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Sopwith Tabloid
The Sopwith Tabloid and Schneider were British biplane sports aircraft, one of the first to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The "Tabloid" was so named because it was so small, its performance caused a sensation when it first appeared, surpassing the existing monoplanes of the day.
Contents
Design and development
The original Tabloid, which first flew in November Template:Avyear, was a two-seater with a side-by-side configuration — unusual for the time. It had no ailerons, using wing warping for lateral rolling. It was originally powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Gnôme Monosoupape rotary engine and when tested by Harry Hawker at Farnborough the Tabloid reached 92 mph (148 km/h) while carrying a passenger. It took only one minute to reach 1200 ft (366 m). A total of 40 were built.
On 20 April 1914, a floatplane version of the Tabloid, known as the Sopwith Schneider, powered by a 100-hp (75 kW) Gnôme Monosoupape engine, was piloted by Howard Pixton to win the Schneider Trophy in Monaco.[1] The Schneider Racer was sent to the production line, a total of 160 aircraft were built, with little change from the first.[2]
Attempts were made to operate Schneiders from seaplane carriers, including the HMS Ben-my-Chree, but these were unsuccessful. On 6 August Template:Avyear a Schneider took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Campania.[3]
Operational history
Single-seat variants of the Tabloid went into production in Template:Avyear and 36 eventually entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).[2] Deployed to France at the outbreak of the First World War, Tabloids were used as fast scouts. Some naval aircraft were armed with a Lewis gun on the top wing, firing over the propeller arc. One other aircraft used a Lewis gun firing through the propeller arc with deflector wedges mounted on the propeller blades.
The Tabloid also operated as a bomber. On 22 September 1914, Tabloids mounted the first raid by British aircraft on German soil. In their most famous mission, two RNAS Tabloids flying from Antwerp on 8 October 1914, raided the German Zeppelin sheds at Cologne and Düsseldorf. The Cologne target was not located, the railway station being bombed instead, but the shed at Düsseldorf was struck by two 20 lb bombs dropped from 600 ft and the Zeppelin Z.IX was destroyed.[4]
The Tabloid was withdrawn from service in early 1915.
Variants
- Tabloid
- Original wheeled version
- 1914 Schneider Racer
- Tabloid equipped with floats
- Schneider
- Float equipped, production version of Schneider Racer
- Lebed VII
- Unlicenced copy of the design built by Lebed in Russia as a military reconnaissance aircraft
- Lebed VIII
- As Lebed VII but with revised undercarriage
Operators
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Length: 7.02 m (23 ft)
- Wingspan: 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in)
- Height: 3.05 m (10 ft)
- Wing area: 22.39 m² (241 ft²)
- Empty weight: 545 kg (1,200 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 717 kg (1,580 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Gnôme Monosoupape 9-cylinder rotary engine, 75 kW (100 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 148 km/h (92 mph, 80 knots)
- Range: 510 km (315 miles, 275 nm)
- Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,000 ft)
Armament
See also
Related development
- Sopwith Schneider
- Sopwith Baby
Related lists
- List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
- List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps
- List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
Lists relating to aviation | |
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| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
References
- Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith Tabloid, Schneider and Baby: Historic Military Aircraft No.17, Part I". Flight. 8 November 1957. pp. 733-736.
- Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith Tabloid, Schneider and Baby: Historic Military Aircraft No.17, Part II". Flight. 15 November 1957. pp. 765-766.
- Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith Tabloid, Schneider and Baby: Historic Military Aircraft No.17, Part IV". Flight. 29 November 1957. pp. 845-848.
- The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft: pg. (1997). Ed. Donald, David. Prospero Books. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- Holmes, Tony (2005). Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0 0071 9292 4.
- Lamberton, W.M. (1960). Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Herts: Harleyford Publications Ltd., 58–59.
- Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London:Putnam, Fourth edition, 1978. ISBN 0 370 30021 1.
Template:Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft Template:Lebed aircraft
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
de:Sopwith Tabloid es:Sopwith Tabloid it:Sopwith Schneider ja:ソッピース タブロイド pl:Sopwith Tabloid
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sopwith Tabloid". |
