Sopwith Snipe

Sopwith Aviation Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1917 · fighter

The Sopwith Snipe was the principal single-seat fighter of the Royal Air Force at the end of World War I, designed as an improved successor to the Sopwith Camel with better altitude performance and handling.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	6.05 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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

Spot it by:

RFC/RAF biplane fighter successor to the Sopwith Camel
Bentley BR2 rotary engine in circular cowling
Balanced ailerons on both upper and lower wings

Closely resembles the Sopwith Camel but has a more conventional round fuselage cross-section, a more streamlined cowling, and balanced ailerons on all four wing panels rather than ailerons on all four wings like the Camel.

Specifications

The Sopwith Snipe has a length of 6.05 m (20 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.47 m (31 ft).
Its maximum speed is 195 km/h (121 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

First flown in late 1917, the Snipe entered RFC service in October 1918, barely in time to see action in the final weeks of the war; Major William Barker won the Victoria Cross in a Snipe on 27 October 1918 during a remarkable solo engagement against multiple German fighters.

Variants

The standard Snipe was supplemented by the two-seat Dragon trainer; a proposed Snipe Mk.II with a Dragonfly engine was not pursued.

Where you'll see it

Served the RAF after the war as its standard single-seat fighter until 1926 and was exported to Canada; a genuine British type with a well-documented UK service history.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 4,893 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.