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 Snapper other two aircraft. Although performance was good when the Dragonfly was working correctly, the engines problems were unsolvable, with the engine eventually being cancelled in September 1919. Although Sopwith attempted to enter one of the Snappers (with the civil registration "K149") into the 1919 Aerial Derby where it was to be flown by Harry Hawker, this was forbidden by the Air Ministry (officially as its engine was still classified as Secret) and the three Snappers were used for test flying by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. Sopwith Snapper The Sopwith Snapper was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World