Thomas Sopwith Flying at Brooklands. In June 1912 Sopwith, along with Fred Sigrist and others, set up the Sopwith Aviation Company, initially at Brooklands. On 24 October 1912 using a Wright Model B completely rebuilt by Sopwith and fitted with an ABC 40 hp engine, Harry Hawker took the British Michelin Endurance prize with a flight of 8h 23m. Sopwith Aviation got its first military aircraft order in November 1912, and in December moved to larger premises in Kingston upon Thames. The company produced more than 18,000 World War I aircraft for the allied forces, including 5747 of the Sopwith Camel single-seat
Sopwith Admiralty Type C landing a few days later on 8 February. The two survivors, 157 and 159, were withdrawn from service at the end of 1915. Sopwith Admiralty Type C The Sopwith Admiralty Type C was an early British seaplane designed and built by Sopwith Aviation to drop torpedoes. A single engined tractor biplane seaplane, three were delivered to the Royal Navy in November 1914 but proved unable to lift a torpedo. The Admiralty had ordered a special torpedo carrying biplane (the Sopwith Special torpedo seaplane Type C, serial number "170") in February 1914 and followed it with an order in July 1914