Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Single-seat fighting scout

Power Plant:

One 172 kw (230 hp) Bentley BR.2 nine-cylinder rotary piston engine

Specifications:

Armament:

Two forward firing fixed 7.69 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns; provision to carry four 11 kg (25 lb) bombs

History:

Designed by Herbert Smith, chief designer of the Sopwith Company, as a replacement for the Camel, the 7F.1 Snipe first appeared in mid- 1917.  The British Air Board issued a specification for the Type 1.a in 1917 for a fighting scout, to be capable of 217 km/h (135 mph) at 4,572 m (15,000 ft) with a climb rate from 3,048 m (10,000 ft) to 6,096 m (20,000 ft) in ten minutes.  It was a single-bay biplane powered by a 112 kw (150 hp) Bentley BR.1 engine and was destined to replace the Sopwith Camel and RAF SE.5a in service.

A contract was signed for six prototypes (serials B9962 – B9967).  The first with a BR.1 engine was taken to the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough in Hampshire.  However, typical of Sopwith designs, it had little rudder authority, was tail heavy, and its increase in performance over the Camel did not meet expectations.  Consideration was given to fitting the 239 kw (320 hp) ABD Dragonfly radial engine but, as that engine was a failure, a decision was then made to fit the Bentley BR.2 engine to production aircraft, and the prototype with this engine became B9963.  Some early Snipes were fitted with the BR.1 engine and these were mainly supplied to Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons.

The Snipe received considerable development before being placed into production, changes including an increase in the rudder surface area, similarly with the tailplane, and the ailerons being balanced to give greater roll control.  However, as the new German Fokker D.VII had by this time entered service, the Snipe was rushed into production.  Orders were placed for 4,685 Snipes but only 2,122 were delivered, being built at a range of facilities including Sopwith, Boulton & Paul, Coventry Ordnance, Napier, Nieuport, Ruston & Proctor etc.  Production ceased in 1919.

Although no Snipes came to this region, it did see service in Europe with Australian units. Nos 5 and 8 (Training) Squadrons, AFC at Minchinhampton and Leighterton, both in Gloucestershire, received the type late in the war for training Australian personnel.  The type joined No 4 Squadron AFC and saw service from 8 October 1918, replacing Camels. It was found that with the Bentley rotary engine, which could produce 194 kw (260 hp) at 1,400 rpm, it was a match for the German aircraft and was well liked by crews, being able to reach 5,791 m (19,000 ft) and a max speed of 204 km/h (127 mph) with a war load.  An altitude of 4,572 m (15,000 ft) could be reached in 30 minutes compared to 45 minutes in a Camel.

No 4 Squadron AFC with Sopwith Snipes was part of No 80 Wing, RAF. This Wing operated with a number of squadrons with different aircraft, including No 2 Squadron AFC, No 92 Squadron RAF with the SE.5a, and Nos 43 and 54 Squadrons RAF with Camels. After the war No 4 Squadron served as part of the occupational forces in Germany, being based at Bickendorff airfield in Cologne. Captured German aircraft were tested against the unit’s aircraft.

No 4 Squadron in the final weeks of the conflict claimed one balloon and 37 aircraft destroyed, losing three pilots killed and three pilots who became prisoners of war.  On 4 November 1918 a flight of 11 Snipe aircraft from No 4 Squadron led by Roy King (26 victories), whilst escorting a formation of bombers, met Jasta Boelcke, the leading German unit of that time, and lost three aircraft but claimed three victories.

The Snipe, like most aircraft of the time, was of timber construction, wire and dope and covered with linen.  Some pilots, eg Robert Little, made modifications to increase the performance of their aircraft.

Probably the most famous Snipe (E8102) was flown by Canadian, Major William George Barker, DSC, MC, who, with a score already of 49 aircraft, and whilst attached to No 201 Squadron RFC, on 27 October 1918, single-handedly fought 15 enemy fighters, shooting down four before himself being wounded and landed.  For this action he received the Victoria Cross.  Australian ace, Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC with seven confirmed victories, scored more victories in the Snipe than any other ace.  The Snipe, at the stage it reached Allied units in 1918, was able to match the Fokker D.VII and was easier to fly and operate, being superior in a number of respects to the Camel.

In January 1919 it was recommended to the Australian Government that the Australian Flying Corps form single squadrons in Australia of Sopwith Snipes, Bristol Fighters, de Havilland (Airco) DH.9As and Vickers Vimys, a total of 15 aircraft of each type, with a few in store, forming a force similar to the RAF.  In the event the Snipes were not available and were not imported.

In 1919 the Snipe was used during the Allied intervention on the side of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War, a number of these aircraft being in fact captured by the enemy and placed into service.  The Snipe continued in RAF service for some years, eventually being retired in 1926.

In recent years there has been a lot of interest in aircraft of World War I, and a number of replicas have been built. One 7F.1 was operated by Cole Palen and flown from Roosevelt Field Museum in Chicago fitted with a 119 kw (160 hp) Gnome rotary engine.  One has been constructed in Victoria. This machine, because a Bentley BR.2 engine was not available, was fitted with a Continental W-670 radial engine. It was built by Mr Nick Caudwell of Mt Eliza, VIC and is a full scale aircraft manufactured to Replicraft plans.  This aircraft was completed in late 2013 and became VH-SNP (c/n CSS-1), making its first flight at Tyabb, VIC on 17 October 2014.  A couple are known to survive in museums, one with the Canadian Air Museum.

In recent years the company known as The Vintage Aviator Limited, based at Masterton, NZ, has been building reproductions / replicas of aircraft of the First World War, including replica engines where originals are not available.  In March 2011 the company completed a replica of a Sopwith Snipe 7.F1, this becoming ZK-SBT (c/n 0009) on 28 March, registered to the builders. The aircraft, painted as E8102, later went to the Fantasy of Flight collection of aircraft operated by Kermit Weeks at Polk City in Florida where it is flown as N6313S.

On 22 March 2013 a second 7.F1 Snipe was completed, becoming ZK-SNI (c/n 0112), also registered initially to The Vintage Aviator Limited, and shipped to the United Kingdom where it spent some time with the Shuttleworth Trust.  Marked as F2367 it later became G-CKBB in Britain.  A third Snipe was completed as E6655 and was exchanged with the RAF Museum at Hendon where it is now on display, this aircraft being built only for static display. It was built from original parts that had been stored in the RAF Museum’s collection at Hendon.  A further 7F.1 Snipe was completed in late 2013, becoming ZK-SNY (c/n 0114) and registered on 21 October 2013 to TVAL, being flown and demonstrated at the Classic Wings Airshow at Omaka in April 2017.