Sopwith Snail Sopwith Snail The Sopwith 8F.1 Snail was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was unsuccessful, being abandoned due to an unreliable engine. The Sopwith 8F.1 Snail was designed by Herbert Smith of Sopwith Aviation Company to meet the Air Board Specification A.1A for a light fighter with superior performance to the Sopwith Camel. Herbert Smith designed a small single-bay biplane, powered by the 170 hp (127 kW) ABC Wasp radial engine. An initial order was placed on 31 October 1917 for six prototypes with a conventional wood and fabric framework structure, but this was revised
Gloster Aircraft Company accommodation. In 1934, Gloster was acquired by another British aircraft manufacturer, Hawker Aircraft. Regardless of this change in ownership, the company continued to produce aircraft under its own brand name. In that same year, Gloster produced one of its most famous aircraft, the Gladiator biplane. The 1935 merger of Hawker Aircraft and the interests of J. D. Siddeley (Armstrong Siddeley and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft) saw Gloster become a part of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft, Ltd. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the firm lacked any modern designs of its own in production, but had significant expertise and production facilities