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 Sociable Sopwith Sociable The Sopwith Sociable (or sometimes Churchill or Tweenie) was a British single-engined two-seat tractor configuration biplane designed and built by Sopwith for the Royal Naval Air Service. The Sociable, so called because the crew were seated side-by side rather than in tandem, was ordered by the British Admiralty for use as a training aircraft by the Royal Naval Air Service. It was two-bay biplane powered by a Gnome Monosoupape radial. The Sociable was given serial number "149" by the Admiralty and first flew from Brooklands on 17 February 1914. Two days after its first flight, the Sociable was