Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter

Deriving its extraordinary appellation from a characteristic arrangement of cabane struts - a name that was initially unofficial, but came to be accepted as a result of common usage - the 1 1/2-Strutter was both the first British aircraft to be built with a synchronised gun as standard equipment and the first true two-seat fighter to see RFC service. Designed and built for the Admiralty, the unarmed prototype was completed in December 1915, and series deliveries to the RNAS followed from February 1916. A single-bay biplane of wooden construction with fabric skinning, the 1 1/2-Strutter featured air brakes in the lower wing and an adjustable-incidence tailplane. At an early production stage, armament was standardised on a synchronised 7.7mm gun with a second weapon of similar calibre on a Scarff ring mounting in the rear cockpit. The 1 1/2-Strutter was used by the RNAS in both escort and (without observer) bombing roles, and 77 of the first 150 aircraft ordered by the Admiralty were transferred to the RFC owing to the exigencies of the times. A single-seat bomber version of the lVfc-Strutter was built in parallel, some examples of this variant being converted as two-seat fighters. Initial production aircraft were powered by the 110hp Clerget 9Z ninecylinder rotary engine, but, in the autumn of 1916, this gave place to a 130hp Clerget 9B. At least 1,513 1 1/2-Strutters were built in the UK (by the parent company, Fairey Aviation, Hooper & Co, Mann, Egerton & Co, Ruston, Proctor & Co, Vickers Ltd, Wells Aviation and Westland Aircraft). The 1 1/2-Strutter was licence-built in France as a single- and two-seat bomber (SOP 1B1 and 1B2) and two-seat reconnaissance aircraft (SOP 1A2), primarily with the 110hp and 135hp Le Rhone 9J and 9Jby nine-cylinder rotaries, 4,500 allegedly being produced by Liore et Olivier, Hanriot, Amiot, Bessoneau, Darracq, REP and Sarazin Freres. The US government procured 514 from France, and others were supplied to Belgium and Imperial Russia.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1278 x 922)