Sopwith's Three-Winged Marvel | The Sopwith Triplane

It is said the Sopwith Triplane was once described as "a drunken flight of steps," to look at, however as a fighter it was anything but. Instead, it was a highly maneuverable fighter plane with a great rate of climb, making it a formidable dogfighter. On its appearance over the Western Front in early 1917 it was a match for any of the current German fighters, striking fear in the German high command. It caused so much concern that the German's issued their own requirement for a triplane resulting in the famous Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker.

Flown only by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Sopwith Triplane would have only a brief service career before being replaced by the Sopwith Camel. Still, it proved to be one of the best fighters of the First World War.

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Images:
Imperial War Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives
Australian War Memorial

Books:
Profile Publications No.073: Sopwith Triplane
Sources:
BAE Systems: https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritag...
Museum of Flight: http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraf...
RAF Museum:
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research...
Roden: http://www.roden.eu/HTML/609.html
The Aerodrome: http://www.theaerodrome.com/aircraft/...
The Vintage Aviator: https://thevintageaviator.co.nz/proje...

00:00 - 1:00 - The Design
1:00 - 1:33 - The Prototype
1:33 - 1:54 - Characteristics
1:54 - 2:13 - Combat Trials
2:13 - 3:08 - Into Service
3:08 - 3:35 - RFC and RNAS Agreement
3:35 - 3:58 - Dogfighting
3:58 - 4:29 - B Flight
4:29 - 5:12 - Replacement
5:12 - 5:36 - Exports
5:36 - 6:19 - Production & Survivors
6:19 - 6:46 - Conclusion
#ww1 #aviationhistory #aviation #ww1aircraft #sopwith #flying #triplane #history #britishhistory