The Sopwith aviation company left a long lasting mark on the landscape of military aviation and their final scout of the war was every bit as memorable. Following the design departure of the Dolphin, which, while very successful wasn’t widely accepted, Sopwith opted to return to their more familiar rotary powered designs. Conceived as a replacement … Continue reading Sopwith’s First World War – Part 8: The Snipe
The Best of British show at Shuttleworth in July this year was a real shining light of the airshow season. There were countless memorable set pieces and visitors but the undoubted had to have been the great war finale. This saw all of the collection's First World War aircraft take to the skies in the … Continue reading Airshow Moments 2015 #13 – WW1 Heaven in Bedfordshire
“Its tricks took some learning……it really had people frightened.” - Arthur Cobby At last this Sopwith story reaches the crucial stage, where Sopwith went from being just one of a number of aircraft manufacturers, to being the one name everyone associates with the conflict. This time we take a look at the “Spitfire of the … Continue reading Sopwith’s First World War – Part 5: The Camel Part 1 – The Legend
I can’t have been the only one to have visited Hendon a number of times over the last few years and only manage to get into the elusive Grahame-White factory once. Up until recently this wonderful 1915 building only opened once or twice a week and only for short periods of time. I always felt … Continue reading First World War In The Air – RAF Museum London
On the 1st December 1910, Glen Curtiss founded the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and with that, a long line of aircraft design and production began. One of the earliest designs to come out of the company was the Curtiss Pusher. Built in a similar fashion to the Wright Flyer, the aircraft was a busy picture of … Continue reading The Curtiss Aeroplane Company
In part 1 of this post, I looked at the evolution of air warfare and fighting aircraft between 1914 and 1916, by which point the Germans very much had the upper hand. However as 1917 went on, things started to turn: Sopwith’s Rise: With Germany having asserted its dominance through the latter part of 1916 … Continue reading 100 Years: We Will Remember – Early Fighters Part 2:
With Remembrance Day having just passed and with this year marking 100 years since the start of the First World War, it seemed fitting to take a look at the aviation side of the conflict: When war broke out in 1914, it was only 11 years on from the Wright Brother's historic first flight, … Continue reading 100 Years: We Will Remember – Early Fighters Part 1:
Warbird Tails 