| Sopwith Type 807 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Reconnaissance seaplane |
| Manufacturer | Sopwith Aviation Company |
| First flight | 1914 |
| Primary user | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Number built | 12 |
The Sopwith Admiralty Type 807 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company.
In July 1914, Sopwith produced a two-bay tractor biplane powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine to compete in the 1914 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain race for seaplanes.[1] It was fitted with folding wings, using a mechanism licensed from Short Brothers,[2] and made its maiden flight as a landplane on 16 July 1914, before being fitted with its planned floatplane undercarriage.[1] The outbreak of the First World War caused the Circuit of Britain aircraft to be purchased by the RNAS in August 1914.[1]
Sopwith developed the Circuit of Britain aircraft into a landplane (the Sopwith Two-Seat Scout) and a floatplane that became known as the Type 807.[3] First flown in November 1914 the Type 807 was two-bay unswept biplane with unequal span wings. It had twin strut-mounted floats under the fuselage and a float mounted under the tail. It was powered by a nose-mounted 100hp (75kW) Gnome Monosoupape engine. It had two tandem open cockpits with the observer in the forward cockpit under the upper wing leading edge and the pilot in the rear cockpit under the upper wing trailing edge. It was sometime referred to as the Sopwith Folder due to them being fitted with a Short Brothers designed folding mechanism for the wings.
The Circuit of Britain aircraft was given the serial number 896 when it was taken over by the Royal Navy. Its undercarriage was damaged in September, causing it to be refitted with a landplane undercarriage. It was used as a trainer until 22 June 1915.[1]
Twelve Type 807s were ordered by the RNAS.[3] Three of them formed part of the embarked air wing aboard the seaplane carrier HMS Ark Royal when it sailed for the Dardanelles in February 1915. They were used as reconnaissance aircraft, but proved to be underpowered, with fragile floats.[4]
General characteristics
Armament
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