The
Sopwith Triplane was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
single seat
fighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
designed and manufactured by the
Sopwith Aviation CompanyThe Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel...
during the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. Pilots nicknamed it the
Tripehound or simply the
Tripe. The Triplane became operational with the
Royal Naval Air ServiceThe Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
in early 1917 and was immediately successful. The Triplane was nevertheless built in comparatively small numbers and was withdrawn from active service as
Sopwith CamelThe Sopwith Camel was a British World War I single-seat fighter biplane introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It had a combination of a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns...
s arrived in the latter half of 1917. Surviving aircraft continued to serve as operational trainers until the end of the war.
Design and development
The Triplane began as a private venture by the
Sopwith Aviation CompanyThe Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel...
. The
fuselageThe fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
and
empennageEmpennage is an aviation term used to describe the tail portion of an aircraft. The empennage is also known as the tail or tail assembly; all three terms may be interchangeably used. The empennage gives stability to the aircraft and controls the flight dynamics of pitch and yaw...
closely mirrored those of the earlier
PupThe Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the fall of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...
, but chief engineer
Herbert SmithHerbert Smith was a British aircraft designer.Smith joined the Sopwith Aviation Company as a draughtsman in March 1914 and became Sopwith's chief engineer later that year. He designed the Pup, Triplane, Camel, and Snipe...
gave the new aircraft three narrow-
chordIn aeronautics, chord refers to the imaginary straight line joining the trailing edge and the center of curvature of the leading edge of the cross-section of an airfoil...
wings to provide the pilot with an improved field of view.
AileronFor the band with a similar name, see The AileronsAilerons are hinged control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll...
s were fitted to all three wings. By using the variable incidence
tailplaneA tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
, the aircraft could be trimmed to fly hands-off. The introduction of a smaller 8 ft span tailplane in February 1917 improved elevator response.
The Triplane was initially powered by the 110 hp
ClergetThe Clerget was an early rotary aircraft engine. Manufactured in both Great Britain and France, it was used on such aircraft as the Sopwith Camel....
9Z nine-cylinder
rotary engineThe rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary and the entire cylinder block rotated around it...
, but most production examples were fitted with the 130 hp Clerget 9B rotary. At least one Triplane was tested with a 110 hp Le Rhône rotary engine, but this did not provide a significant improvement in performance.
The prototype Triplane, serial N500, first flew on 28 May 1916, with Sopwith test pilot
Harry HawkerHarry George Hawker MBE, AFC, was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft, including the Fury, Sea Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier.-Early life:Hawker was born in Moorabbin,...
at the controls. Within three minutes of takeoff, Hawker startled onlookers by looping the aircraft three times in succession. The Triplane was very agile, with effective, well-harmonised controls. When maneuvering, however, the Triplane presented an unusual appearance. One observer noted that the aircraft looked like "a drunken flight of steps" when rolling.
In July 1916, N500 was sent to
DunkirkDunkirk is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies 10 kilometres from the Belgian border. The population of the city at the 1999 census was 70,850 inhabitants...
for evaluation with "A" Naval Squadron, 1 Naval Wing. It proved highly successful. The second prototype, serial N504, was fitted with a 130 hp Clerget 9B. N504 first flew in August 1916 and was eventually sent to France in December. This aircraft served as a conversion trainer for several squadrons.
Production
Between July 1916 and January 1917, the Admiralty issued two contracts to Sopwith for a total of 95 Triplanes, two contracts to
Clayton & ShuttleworthClayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The company was established in 1842 when Nathaniel Clayton formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph Shuttleworth .-History:...
Ltd. for a total of 46 aircraft, and one contract to Oakley & Co. Ltd. for 25 aircraft. Seeking modern aircraft for the
Royal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance...
, the
War OfficeThe War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
also issued a contract to Clayton & Shuttleworth for 106 Triplanes. In February 1917, the War Office agreed to exchange its Triplane orders for the Admiralty's
SPAD S.VIIThe SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics...
contracts.
Production commenced in late 1916. Sopwith and Clayton & Shuttleworth completed their RNAS production orders, but Oakley, which had no prior experience building aircraft, delivered only three Triplanes before its contract was cancelled in October 1917. For unknown reasons, the RFC Triplane contract issued to Clayton & Shuttleworth was simply cancelled rather than being transferred to the RNAS. Total production amounted to 147 aircraft.
Operational history
No. 1 Naval SquadronNo. 201 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 and is commemorated in the museum on Castle Cornet....
became fully operational with the Triplane by December 1916, but the squadron did not see any significant action until February 1917, when it relocated from
FurnesVeurne is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of Avekapelle, Booitshoeke, Bulskamp, De Moeren, Eggewaartskapelle, Houtem, Steenkerke, Vinkem, Wulveringem, and Zoutenaaie.-Origins to the 15th...
to
ChipillyChipilly is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Chipilly is situated on the D71 road, on the opposite bank of the river Somme from Cerisy, to the east of Amiens and from Albert.-Population:-External links:*...
.
No. 8 Naval SquadronNo 208 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:The squadron was established as part of the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916 at Dunkirk as No. 8 Squadron. In its earlier days, the unit flew Sopwith Pups,...
received its Triplanes in February 1917. Nos.
9No. 209 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 as No. 9 Squadron RNAS and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
and
10No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was last deactivated in 1971.-World War I:...
Naval Squadrons equipped with the type between April and May 1917. The only other major operator of the Triplane was a French naval squadron based at Dunkirk, which received 17 aircraft.
The Triplane's combat debut was highly successful. The new fighter's exceptional rate of climb and high service ceiling gave it a marked advantage over the
Albatros D.IIIThe Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
, though the Triplane was slower in a dive. The Germans were so impressed by the performance of the Triplane that it spawned a brief triplane craze among German aircraft manufacturers, resulting in no fewer than 34 different prototypes.
The Triplane was famously flown by
No. 10 Naval Squadron'sNo. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was last deactivated in 1971.-World War I:...
"B" Flight, better known as "Black Flight." This all-
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
flight was commanded by the ace
Raymond CollishawAir Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, DSC, DFC, RAF was a distinguished Canadian fighter pilot, squadron leader, and commanding officer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest scoring RNAS flying ace and the second highest...
. Their aircraft, named
Black Maria,
Black Prince,
Black George,
Black Death and
Black Sheep, were distinguishable by their black-painted fins and cowlings. Black Flight claimed 87 German aircraft in three months while equipped with the Triplane. Collishaw himself scored 34 of his eventual 60 victories in the aircraft, making him the top Triplane ace.
Withdrawal from service
For a variety of reasons, the Triplane's combat career was comparatively brief. In service, the Triplane proved difficult to repair. The fuel and oil tanks were inaccessible without substantial disassembly of the wings and fuselage. Even relatively minor repairs had to be made at rear echelon repair depots. Moreover, spare parts became difficult to obtain during the summer of 1917, and No. 1 Naval Squadron's complement was reduced from 18 to 15 aircraft.
The Triplane also gained a reputation for structural weakness because the wings sometimes collapsed in steep dives. This defect was attributed to the use of light gauge bracing wires in the 46 aircraft built by subcontractor Clayton & Shuttleworth. Several pilots of No. 10 Naval Squadron used cables or additional wires to strengthen their Triplanes. In 1918, the RAF issued a technical order for the installation of a spanwise compression strut between the inboard cabane struts of surviving Triplanes. One aircraft, serial N5912, was fitted with additional mid-bay
flying wiresThe flying wires of an aircraft work in conjunction with other wing components such as spars and interplane struts to transmit flight loads. Most commonly used on biplane aircraft they are also used on monoplanes and triplanes...
on the upper wing while used as a trainer.
Another drawback of the Triplane was its light armament. While contemporary Albatros fighters were armed with two guns, most Triplanes were armed with a single
synchronizedAn interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
Vickers machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six- to eight-man team to operate: one to fire, one to feed the ammunition, and the...
. Efforts to fit twin guns to the Triplane met with mixed results. Clayton & Shuttleworth built six experimental Triplanes with twin guns. Some of these aircraft saw combat service with Nos. 1 and 10 Naval Squadrons in July 1917, but performance was reduced and the single gun remained standard. Triplanes built by Oakley would have featured twin guns, an engineering change which severely delayed production.
In June 1917,
No. 4 Naval SquadronNo. 204 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918 near Dunkerque, France, from No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service.- UN sanctions against Rhodesia :...
received the first Sopwith Camels and the advantages of the sturdier, better-armed fighter quickly became evident. Nos. 8 and 9 Naval Squadrons transitioned to the Camel between early July and early August 1917. No. 10 Naval Squadron converted in late August, turning over its remaining Triplanes to No. 1 Naval Squadron. No. 1 operated Triplanes until December, suffering heavy casualties as a consequence. By the end of 1917, surviving Triplanes were used as advanced trainers with
No. 12 Naval SquadronNo. 212 Squadron RAF is an inactive Royal Air Force aircraft squadron.The squadron was first formed as No. 12 Squadron RNAS as a training unit within No 1 Wing of the Royal Naval Air Service at Hondschoote on 8 June 1917...
.
Survivors and modern reproductions
Only two authentic Sopwith Triplanes remain in existence. N5912 was one of three aircraft built by Oakley & Co. Ltd. and delivered in late 1917. The aircraft saw no combat service and instead served with No.2 School of Aerial Fighting and Gunnery at Marske. After the war, the
Imperial War MuseumThe Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
displayed the aircraft in a temporary exhibition until 1924. In 1936, the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
acquired and restored the aircraft, flying it in several RAF Pageants at
HendonHendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in Hendon, north London, England that, between 1908 and 1968, was an important centre for aviation.It was situated in Colindale, seven miles north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became "the Charing Cross of the UK's international air routes", but for the...
. Today, N5912 is preserved at the
RAF MuseumThe Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the British Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and a registered charity...
, Hendon.
N5486 was supplied to the Russian Government for evaluation in May 1917. In Russia, the aircraft was fitted with skis and used operationally. N5486 is preserved at the
Central Air Force MuseumThe Central Air Force Museum in Monino at the site of Monino Airfield 40km east of Moscow, Russia, is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Russian aircraft. 173 aircraft and 127 aircraft engines are on display, and the museum also features collections of weapons,...
,
MoninoMonino is an urban-type settlement in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated 38 km east of Moscow. Population: 20,017 ; 18,582 ....
, Russia.
The popularity of the Triplane has resulted in numerous modern reproductions, built by both museums and individual enthusiasts. Northern Aeroplane Workshops built a notable reproduction for the
Shuttleworth CollectionThe Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well preserved aircraft.- History :...
. The aircraft is painted to represent
Dixie II, serial N6290, of
No. 8 Naval SquadronNo 208 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:The squadron was established as part of the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916 at Dunkirk as No. 8 Squadron. In its earlier days, the unit flew Sopwith Pups,...
. In recognition of the reproduction's remarkable authenticity, Sir
Thomas SopwithSir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS was an English aviation pioneer and a celebrated yachtsman.-Early life:...
decreed it to be a “late production” Triplane.
Operators
- French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military...
(17 aircraft)
Russian Empire
- Imperial Russian Air Force
The Imperial Russian Air Force existed in the Russian Empire between 1910 and 1917.The origins of Russian aviation go back to theoretical projects of the 1880s by pioneer Russian scientists such as Nikolai Kibalchich and Alexander Mozhaisky.During the 1890s aviation innovation was further advanced...
(1 aircraft)
- Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
- No. 1 Naval Squadron
No. 201 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 and is commemorated in the museum on Castle Cornet....
- No. 8 Naval Squadron
No 208 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:The squadron was established as part of the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916 at Dunkirk as No. 8 Squadron. In its earlier days, the unit flew Sopwith Pups,...
- No. 9 Naval Squadron
No. 209 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 as No. 9 Squadron RNAS and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
- No. 10 Naval Squadron
No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was last deactivated in 1971.-World War I:...
- No. 11 Naval Squadron
Active in the Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1919 and from 1937 to 1946, in World War II No 211 Squadron RAF operated as a medium bomber unit in the Middle East and Far East and later as a strike fighter unit in the Far East...
- No. 12 Naval Squadron
No. 212 Squadron RAF is an inactive Royal Air Force aircraft squadron.The squadron was first formed as No. 12 Squadron RNAS as a training unit within No 1 Wing of the Royal Naval Air Service at Hondschoote on 8 June 1917...
- "A" Naval Squadron
Specifications (Clerget 9B-engined variant)
See also
- Triplane
A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three sets of wings, each roughly the same size and mounted one above the other. Traditionally, vertical wings, elevators, and canards are not included in this count...
External links