Sopwith Three-seater

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Use British English|date=December 2016}}  {{Infobox aircraft | name = Sopwith Three-seater | logo = | logo_size = | image = British Aircraft Pre-1914 Q67499.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = General purpose aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United Kingdom | manufacturer = [[Sopwith Aviation Company]] | design_group = | designer = [[Thomas Sopwith]] | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = [[Royal Flying Corps]] | more_users = [[Royal Naval Air Service]] | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 13 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = 1912 | retired = 1915 | first_flight = 4 July 1912 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }} The '''Sopwith Three-seater''' was a British aircraft designed and built prior to the start of the [[World War I|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.

==Development and design== 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 the wings from a [[Wright Model B|Wright Biplane]] and the fuselage and tail of a [[COW Biplane|Coventry Ordnance Works biplane]].<ref name=mason78>Mason 1982, p. 78.</ref> and powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) [[Gnome Gamma]] [[rotary engine]].<ref>Bruce 1982, pp. 491, 628.</ref> The resulting aircraft, known as the '''Hybrid''', first flew on 4 July 1912.<ref>Robertson 1970, p. 31.</ref>

The Hybrid was rebuilt in October 1912 and sold to the [[British Admiralty]], being delivered in November 1912.<ref name=mason78/><ref>Robertson 1970, p. 32.</ref> 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]] at [[Kingston upon Thames]]. The resulting aircraft, known variously as the '''Three-Seat Tractor Biplane''',<ref>Robertson 1970, p. 210.</ref> the '''Sopwith 80 hp Biplane''',<ref name=bruce1982p491>Bruce 1982, p. 491.</ref> the '''Sopwith D1''',<ref>Davis 1999, pp. 12–13.</ref> or the '''Sopwith Tractor Biplane''',<ref>''Roots In The Sky - A History of British Aerospace Aircraft'', Oliver Tapper (1980), {{ISBN|061700323 8}}; p. 18. "In June 1913 [Sopwith] reached 12,000 feet with one passenger and later, in July, he flew the same machine, this time with three passengers, to the world-record height of 8,400 feet."</ref> was flown on 7 February 1913 before being displayed at the International Aero Show at [[Olympia, London]] opening on 14 February.<ref name=mason78/> It had [[Interplane strut|two-bay]] wings, with lateral control by [[wing warping]], and was powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) [[Gnome Lambda]] rotary engine. It had two cockpits, the pilot sitting aft one and passengers sitting side by side in the forward one. Three transparent [[celluloid]] windows were placed in each side of the fuselage to give a good downwards view.<ref name=bruce1982p491/><ref>Bruce 1957, p. 517.</ref>

A second aircraft was retained by Sopwith as a demonstrator, being used to set a number of British altitude records between June and July 1913. A further two tractor biplanes were built for the RNAS, being delivered in August and September 1913, with the original hybrid being rebuilt to a similar standard. Following tests of a Tractor Biplane fitted with [[aileron]]s instead of wing warping for lateral control,<ref name=bruce1982p491/><ref>Robertson 1970, p. 35.</ref> a further nine aircraft were ordered for the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) in September 1913.<ref>Mason 1982, pp. 78–79.</ref>

==Operational history== The RFC received its Three-seaters between November 1913 and March 1914, with the first example being tested to destruction in the [[Royal Aircraft Factory]] at [[Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough]], where it was determined that the structural strength was inadequate. Despite this, the remaining eight aircraft were issued to [[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron]] as two-seaters. Two were destroyed in a fatal mid-air collision on 12 May 1914, while several more were wrecked in accidents before the outbreak of the First World War. 5 Squadron left its remaining Tractor Biplanes in England when it deployed to France in August 1914, these being briefly used as trainers at the [[Central Flying School]].<ref name=mason79>Mason 1982, p. 79.</ref><ref>Bruce 1982, pp. 492–493.</ref>

The RNAS aircraft were issued to seaplane stations to allow flying to continue when sea conditions were unsuitable for seaplane operation. On the outbreak of war, the RNAS also acquired Sopwith's demonstrator aircraft. Three Sopwith Tractor biplanes went with the Eastchurch wing of the RNAS when it deployed to Belgium under the command of [[Wing Commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] [[Charles Rumney Samson |C.R. Samson]]. These were used for reconnaissance and bombing missions, attempting to bomb the [[Zeppelin]] sheds at [[Düsseldorf]] on 23 September and railway lines on 24 September, and were withdrawn from service in October.<ref>Robertson 1970, pp. 48–51.</ref> The RNAS also used Sopwith Tractor Biplanes for patrol duties from [[Great Yarmouth]],<ref>Thetford 1978, p. 424.</ref> one remaining in use until November 1915.<ref name=mason79/>

==Operators== ;{{UK}} *[[Royal Flying Corps]]<ref>Bruce 1982, p. 493.</ref> **[[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron RFC]] **[[Central Flying School]] *[[Royal Naval Air Service]]

==Specifications (80 hp Gnome)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=''Sopwith-The Man and his Aircraft.''<ref>Robertson 1970, pp. 234–235, 238–239.</ref> |prime units?=imp  |genhide=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=2600D Chauviere |prop dia m= |prop dia ft=8 |prop dia in=6 |prop dia note=<ref name=bruce1957p518/>

|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=74 |max speed kts= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |endurance=2.5 hr |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=12900 |ceiling note=<ref name=bruce1957p518/> with one passenger |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |time to altitude=2.5 min to {{convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on}} |more performance=

}}

==See also== {{aircontent  |see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=*[[List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service]] *[[List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps]] }}

==Notes== {{reflist|2}}

==References== {{refbegin}} * Bruce, J. M. ''British Aeroplanes 1914–18''. London: Putnam, 1957 * Bruce, J. M. ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''. London: Putnam, 1982. {{ISBN|0-370-30084-X}} * Davis, Mick. ''Sopwith Aircraft''. Ramsbury, UK: The Crowood Press, 1999. {{ISBN|1-86126-217-5}} * Mason, Tim. "Tom Sopwith...and his Aeroplanes 1912–14". ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', Number Twenty, December 1982 – March 1983. Bromley, UK: Pilot Press. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}. pp. 74–80 * Robertson, Bruce. ''Sopwith-The Man and his Aircraft''. Letchworth, UK: Air Review, 1970. {{ISBN|0-900435-15-1}} * Thetford, Owen. ''British Naval Aircraft since 1912''. London: Putnam, Fourth edition 1978. {{ISBN|0-370-30021-1}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{commons category|Sopwith Aviation Company}} * [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%200185.html "The 80-h.p. Sopwith Tractor Biplane"] [[Flight International|''Flight'']] 15 February 1913.

[[Category:1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft]] [[Category:Sopwith aircraft|Tractor Biplane]] [[Category:Biplanes]] [[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1912]]