[Sopwith Dragon]]).

The Snapper was a small single-bay biplane with heavily [[Stagger (aviation)|staggered]] wings. It was originally intended to have a wooden [[monocoque]] fuselage (as did the [[Sopwith Snail]] lightweight fighter and the Snark), but this was abandoned to ease production, with a more conventional wire-braced fabric covered fuselage substituted.<ref name="Mason Fighter p147">Mason 1992, p.147.</ref> The cockpit was positioned aft of the wings, providing good visibility to the pilot, while two forward firing [[synchronization gear|synchronised]] [[Vickers machine gun]]s were mounted on the fuselage top decking.<ref name="Bruce British p634">Bruce 1957, p.634.</ref>

The change in fuselage design delayed production of the fuselage, with further delays being caused by the engine which was overweight, and suffered from catastrophic reliability and vibration problems. The first Snapper flew at [[Brooklands]] in May 1919, soon followed by the other two aircraft.<ref name="Mason Fighter p147"/> Although performance was good when the Dragonfly was working correctly, the engines problems were unsolvable, with the engine eventually being cancelled in September 1919. Although Sopwith attempted to enter one of the Snappers (with the civil registration ''K149'') into the 1919 [[Aerial Derby]] where it was to be flown by [[Harry Hawker]], this was forbidden by the Air Ministry<ref name="Flight p847">''Flight'': 26 June 1919, p.847.</ref> (officially as its engine was still classified as Secret) and the three Snappers were used for test flying by the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]].<ref name="Bruce v3 p56-7">Bruce 1969, pp.56-57.</ref>

==Specifications==

{{Aircraft specs |ref=British Aeroplanes 1914-18<ref name="Bruce British p635">Bruce 1957, p.635.</ref> |prime units?=imp  |crew=1 |length ft=20 |length in=7 |length note= |span ft=28 |span in=0 |span note= |height ft=10 |height in=0 |height note= |wing area sqft=292 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight lb=1462 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=2190 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[ABC Dragonfly]] |eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled [[radial piston engine]] |eng1 hp=360 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=  |max speed mph=140 |max speed note=at {{cvt|10000|ft}} |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |range miles= |range note= |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=23000 |ceiling note= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude={{cvt|10000|ft}} in 7 minutes 50 seconds |lift to drag= |wing loading lb/sqft=7.5 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass={{cvt|0.16|hp/lb}} |more performance=  |guns=2 × forward firing, synchronised [[.303 British|.303 in]] [[Vickers machine gun]]s }}

==See also== {{aircontent  |related= |similar aircraft= *[[Armstrong Whitworth Ara]] *[[BAT Basilisk]] *[[Nieuport Nighthawk]] *[[Sopwith Dragon]] *[[Sopwith Snark]] *[[Westland Wagtail]] |lists= |see also=

}}

==Notes== {{Reflist|20em}}

==References== {{refbegin}} *"[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200837.html The Aerial Derby]". ''[[Flight International|Flight]]'', 26 June 1919, pp. 837–847. *Bruce, J.M. ''British Aeroplanes 1914-18''. London:Putnam, 1957. *Bruce, J.M. ''War Planes of the First World War: Fighters Volume Three''. London:Macdonald, 1969. {{ISBN|0-356-01490-8}}. *Mason, Francis K. ''The British Fighter since 1912''. Annapolis, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. {{ISBN|1-55750-082-7}}. {{refend}}

==External links==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111001065101/http://www.historicaircraft.org/WW1-Gallery/pages/Sopwith-Snapper.html Photo] {{Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft}}

[[Category:1910s British fighter aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1919]] [[Category:Sopwith aircraft|Snapper]] [[Category:Single-engined piston aircraft]]