| 词条 | Sopwith Snapper | |||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
The Sopwith Snapper was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined biplane designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company to replace the Sopwith Snipe fighter, it first flew after the end of the war, but did not enter service owing to the failure of its engine, only three aircraft being built. Development and designIn 1918, the British Air Ministry developed a requirement for a single-seat fighter to replace the Royal Air Force's Sopwith Snipes, even though the Snipe had yet to enter service. This requirement, RAF Type 1, specified the new ABC Dragonfly air-cooled radial engine, which had been ordered into production in large numbers on the basis of excellent promised performance and ease of production despite the fact that it had yet to complete testing. To meet this requirement, Sopwith produced two new and completely different designs, a triplane (the Sopwith Snark) and a more conventional biplane, which was named the Snapper. The Air Ministry ordered three prototype Snappers, along with three Snarks.[1] (In addition Sopwith received orders for 300 Dragonfly powered Snipes as the Sopwith Dragon). The Snapper was a small single-bay biplane with heavily staggered wings. It was originally intended to have a wooden monocoque fuselage (as did the Sopwith Snail lightweight fighter and the Snark), but this was abandoned to ease production, with a more conventional wire-braced fabric covered fuselage substituted.[2] The cockpit was positioned aft of the wings, providing good visibility to the pilot, while two forward firing synchronised Vickers machine guns were mounted on the fuselage top decking.[3] The change in fuselage design delayed production of the fuselage, with further delays being caused by the engine which was overweight, and suffered from catastrophic reliability and vibration problems. The first Snapper flew at Brooklands in May 1919, soon followed by the other two aircraft.[2] Although performance was good when the Dragonfly was working correctly, the engines problems were unsolvable, with the engine eventually being cancelled in September 1919. Although Sopwith attempted to enter one of the Snappers (with the civil registration K149) into the 1919 Aerial Derby where it was to be flown by Harry Hawker, this was forbidden by the Air Ministry[4] (officially as its engine was still classified as Secret) and the three Snappers were used for test flying by the Royal Aircraft Establishment.[5] Specifications{{aircraft specifications|plane or copter?=plane |jet or prop?=prop |ref=British Aeroplanes 1914-18[6] |crew=One |capacity= |length main=20 ft 7 in |length alt=6.28 m |span main= 28 ft 0 in |span alt=8.54 m |height main=10 ft |height alt=3.05 m |area main=292 ft² |area alt=27.1 m² |airfoil= |empty weight main=1,462 lb |empty weight alt= 665 kg |loaded weight main= 2,190 lb |loaded weight alt= 995 kg |useful load main= |useful load alt= |max takeoff weight main= |max takeoff weight alt= |more general= |engine (prop)=ABC Dragonfly |type of prop=9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine |number of props=1 |power main=360 hp |power alt=269 kW |power original= |max speed main=140 mph |max speed alt=122 knots, 225 km/h |max speed more= at 10,000 ft (3,050 m) |cruise speed main= |cruise speed alt= |never exceed speed main= |never exceed speed alt= |stall speed main= |stall speed alt= |range main= |range alt= |ceiling main= 23,000 ft |ceiling alt= 7,000 m |climb rate main= |climb rate alt= |loading main=7.5 lb/ft² |loading alt=36.7 kg/m² |thrust/weight= |power/mass main=0.16 hp/lb |power/mass alt=0.27 kW/kg |more performance=
|guns=2x forward firing, synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns |avionics= }} See also{{aircontent|related= |similar aircraft=
|lists= |see also= }} Notes1. ^Bruce 1969, p.56. 2. ^1 Mason 1992, p.147. 3. ^Bruce 1957, p.634. 4. ^Flight: 26 June 1919, p.847. 5. ^Bruce 1969, pp.56-57. 6. ^Bruce 1957, p.635. References{{refbegin}}
External links{{commons category|Sopwith Aviation Company}}
3 : British fighter aircraft 1910–1919|Aircraft first flown in 1919|Sopwith aircraft |
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