Sopwith Snapper

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 design

In 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. (In addition Sopwith received orders for 300 Dragonfly powered Snipes as the Sopwith Dragon).