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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0167.PDF
FEBRUARY 6, 1919 The Sopwith H-strutter bomber (single-seater) the AnnisticeTthe Sopwith Baby Seaplane has been con tinually in service. The 1^-Strutters. (December 12, 1915, and June 7, 1916) The Sopwith 1J -Strutter has claims to great historical distinction, not only for its great capabilities for use as a fighter, but because, indirectly, it set a new fashion in aerial fighting, being the first British aeroplane to carry a syn chronised gun firing through the propeller. The Sopwith- Kauper synchronisation gear which made this possible was developed at the Sopwith works, and was as much a product of this firm as was the machine in which it was installed. It was also fitted with the Scarfe gun ring for the gunner, which has since become such a well-established feature on all fighters. The i|-Stnrtter was originally designed as a high-performance two-seater fighter, with a 100 h.p. Clerget engine. At the time of its introduction it was justly regarded as an extra ordinarily good 'bus, having an excellent performance and a good?manoeuvrability. Incidentally it established a world's altitude record for an altitude of 23,980 ft. In view of its good performance, coupled with its (for the times) excellent armament, the iJ-Strutter had a tremendous success, and it is not surprising that many machines were built to the order of the Governments of Kou mania, Russia, America and Belgium. In addition, it might be mentioned that the French Government has manufactured under licence no less less than 4,500 machines of this model. In addition to the novel points connected with the mounting and firing of the guns carried, the i|-Strutter was interesting in several other respects. Thus the wing bracing—which gave it its name— was very unusual, and in a modified form set a new fashion, so to speak. The top plane was in two halves, bolted to the top of a central cabane, while the spars were provided with an extra support in the shape of shorter struts running from the top longerons to the top plane spars some distance out. In the single«eaters to follow this bracing of the top plane was generally adopted, with the exception that the central cabane was done away with, the outer struts of the W forma tion having a slightly less pronounced slope, and supporting a separate top plane centre section. Aerodynamically the iJ-Strutter is of interest in being fitted with, an air brake in the form of adjustable flaps in the trailing edge et the lower plane adjacent to the fuselage. These flaps could be rotated by the pilot until they were normal to the wind, thus helping to pull the machine up when about to land. A more successful innovation incorporated in this machine was the trimming gear, by means of which the angle of incidence of the tail plane could be altered during flight. In this manner the difference in weight of the passenger carried could be counteracted by the tail setting, and also the tail could be adjusted for high speed, climbing, &c. This feature has since become universal practice on passenger-carrying machines. The 1 J- Strutter Bomber Originally designed as a two-seater fighter, the i^-Strutter was later adopted as a single-seater bomber, and it is the machine which has been so successful in bombing, with good results, such towns as Essen, Munich and Frankfort. For bombing work the iJ-Strutter was equipped with a 130 h.p. Clerget, which afterwards took the place of the no h.p. Clerget in the standard two-seater fighter model. It might also be mentioned that fairly recently the French Govern ment converted a large number of two-seaters into school machines with dual controls.^ These machines are fitter1 with 80 h.p. Le Rhone engines. The Sopwith Pup 167
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