Sopwith Snipe Herbert Smith, the chief designer of the Sopwith Company, began to design a fighter intended to be the replacement for Sopwith's most famous aeroplane, the successful Sopwith Camel. The resultant design, called Snipe by Sopwith, was in its initial form a single-bay biplane, slightly smaller than the Camel, and intended to be powered by similar engines. The pilot sat higher than in the Camel while the centre-section of the upper wing was uncovered, giving a better view from the cockpit. Armament was to be two Vickers machine guns. In the absence of an official order, Sopwith began construction of two
Sopwith B.1 reconnaissance aircraft with folding wings. The initial attempts at modifying the aircraft were not successful, but the B.1 formed the basis of the Port Victoria Grain Griffin, a major redesign of the B.1 with new wings and a wider fuselage. A second B.1 was built in early 1918, being fitted with the elevator control cables routed outside the fuselage in an attempt to improve control. This aircraft was purchased by the RNAS and tested at Martlesham Heath in April–May 1918. Sopwith B.1 The Sopwith B.1 was an experimental British bomber aircraft of the First World War. A single-seat, single-engined biplane,