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 Wallaby Australia and re-built as an 8-seater transport and was used by Australian Aerial Services. Sopwith Wallaby The Sopwith Wallaby was a British single-engined long-range biplane built during 1919 by Sopwith Aviation Company at Kingston upon Thames. The Wallaby was designed to compete in an Australian government £10,000 prize for an England to Australia flight. It was a single-engined biplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine. It had an open cockpit with two seats that could be retracted inside the enclosed cabin. The Wallaby registered "G-EAKS" departed Hounslow on 21 October 1919 for Australia. On 17 April 1920 it crashed