Sopwith Type 860

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Sopwith Type 860
Sopwith 860 equal span wings.jpg
Type 860 No.938 at Woolston, Southampton
General information
Type Torpedo bomber seaplane
Manufacturer Sopwith Aviation Company
Primary user Royal Naval Air Service
Number built22
History
Introduction date1915
First flight 1914
Retired1916

The Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane torpedo bomber designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company.

Contents

Design and development

First flown in December 1914 the Type 860 was an unswept biplane. The upper wings had a strut braced extension and ailerons were fitted on all four wings. It had twin strut-mounted floats under the fuselage and a float mounted under the tail and each wingtip. Some models were powered by a nose-mounted 200 hp 14-cylinder engine; others used a 225 hp (168 kW) Sunbeam Mohawk engine. Both models utilised a two-bladed propeller. It had two tandem open cockpits and could carry one 810 lb (367 kg) torpedo under the fuselage. The Sopwith Admiralty Seaplane Type 860 was built in two versions. The standard version had wings of equal span; the second version had a lower wing of shorter span. In both versions, the wings were designed to fold. The type remained in service with RNAS until at least 1916. [1]

Type 860 No.851 with unequal span wings Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 No.851.jpg
Type 860 No.851 with unequal span wings

Operators

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom

Specifications

General characteristics

Armament
1 x 810 lb (370 kg) 14 inch Whitehead Mk. IX aerial torpedo

See also

Related lists

References

  1. Roots In The Sky – A History of British Aerospace Aircraft, Oliver Tapper (1980), ISBN   061700323 8; p. 20