Sopwith Gunbus

Sopwith Aviation Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1914 · fighter

The Sopwith Gunbus was a British two-seat pusher biplane fighter of the First World War, based on a floatplane Sopwith had built before the war for Greece. Small numbers were built and the Royal Naval Air Service used them mainly as trainers.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	9.91 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Single-engined pusher biplane with four-bay wings
Engine and propeller mounted behind the crew in a nacelle
Crew of two, armed with a Lewis machine gun

The pusher nacelle and four-bay biplane wings identify it; its name should not be confused with that of the Vickers Gunbus.

Specifications

The Sopwith Gunbus has a length of 9.91 m (33 ft).
It has a wingspan of 15.24 m (50 ft).
Its maximum speed is 129 km/h (80 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Royal Navy ordered six landplanes derived from the Sopwith S PG N floatplane in July 1914. The first flew on 6 October 1914 and was underpowered, so it was given a 150 hp Sunbeam V8 engine in place of the 110 hp unit.

Variants

The related Pusher Seaplane trainer used a 100 hp Anzani radial. The S PG N was an armed floatplane with a nose machine gun and a Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine.

Where you'll see it

Thirty more were ordered from Robey and Co. of Lincoln, but only 17 were completed. The Gunbus saw limited operational use, one serving with the RNAS squadron at Dunkirk in February 1915, and was used mainly for training until the winter of 1915-16.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 8,606 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.