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Sopwith Triplane

1916 WORLD WAR 1

The history of the triplane Sopwith

The Sopwith Triplane (nicknamed "Triplehound" by the pilots) was a three-bladed fighter jet built by the British company Sopwith Aviation, based on the advantages of the successful Sopwith "Pup" biplane (described in detail elsewhere on this page). ). Unlike traditional aviation designs of the time, biplanes were the accepted standard for most major aviation services, and the aircraft sought to combine additional lift and maneuverability by adding a third wing element. This led to the first use of a triplane fighter by the Sopwith triplane.

For a brief period during World War I (1914-1918), the triplane was unrivaled, although with the arrival of the Sopwith Camel biplane - the classic fighter of the war - its eventual demise. From mid-1917, triplanes continued to be used as second-line trainers.

The first prototypes were developed in early 1916 and the first flight was recorded on 28 May 1916. The aircraft's design promises so much that it was brought to the front lines and officially entered service as early as December 1916.

Initial operational use was excellent enough to justify mass production, with approximately 147 eventually delivered - the main operator being the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

In addition to the triplane wing arrangement, the aircraft had traditional qualities of fighter jets of the era - a flat, tapered fuselage, an open-air cockpit, fixed two-wheel landing gear for ground operations, and a Tail spoiler. To reinforce the tri-wing mode, a thick, large strut connects the outboard side of the aircraft, and shorter struts connect the upper wing assembly to the upper fuselage in front of the pilot. The pilot sat directly behind the wing assembly, blocking the view.

However, the triplane excels in maneuverability and rate of climb, giving the pilot a significant advantage in close air firefights.

The weapon usually consists of a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun fired through a synchronizer through the rotating propeller blades. There were some attempts to deploy the twin-gun version, but found the single-gun approach to be more effective - the added weight of adding a second machine gun, as well as the ammunition supply, reduced the overall performance of the fighter.

Power comes from a Clerget 9Z series 9-cylinder rotary engine driving a two-bladed wooden nose propeller. This allows for speeds of 117 mph, and a service cap of up to 20,500 feet. The aircraft has a mission endurance window of 2.75 hours and takes nearly 6 minutes to reach 6,000 feet.

The triplane was excellent early on - the series won over 100 enemy kills for a period in 1917. However, these machines proved complicated to maintain and repair, with steep dives often causing the wing elements to bend.

Its single machine gun also lacked the firepower of other twin-gun contemporaries. Ultimately, these inherent shortcomings resulted in a very short wartime combat career for the triplane on the European battlefield.

Still, there were few equals in his day. In fact, the respect the Germans have for the triplane is enough to reward any German aircraft manufacturer that can offer a similar fighter. Anthony Fokker responded to Fokker Dr. I should be a triplane (detailed elsewhere on this site).

Many other "multi-winged" creations (some just flying monsters, like planes) were also seen during this period, although few saw the light of day.

In addition to serving in the British Navy, Sopwith triplanes have found a home in the inventories of France (navy), Greece (navy, single example), and the Russian Empire (single example). The French received seventeen copies.

The only specimen of the Russian Empire fell into the hands of the Soviet Air Force when it was conquered.