Britian - 1918 Sopwith Snipe

Looking at the poll results I see many want to see British fighters. So here are some profiles of one of the best British fighters to go into production during the Great War.

The final year of the war saw the birth of refined high performance aircraft. One of the best of the crop was Sopwith Aviation Company's Snipe. The design was clean, compact, sturdy, and a joy to fly. Unlike the Sopwith Camel the Snipe was both maneuverable and forgiving in flight.

The Snipe - One of Sopwith's Best Fighters

Sopwith Snipe - 1918

A descendant of the Sopwith Camel, the Sopwith Snipe was equipped with a more powerful engine and provided better visibility from the cockpit. Though not much faster than the Camel, the Snipe had a better rate of climb and pilots found it much easier to fly.

Sopwith Snipe - 1918

On 27 October 1918, Canadian ace William Barker made the Sopwith Snipe famous in a single-handed battle with more than 60 enemy aircraft that earned him the Victoria Cross. Flying the Sopwith Snipe, Captain Elwyn King scored 7 victories making him the highest scoring ace to fly this aircraft.

References

1. From Wikipedia Sopwith Snipe, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Snipe"
2. Franks, Norman. "Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War I (Aircraft of the Aces)". London: Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-317-9.