Sopwith Cuckoo

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Sopwith Cuckoo
Sopwith Cuckoo
Description
Role	torpedo bomber
Crew
First flight	June 1917
Entered service	September 1918
Manufacturer	Sopwith Aviation Company
Dimensions
Length	ft in	m
Wingspan	ft in	m
Height	ft in	m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	kg
Loaded	lb	kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines
Power	hp	kW
Performance
Maximum speed	mph	km/h
Combat range	miles	km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	ft	m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Bombs
Other

The Sopwith Cuckoo was a bi-plane torpedo bomber used by the British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), and its successor organisation, the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Cuckoo was built by the Sopwith Aviation Company, better known for making the Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Pup. Though the Cuckoo would also prove to be a good design, it had only a relatively brief career.

It first flew in June 1917, with the first Cuckoos being delivered in September 1918, meaning the Cuckoo was too late to be involved in the First World War. Though, in October 1918, there was a plan made by Admiral Sir David Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, to attack the German High Seas Fleet at harbour using the Cuckoos which would have flown off the new carrier HMS Argus. However, the plan was rejected and the war was already ending. A similar operation, launched by Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet would take place in 1940, against the Italian Fleet at Taranto, which would prove successful.

Over three hundred Cuckoos were ordered, but like many aircraft in production at the end of the First World War, high numbers of the Cuckoo ordered were cancelled. Over 140 of the type were produced, though less than 100 of them entered service with the RAF. The Cuckoo was the first land plane designed to operate off warships for use as a torpedo-bomber, its wings being foldable. It carried a single 18 inch (457 mm) torpedo under its fuselage. It was powered by a 200 hp (150 kW) Sunbeam Arab piston engine, had a max speed of just over 100 mph (160 km/h), her endurance was just over three hours and her range was over 400 miles (640 km). By 1 April 1923, the Cuckoo's career was over and the last squadron to use her, No. 210 Squadron RAF, was disbanded.

[edit] Squadrons that operated the Cuckoo

No. 185 Squadron RAF - Used Cuckoo from October 1918 but was disbanded the following year.
No. 186 Squadron RAF - Used Cuckoo from late 1918. Was renamed 210 Squadron in 1920.
No. 210 Squadron RAF - Formed in 1920 from 186 Squadron, and continued to use the Cuckoo until the 1st April 1923 when it disbanded.