Sopwith Tabloid

Sopwith Tabloid

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Tabloid

Tabloid/Schneider

The Sopwith Schneider. The aircraft in the photograph is similar to the Schneider Trophy aircraft which, piloted by Howard Pixton, won the 1914 Schneider Trophy in Monaco.
Role	Sports/Scout Aircraft
Manufacturer	Sopwith Aviation Company
First flight	November 1913
Introduction	1914
Retired	1915
Primary users	Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	40 Tabloid, 160 Schneider

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.

Design and development

The original Tabloid, which first flew in November 1913, 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. The Schneider Racer was sent to the production line, a total of 160 aircraft were built, with little change from the first.

Attempts were made to operate Schneiders from seaplane carriers, including the HMS Ben-my-Chree, but these were unsuccessful. On 6 August 1915 a Schneider took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Campania.

Operational history

Single-seat variants of the Tabloid went into production in 1914 and 36 eventually entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). 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.

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

United Kingdom

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

Some RNAS aircraft fitted with 1 × forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun
2 × 20 lb (9 kg) bombs

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Specifications

See also