Photograph:
A Sopwith Baby floatplane in the United Kingdom during World War I (RAF Museum)
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Description:
single-seat fighter biplane
Power Plant:
One 82 kw (110 hp) Clerget rotary engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan [upper and lower mainplanes]: 7.86 m (25 ft 8 in)
- Length: 7.01 m (23 ft)
- Height: 3.04 m (10 ft)
- Wing area: 22.29 m² (240 sq ft)
- Max speed at sea level: 148 km/h (92 mph)
- Climb to 3,048 m (10,000 ft): 35 mins
- Endurance: 2¼ hours
- Fuel capacity: 114 litres (25 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 556 kg (1,226 lb)
- Loaded weight: 717 kg (1,580 lb)
Armament:
One 7.69 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine gun fixed and firing forward; provision for two 29.5 kg (65 lb) bombs
History:
The Baby was a development of the Sopwith Schneider, being a twin float seaplane built for the Royal Naval Air Service. The Baby was basically a Schneider with a more powerful rotary engine, this being the Clerget in place of the Monosoupape, and it first appeared in September 1915. Armament consisted of a single Lewis machine gun mounted on the fuselage and synchronised to fire through the propeller. The type was taken to sea on board aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy for defence mainly against Zeppelin airships, and attempts were made to bomb Zeppelin bases. The type could be fitted with floats but examples flew from the deck of the Campania which at the time of the Battle of Jutland had three Sopwith Babys, four Sopwith Schneiders and three Short 184s. A total of 71 Babys was built by the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Co Ltd, with the 97 kw (130 hp) variant of the Clerget engine, a total of some 185 examples being completed by various manufacturers.
A variant was also produced, with some modifications by Fairey, and this became known as the Fairey Hamble Baby. A further development was known as the Port Victoria P.V.1.
In 1917 the Australian-built light cruiser HMAS Brisbane [built at Cockatoo Dockyard – 5,400 tons displacement – launched 30 October 1916] was operating in the Mediterranean Ocean when information was received that the German raider Wolf was active in the Indian Ocean. HMAS Brisbane proceeded to Colombo, arriving to join the Royal Navy seaplane carrier HMS Raven II, the latter being equipped with Short 184 seaplanes and a Sopwith Baby seaplane. On 2 April 1917 HMAS Brisbane embarked the Baby and a derrick was installed for launching and recovering the aircraft, the aircraft being carried on board between the aft funnel and the mast.
The Baby whilst operating from HMAS Brisbane made two flights a week searching for the Wolf but without success. The aircraft (serial N1014) was piloted by Flying Officer A W Clemsen and was armed with two Lewis 7.69 mm (0.303 in) machine gunsm being able to carry 29.5 kg (65 lbs) of bombs. In June 1917 the aircraft was returned to the Royal Navy and HMAS Brisbane returned to Australia.
In 1918 a number of Sopwith Babys were supplied to the Royal Norwegian Naval Air Service and these operated on skis, wheels or floats.
One example (N2078) of the Baby survives in the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton in Somerset. Airworthy replicas have been built: one in Norway; one flying in Canada as CF-SOP; and two regularly flying in Texas in the USA.