{"id":21114,"date":"2026-08-14T21:57:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/?page_id=21114"},"modified":"2026-08-14T21:57:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:57:49","slug":"sopwith-snipe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sopwith Snipe"},"content":{"rendered":"<style> html{overflow-x:hidden} body.page-id-21114{overflow-x:hidden} body.page-id-21114 h1.entry-title.main_title{display:none} body.page-id-21114 #sidebar{display:none} body.page-id-21114 #left-area{width:100%!important;float:none;padding:0} body.page-id-21114 #main-content .container::before{display:none!important;background:none!important} body.page-id-21114 #main-content .container{padding-top:0} #mfam{width:100vw;margin-left:calc(50% - 50vw);overflow:hidden;font-family:'Gilroy regular',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;background:#fff;font-size:17px;line-height:1.7} #mfam *{box-sizing:border-box} #mfam h1,#mfam h2,#mfam h3,#mfam h4{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;line-height:1.2;margin:0} #mfam a{color:#3568e0;text-decoration:none} #mfam a:hover{text-decoration:underline} #mfam .wrap{max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto;padding:0 22px} #mfam .crumb{max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto;padding:18px 22px 0;font-size:13px;color:#6b7482} #mfam .crumb a{color:#6b7482} #mfam .crumb span{color:#c2c9d4;margin:0 6px} #mfam .hero{position:relative;width:100%;min-height:78vh;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;overflow:hidden;background:#0d1117} #mfam .hero-media{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;opacity:.62} #mfam .hero:after{content:\"\";position:absolute;inset:0;background:linear-gradient(180deg,rgba(9,13,23,.15) 0%,rgba(9,13,23,.35) 45%,rgba(9,13,23,.88) 100%)} #mfam .hero-in{position:relative;z-index:2;max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto;width:100%;padding:0 22px 46px} #mfam .kicker{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:2.5px;font-size:13px;color:#8fb4ff;margin-bottom:14px} #mfam .hero h1{color:#fff;font-size:56px;letter-spacing:-.5px;margin-bottom:12px} #mfam .hero .sub{color:#e7ecf4;font-size:20px;max-width:760px;line-height:1.55} #mfam .statstrip{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:0;margin-top:30px;border-top:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.22)} #mfam .stat{flex:1;min-width:150px;padding:18px 20px 4px 0} #mfam .stat .n{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';color:#fff;font-size:30px;display:block;line-height:1.1} #mfam .stat .t{color:#aebbcf;font-size:13px;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:1px;display:block;margin-top:5px} #mfam .chips{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;padding:26px 22px 8px;max-width:1080px;margin:0 auto} #mfam .chip{display:inline-block;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#f6f8fb;color:#0d1117;font-size:14px;padding:8px 14px;line-height:1.3} #mfam .chip b{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-weight:normal} #mfam .chip.fly{background:#5C91FF;border-color:#5C91FF;color:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold'} #mfam .chip.fly a{color:#fff} #mfam section{padding:50px 0} #mfam .divider{border:0;border-top:1px solid #e2e7ee;margin:0} #mfam h2.rh{font-size:34px;letter-spacing:-.3px;margin-bottom:8px} #mfam .rk{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:2px;font-size:12px;color:#5C91FF;margin-bottom:12px} #mfam .rp{font-size:17px;color:#2b333f;margin-top:16px;max-width:820px} #mfam .lede{font-size:20px;line-height:1.6;color:#1a212c;max-width:840px} #mfam .pull{border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:8px 0 8px 22px;margin:30px 0;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:23px;line-height:1.4;color:#0d1117;max-width:820px} #mfam .pull cite{display:block;font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-style:normal;font-size:15px;color:#6b7482;margin-top:10px} #mfam figure{margin:0} #mfam .ph{margin:30px 0} #mfam .ph img{width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border:1px solid #e2e7ee} #mfam .ph figcaption,#mfam .credit{font-size:13px;color:#6b7482;margin-top:8px;line-height:1.5} #mfam .deepset{margin-top:26px;border-top:1px solid #e2e7ee} #mfam details.deep{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee} #mfam details.deep>summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:18px;padding:20px 0;position:relative} #mfam details.deep>summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none} #mfam details.deep .num{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:34px;color:#d5dbe6;line-height:1;min-width:52px} #mfam details.deep .go{flex:1} #mfam details.deep .go h3{font-size:20px;padding-top:5px} #mfam details.deep .tag{position:absolute;right:0;top:22px;font-size:26px;color:#5C91FF;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';line-height:1} #mfam details.deep[open] .tag{transform:rotate(45deg)} #mfam details.deep .deep{padding:0 0 24px 70px;font-size:17px;color:#2b333f} #mfam details.deep .deep p{margin:0 0 14px} #mfam .cards3{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:22px;margin-top:30px} #mfam .ecard{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:26px 22px;background:#fff} #mfam .ecard .num{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:15px;color:#5C91FF;letter-spacing:1px} #mfam .ecard h3{font-size:20px;margin:12px 0 10px} #mfam .ecard p{font-size:15.5px;color:#2b333f;margin:0;line-height:1.6} #mfam .specgrid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:30px;margin-top:24px} #mfam table.spectable{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:16px} #mfam table.spectable caption{text-align:left;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:18px;padding-bottom:10px;color:#0d1117} #mfam table.spectable th{text-align:left;font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-weight:normal;color:#6b7482;padding:11px 0;border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f5;width:48%;vertical-align:top} #mfam table.spectable td{text-align:right;font-family:'Gilroy regular';font-weight:normal;color:#0d1117;padding:11px 0;border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f5;vertical-align:top} #mfam .finenote{font-size:13.5px;color:#6b7482;margin-top:14px;line-height:1.55} #mfam .tl{margin-top:24px;border-left:2px solid #e2e7ee;padding-left:0} #mfam .tl-item{position:relative;padding:0 0 26px 34px;margin-left:8px} #mfam .tl-item:before{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:-7px;top:4px;width:12px;height:12px;background:#5C91FF;border:2px solid #fff;box-shadow:0 0 0 1px #5C91FF} #mfam .tl-item .yr{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';color:#0d1117;font-size:18px} #mfam .tl-item p{margin:4px 0 0;font-size:16px;color:#2b333f} #mfam .car{position:relative;margin-top:26px} #mfam .track{display:flex;gap:20px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-behavior:smooth;padding-bottom:10px;scrollbar-width:thin} #mfam .track>p{display:contents} #mfam .mscard{flex:0 0 340px;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#fff;padding:24px 22px} #mfam .mscard .yr{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';color:#5C91FF;font-size:13px;letter-spacing:1px;text-transform:uppercase} #mfam .mscard h3{font-size:19px;margin:10px 0 10px} #mfam .mscard p{font-size:15px;color:#2b333f;margin:0;line-height:1.6} #mfam .cbtn{position:absolute;top:-58px;right:0;display:flex;gap:8px} #mfam .cbtn button{width:44px;height:44px;border:none;background:#5C91FF;color:#fff;font-size:22px;cursor:pointer;border-radius:0;line-height:1} #mfam .cbtn button:hover{background:#3568e0} #mfam .gal{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:16px;margin-top:24px} #mfam .gal figure{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#fff} #mfam .gal img{width:100%;height:230px;object-fit:cover;display:block} #mfam .gal figcaption{font-size:12.5px;color:#6b7482;padding:9px 12px;line-height:1.45} #mfam .vidwrap{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;margin-top:24px;border:1px solid #e2e7ee} #mfam .vidwrap iframe{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%} #mfam .cstat{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(4,1fr);gap:18px;margin-top:26px} #mfam .cstat .combat{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:22px 18px;background:#f6f8fb} #mfam .cstat .combat .n{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:30px;color:#0d1117;display:block} #mfam .cstat .combat .t{font-size:13.5px;color:#6b7482;margin-top:6px;display:block;line-height:1.4} #mfam .qa{margin-top:24px} #mfam details.q{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee} #mfam details.q>summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:20px 40px 20px 0;position:relative;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:18px;color:#0d1117} #mfam details.q>summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none} #mfam details.q>summary:after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:6px;top:18px;color:#5C91FF;font-size:24px;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold'} #mfam details.q[open]>summary:after{content:\"\\2013\"} #mfam details.q .qa-body{padding:0 0 22px;font-size:16.5px;color:#2b333f;line-height:1.7;max-width:840px} #mfam details.q .qa-body p{margin:0 0 12px} #mfam .cta{background:#0d1117;color:#fff} #mfam .cta h2{color:#fff;font-size:32px} #mfam .cta .rp{color:#c2ccda} #mfam .flycar{display:flex;gap:18px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-behavior:smooth;padding-bottom:8px;margin-top:26px;scrollbar-width:thin} #mfam .flycard{flex:0 0 300px;background:#161c27;border:1px solid #262e3b;padding:24px 22px;display:block;color:#fff} #mfam .flycard:hover{border-color:#5C91FF;text-decoration:none} #mfam .flycard .k{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';color:#5C91FF;font-size:12px;letter-spacing:1.5px;text-transform:uppercase;display:block} #mfam .flycard .h{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:20px;color:#fff;display:block;margin:12px 0 8px} #mfam .flycard .d{font-size:14.5px;color:#aebbcf;display:block;line-height:1.55} #mfam .flycard .go{color:#5C91FF;font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:14px;display:block;margin-top:14px} #mfam .relgrid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:22px;margin-top:24px} #mfam .relgrid>p{display:contents} #mfam .rel{border:1px solid #e2e7ee;background:#fff;display:block;color:#0d1117} #mfam .rel:hover{border-color:#5C91FF;text-decoration:none} #mfam .rel span{display:block} #mfam .rel .rk{padding:18px 20px 0;margin:0} #mfam .rel .rh{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-size:20px;padding:8px 20px 4px} #mfam .rel .rp{font-size:14.5px;color:#2b333f;padding:0 20px 20px;margin:0} #mfam .srclist{columns:2;column-gap:40px;margin-top:22px} #mfam .srclist li{break-inside:avoid;margin-bottom:16px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5;list-style:none} #mfam .srclist li b{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold';font-weight:normal;display:block;color:#0d1117} #mfam .srclist li span{color:#6b7482;font-size:13.5px} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .snipe-toggle:hover{border-color:#999!important} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .snipe-toggle:not(.active){color:#999!important;border-color:#E0E0E0!important} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .snipe-toggle:not(.active) .snipe-check{opacity:0!important} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country{fill:#E8ECF1;stroke:#C8D0DA;stroke-width:.4;transition:fill .3s,stroke .3s} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country:hover{stroke-width:1;stroke:#999} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country.cat-migflug{fill:#5C91FF;stroke:#3A6FD8;stroke-width:.7} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country.cat-combat{fill:url(#camo-pattern);stroke:#4A6741;stroke-width:.7} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country.cat-current{fill:#555;stroke:#333;stroke-width:.7} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .country.cat-former{fill:#C0C0C0;stroke:#999;stroke-width:.5} #mfam #snipe-tooltip .tt-name{font-size:15px;font-weight:700;display:block;margin-bottom:4px} #mfam #snipe-tooltip .tt-cat{font-size:11px;font-weight:400;color:#aaa;display:block;margin-bottom:6px;letter-spacing:.3px} #mfam #snipe-tooltip .tt-fleet{font-size:12px;font-weight:600;color:#ccc;display:block;margin-bottom:4px} #mfam #snipe-tooltip .tt-desc{font-size:12px;color:#ccc;line-height:1.5;display:block} @media(max-width:900px){ #mfam .cards3{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .specgrid{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .gal{grid-template-columns:repeat(2,1fr)} #mfam .cstat{grid-template-columns:repeat(2,1fr)} #mfam .relgrid{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .srclist{columns:1} #mfam .hero h1{font-size:38px} #mfam h2.rh{font-size:27px} } @media(max-width:600px){ #mfam #snipe-map-widget .snipe-toggle{padding:6px 10px!important;font-size:12px!important;gap:5px!important} #mfam #snipe-map-widget .snipe-toggle div{width:12px!important;height:12px!important} #mfam #snipe-controls{gap:6px!important} #mfam #snipe-count{font-size:13px!important} #mfam #snipe-tooltip{max-width:calc(100vw - 32px)!important;font-size:12px!important;padding:8px 12px!important} } <\/style>\n<div id=\"mfam\">\n<nav class=\"crumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/\">Home<\/a><span>\/<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/\">Aircraft Museum<\/a><span>\/<\/span>Sopwith Snipe<\/nav>\n<div class=\"hero\"><img data-opt-id=526159615  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" class=\"hero-media\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%201024%22%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221024%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221024%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Airworthy Sopwith Snipe reproduction in flight, showing its two-bay biplane wings and rotary engine\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"hero-in\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">First World War Fighter &middot; 1918<\/div>\n<h1>Sopwith Snipe<\/h1>\n<p class=\"sub\">The Sopwith Camel&rsquo;s successor: a tougher, kinder, higher-flying rotary fighter that reached the Western Front in the war&rsquo;s last weeks &mdash; and then became the standard fighter of the peacetime Royal Air Force.<\/p>\n<div class=\"statstrip\">\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">~195 km\/h<\/span><span class=\"t\">Top speed<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">230 hp<\/span><span class=\"t\">Bentley BR2 rotary<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">2<\/span><span class=\"t\">Vickers guns<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">1918&ndash;26<\/span><span class=\"t\">RAF service<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"chips\"><span class=\"chip\"><b>Role:<\/b> Single-seat fighter<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Era:<\/b> First World War &amp; early post-war (1918&ndash;1926)<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Engine:<\/b> Bentley BR2 rotary<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Origin:<\/b> United Kingdom<\/span><span class=\"chip\"><b>Status:<\/b> Retired &middot; originals preserved, reproductions fly<\/span><a class=\"chip fly\" href=\"#faq\">Can you fly a Sopwith Snipe?<\/a><\/div>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">The story<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s story: the fighter that outlived the war it was built for<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lede\">The Sopwith Snipe was designed to do one job &mdash; to replace the Sopwith Camel, the most successful and most feared British fighter of the First World War. What is remarkable is not that it managed it in a few short weeks of front-line fighting in 1918, but that it did the job so well the Royal Air Force kept flying Snipes for the best part of a decade after the guns fell silent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">By 1917 the Camel had made its reputation. It was small, savagely manoeuvrable and lethal in the right hands &mdash; and treacherous in the wrong ones. Its concentrated mass and powerful rotary engine gave it a vicious swing that killed inexperienced pilots in training as readily as it killed Germans over the lines. Sopwith&rsquo;s chief designer Herbert Smith was asked for something better: a fighter with the Camel&rsquo;s fighting qualities but without its worst vices, able to climb higher and fight in the thin air where combat was increasingly taking place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">The answer was the Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe. On the surface it looked like a slightly larger, rounder Camel &mdash; a compact single-bay biplane with a rotary engine and twin Vickers guns. But the differences that mattered were in how it flew. The Snipe was more docile and forgiving than the Camel, sturdier in the air, and it gave the pilot a far better view over a wider, more sensible cockpit. Crucially, its new Bentley BR2 rotary engine of around 230 horsepower let it perform where the Camel struggled: at height.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">It is important to be honest about what the Snipe was and was not. It was not a dramatically faster aeroplane than the best fighters of late 1918 &mdash; its top speed of roughly 195 km\/h (about 121 mph) was respectable rather than startling, and on straight-line pace alone it did not eclipse types like the S.E.5a or the German Fokker D.VII. What set it apart was the whole package: a fighter that was easy and safe to fly, tough, well-armed, and comfortable at altitude, in the hands of a service that badly needed a single standard fighter it could train pilots on and rely upon. As an all-round combat aircraft it was a genuine improvement on the Camel, and pilots liked it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ph\"><img data-opt-id=88010684  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1024\/h:751\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-wwi-period-photograph.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201024%20751%22%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22751%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22751%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe fighter of the Royal Air Force during the First World War\"><figcaption>A Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe during the First World War. British official photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"rp\">The catch was timing. The Snipe reached front-line squadrons only in the last weeks of the war. The first units re-equipped in the autumn of 1918, and by the Armistice on 11 November only a handful of squadrons &mdash; among them Nos. 43 and 208 of the RAF and No. 4 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps &mdash; had taken the type into action. Roughly 500 Snipes had been delivered by the end of the war, a fraction of the thousands on order. Its wartime career was, by any measure, brief.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">Yet into that brief window fell one of the most celebrated single combats in the history of air fighting. On 27 October 1918, Major William George &ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Barker, a Canadian already among the most decorated airmen of the war, took a Snipe up alone over the Foret de Mormal and ran into a large formation of German fighters. In the running battle that followed he was hit again and again &mdash; wounded in both thighs and with his left elbow shattered &mdash; fainting, recovering, and fighting on. He shot down several of his attackers before crash-landing inside Allied lines, and lived. For that fight he was awarded the Victoria Cross. It became the stuff of legend, and the Snipe was the aircraft that carried him through it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pull\">&ldquo;A tougher, kinder Camel that could fight where the air was thin &mdash; and reliable enough that the peacetime RAF made it the standard.&rdquo;<cite>A fair summary of how the Sopwith Snipe was regarded in service<\/cite><\/div>\n<p class=\"rp\">The war ended before the Snipe could show what it might have done in a full campaigning season. In peacetime, though, it found its real career. As the vast wartime air force was cut back to a tiny fraction of its size, the RAF needed one dependable single-seat fighter to equip its surviving squadrons at home and across a far-flung empire. The Snipe was chosen. Through the early 1920s it was the standard RAF single-seat fighter, serving in Britain, in Iraq, in India and in the Middle East, and it was not fully replaced until the Gloster Grebe and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin arrived in the middle of the decade. Some Snipes lingered in training units until about 1927.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">That post-war career is the truest measure of the design. Plenty of wartime aircraft were retired the moment the fighting stopped; the Snipe was trusted to soldier on as the backbone of a peacetime air force for years. A fighter that arrives too late to make a wartime name and then quietly becomes the standard by which a service equips itself has, in its own way, proved the point. The Snipe was the last of the great rotary-engined fighters, and it went out at the top of its class. It is a strange kind of distinction &mdash; to be the aircraft that a victorious air force chose to keep when it could have kept anything &mdash; but it is a real one, and it belongs to the Snipe alone among the fighters of 1918.<\/p>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">01<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>How the Sopwith Snipe improved on the Camel: docile handling, better height, a clearer view<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Snipe was born from a simple brief: keep everything that made the Sopwith Camel a deadly fighter, and fix everything that made it dangerous. The Camel&rsquo;s fighting strength came from concentrating engine, guns, pilot and fuel in a very short fuselage, which gave it a lightning-fast turn &mdash; but that same concentration, combined with the gyroscopic pull of a powerful rotary, made it prone to a vicious, sometimes fatal, swing on take-off and in tight manoeuvres. It killed a great many of its own pilots in training.<\/p>\n<p>Herbert Smith&rsquo;s Snipe kept the twin-gun armament and the nimble, rotary-powered character but wrapped it in a larger, more stable airframe. The result was a fighter that was markedly more docile and forgiving to fly, and much safer for an average squadron pilot to master. It could still turn and fight, but it no longer demanded the exceptional hands the Camel did to stay out of trouble.<\/p>\n<p>The Bentley BR2 rotary of around 230 horsepower was the other half of the story. More power, and power that held up better as the air thinned, gave the Snipe a genuinely useful performance at altitude, where the Camel had always struggled. As air combat drifted higher through 1918, that mattered enormously. A fighter that could climb well and still manoeuvre crisply above 15,000 feet was worth a great deal.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the Snipe gave its pilot a far better view. The cockpit sat where the wing cut-outs and the fuselage shape opened up the sky around him, and good visibility, then as now, was one of the most important qualities a fighter could have &mdash; the pilot who saw first usually shot first. Docile handling, better height and a clearer view: none of it was glamorous, but together it made the Snipe a better all-round combat aircraft than the famous Camel it replaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">02<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Major Barker&rsquo;s Victoria Cross: the Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s most famous single combat, 27 October 1918<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>On the morning of 27 October 1918, Major William George Barker was flying a Sopwith Snipe, serial E8102, near the Foret de Mormal on the Western Front. Barker &mdash; a Canadian from Manitoba &mdash; was already one of the most decorated and experienced fighter pilots in the RAF, and he was, in effect, on an extended familiarisation posting when he went up alone that day.<\/p>\n<p>He attacked a German two-seater and then found himself in the middle of a large formation of enemy fighters. What followed was a prolonged, desperate battle against heavy odds. Barker was wounded in the right thigh, then the left, and had his left elbow shattered; contemporary accounts describe him fainting from his wounds and loss of blood, recovering, and throwing the Snipe back into the fight more than once. He shot down several German aircraft in the course of the action before finally crash-landing his riddled Snipe inside Allied lines, gravely wounded but alive.<\/p>\n<p>For this combat Barker was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry. The citation praised bravery &ldquo;of the highest possible order&rdquo;, and the fight became one of the most celebrated individual actions of the entire air war. It is worth telling honestly: the odds, the wounds and the sheer refusal to give in were extraordinary, and the story has understandably been retold many times.<\/p>\n<p>The Snipe&rsquo;s part in it is real but should be kept in proportion. The aircraft did not win the fight &mdash; Barker did &mdash; but the Snipe&rsquo;s toughness and handling gave him a machine that could absorb punishment and keep fighting while its pilot was barely conscious. Barker survived, was carried from the wreck, and recovered. His aircraft E8102 survives too, in part: its fuselage is preserved by the Canadian War Museum, a direct relic of the most famous flight any Snipe ever made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">03<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Too late for the war it was built for: the Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s brief front-line career<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>For all its qualities, the Snipe barely fought the war it was designed to win. Development and the switch to the new Bentley BR2 engine took time, and large production contracts were only placed in the spring of 1918. The first squadrons did not begin to re-equip with Snipes until the autumn, and by the Armistice on 11 November 1918 only a small number of front-line units were operating the type.<\/p>\n<p>Among the first were No. 43 Squadron and No. 208 Squadron of the RAF and No. 4 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps, which took Snipes into action over the Western Front in October and early November. They had time to prove that the aircraft worked and that pilots liked it, but not to build the kind of towering combat record the Camel had amassed over two years of fighting. Roughly 500 Snipes had been delivered by the end of the war, a small fraction of the thousands that had been ordered.<\/p>\n<p>It is tempting, but wrong, to read this brief career as a failure. The Snipe did everything asked of it in the weeks it had: it flew well, fought effectively, and impressed the men who took it up. The problem was simply the calendar. Had the war run into 1919, as the Allies expected, the Snipe would have been the RAF&rsquo;s principal single-seat fighter for the great offensives of that year, and its reputation would have been made in combat rather than in peacetime service.<\/p>\n<p>Instead the Armistice came first, and the Snipe&rsquo;s real story turned out to lie after the war rather than during it. That is an unusual shape for a fighter&rsquo;s career, and it is one reason the Snipe is less famous than the Camel despite being, in most respects, the better aeroplane.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">04<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>The last of the rotary fighters: where the Sopwith Snipe sits in aviation history<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Sopwith Snipe holds a particular place in the history of the fighter: it was the last rotary-engined fighter to serve as a front-line type with the Royal Air Force. The rotary engine &mdash; in which the whole cylinder block spins with the propeller around a fixed crankshaft &mdash; had powered the nimble scouts of the middle war years, including the Pup, the Triplane and the Camel. By 1918 it was reaching the end of its development.<\/p>\n<p>Rotaries were smooth and light for their power, and their spinning mass helped a small fighter turn, but they had hard limits. They could not easily be throttled, they drank castor oil, and their power did not grow the way stationary in-line and V-type engines did. The Bentley BR2 in the Snipe was, in a sense, the rotary&rsquo;s last and best word: about 230 horsepower, more than any earlier British rotary fighter, and enough to give the Snipe genuinely useful altitude performance.<\/p>\n<p>After the Snipe, the future belonged to the stationary engine. The fighters that replaced it in the mid-1920s &mdash; the Gloster Grebe and the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin &mdash; used air-cooled radial engines that pointed the way forward. The Snipe therefore stands at a hinge in fighter design: the culmination of one line of development and the last of its kind, even as the technology that would supersede it was already arriving.<\/p>\n<p>That makes the Snipe doubly interesting to modern eyes. It is not only a good aircraft in its own right but a marker in the story of the fighter &mdash; the point at which the whirling, oil-flinging rotary scout of the First World War gave way to something recognisably more modern.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">05<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Sopwith of Kingston: the company and the designer behind the Snipe<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Sopwith Aviation Company of Kingston upon Thames produced one of the most remarkable runs of fighters in aviation history. Founded by the pioneer aviator Thomas Sopwith, it gave the First World War the Pup, the Triplane, the Camel, the Dolphin and finally the Snipe &mdash; a family of scouts that between them shaped Allied air fighting from 1916 to the Armistice.<\/p>\n<p>The designer of the Snipe, as of most of the line, was Herbert Smith, Sopwith&rsquo;s gifted chief draughtsman. Smith had a consistent philosophy: build small, light, honest aeroplanes and give the pilot a machine he could trust. The Snipe was the mature expression of that thinking &mdash; a fighter that kept the agility of the earlier Sopwiths but added the strength, the altitude performance and the forgiving manners that hard experience had shown were needed.<\/p>\n<p>The company itself did not long survive the peace. Post-war the collapse in military orders and a punitive tax bill forced Sopwith into voluntary liquidation, but Thomas Sopwith and his colleagues promptly reconstituted the business as the Hawker Engineering Company &mdash; named after the test pilot Harry Hawker &mdash; which would go on to build the Fury, the Hurricane and, eventually, the Harrier. In a real sense the Snipe was both the last Sopwith fighter and the seed of the Hawker line that followed.<\/p>\n<p>So the Snipe is not an orphan. It stands at the end of the Sopwith story and at the start of the Hawker one, designed by the same hand that drew the Camel and built by the company that would become one of the greatest names in British aviation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Design &amp; engineering<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">How the Sopwith Snipe was built: a Bentley rotary, two guns and a tougher airframe<\/h2>\n<div class=\"cards3\">\n<div class=\"ecard\"><span class=\"num\">01<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Bentley BR2 rotary<\/h3>\n<p>A 9-cylinder Bentley BR2 rotary of around 230 hp &mdash; the most powerful British rotary fighter engine of the war and the type&rsquo;s defining feature. It gave the Snipe the altitude performance the Camel lacked, and it was the last rotary to power a front-line RAF fighter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ecard\"><span class=\"num\">02<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Twin Vickers guns<\/h3>\n<p>Two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller arc, mounted ahead of the cockpit. It was the standard heavy-hitting armament of a 1918 fighter, with provision on some aircraft to carry four small 25 lb bombs for ground attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ecard\"><span class=\"num\">03<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A tougher, roomier airframe<\/h3>\n<p>A larger, sturdier two-bay biplane than the Camel, with a wider cockpit and a much better field of view. Built of wood, wire and fabric in the manner of its day, it traded a little of the Camel&rsquo;s knife-edge agility for strength, stability and safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"ph\"><img data-opt-id=937251554  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1440\/h:1080\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-raf-museum-hendon.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%201152%22%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Preserved Sopwith Snipe at the Royal Air Force Museum showing its two-bay biplane structure\"><figcaption>A preserved Sopwith Snipe at the Royal Air Force Museum, London, showing the two-bay wing structure and rotary cowling. Photo Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"rp\">Structurally the Snipe was a conventional aircraft of its generation, built around a wire-braced wooden fuselage with a fabric covering over most of the airframe and metal panels around the engine. What distinguished it from the Camel was a matter of degree in every dimension: a little larger, a little stronger, a little more stable, with a wing arrangement and cockpit that gave the pilot room and a view. The prototypes went through single-bay and two-bay wing arrangements before the two-bay wing was settled on for production, and the definitive Snipe emerged as a balanced, practical fighter rather than a specialist&rsquo;s tool.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deepset\">\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">06<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>The Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s Bentley BR2 engine: the rotary&rsquo;s last and most powerful word<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The heart of the Snipe was the Bentley BR2, a 9-cylinder rotary engine designed by W. O. Bentley &mdash; the same engineer who would later become famous for his luxury and racing cars. In a rotary engine the crankshaft is fixed to the airframe and the entire mass of cylinders spins with the propeller; the layout is smooth and self-cooling, which is why it powered so many agile First World War scouts.<\/p>\n<p>The BR2 was the largest and most powerful British rotary of the war, commonly rated at around 230 horsepower, though some sources quote figures closer to 200 &mdash; period engine ratings varied with the standard used and the individual engine, and the honest answer is that the exact figure is best given as &ldquo;about 230 hp&rdquo;. Whatever the precise number, it was a decisive increase over the roughly 130 hp rotaries of the Pup and Triplane and the 130&ndash;150 hp class of many Camels.<\/p>\n<p>That extra power did two things. It gave the Snipe a useful margin of performance at the higher altitudes where combat was increasingly taking place, and it let the aircraft carry a heavier, stronger airframe and full twin-gun armament without becoming sluggish. The BR2 was, in effect, what made the Snipe&rsquo;s whole design possible.<\/p>\n<p>It was also the end of the road. The rotary had been pushed about as far as it could go, and the BR2 was its finest expression. After the Snipe, the RAF&rsquo;s fighters would move to stationary radial and in-line engines, and the great spinning rotaries of the First World War passed into history. The Snipe carried the rotary out on a high note.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">07<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Flying the Sopwith Snipe: the handling that made it a better service fighter than the Camel<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>Pilots&rsquo; verdicts on the Snipe are consistent and telling: it was a genuinely pleasant, effective fighter that did most things well and punished mistakes far less severely than the Camel. Where the Camel demanded constant respect &mdash; its swing on take-off and its readiness to flick into a spin caught out the unwary &mdash; the Snipe was stable, predictable and forgiving.<\/p>\n<p>That did not mean it was dull. The Snipe kept a lively rotary-powered agility and could hold its own in a turning fight, and its better performance at altitude actually expanded the kinds of combat it could take on compared with the low-and-medium-level Camel. But it flew like an aircraft that wanted its pilot to succeed, which is exactly what a hard-pressed wartime training system and a peacetime air force full of ordinary squadron pilots needed.<\/p>\n<p>Visibility was a particular strength. The cockpit and wing arrangement gave the pilot a much clearer view of the sky than the Camel allowed, and in air fighting the ability to see and be aware was worth as much as raw performance. Combine good visibility, honest handling, real firepower and useful altitude performance, and you have the recipe for a sound all-round fighter rather than a brilliant but dangerous specialist.<\/p>\n<p>Modern display pilots who fly the airworthy Snipe reproduction built by The Vintage Aviator describe much the same character &mdash; a strong, honest, capable machine, and a notably nicer aeroplane to handle than a Camel. Nearly a century of hindsight has only confirmed the contemporary judgement: as a fighter to equip and fight a whole service with, the Snipe was the better choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">08<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Guns, bombs and the two-bay wing: the Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s armament and structure<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Snipe carried the standard heavy armament of a 1918 single-seat fighter: two belt-fed .303 in Vickers machine guns mounted on top of the fuselage ahead of the pilot, firing forward through the propeller arc by means of synchronising gear that timed the bursts to miss the blades. Two guns had become the norm by the last year of the war, and the Snipe&rsquo;s ability to carry them without sacrificing performance was one of the advantages its more powerful engine bought.<\/p>\n<p>Some Snipes were also fitted to carry four 25 lb bombs on underwing racks for ground-attack work, a reflection of how much low-level strafing and bombing fighters were being asked to do by 1918. The type was conceived first and foremost as an air-fighting scout, but like most fighters of its day it could be pressed into the ground-attack role when needed.<\/p>\n<p>The airframe that carried all this was a two-bay biplane &mdash; that is, with two sets of interplane struts on each side rather than the single bay of the smaller Sopwiths &mdash; giving a strong, well-braced wing cell able to take the loads of hard manoeuvring and the weight of guns, ammunition and a heavier engine. Construction was the usual wood, wire and fabric of the period: a wooden box-girder fuselage, fabric covering, and metal panels around the engine bay.<\/p>\n<p>A long-range development, the Sopwith Snipe (Long Range) or &ldquo;Dragon&rdquo;, replaced the rotary with a stationary ABC Dragonfly radial in an attempt to extend the type&rsquo;s reach, but the troubled Dragonfly engine doomed that variant. The mainstream Snipe remained a rotary-engined two-gun fighter, and that is the aircraft that made the type&rsquo;s name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">09<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Wood, wire and fabric: how a 1918 fighter like the Sopwith Snipe was actually put together<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>Like every fighter of its generation, the Snipe was built from materials that would seem astonishingly simple today: spruce and plywood, piano wire and doped linen, with steel fittings and aluminium panels only where they were strictly needed. The fuselage was a wire-braced wooden box girder, faired to a rounded shape and covered mostly in fabric; the wings were wooden spars and ribs, again fabric-covered, braced into a rigid cell by struts and flying wires.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of construction had real virtues. It was light, it could be repaired in the field with basic tools and skills, and it used materials and labour that were widely available. A squadron could patch battle damage, replace a wing panel, or rig a wing back to true without an industrial workshop. For a mass-produced wartime fighter that had to be built in thousands and maintained in the mud of front-line airfields, that mattered.<\/p>\n<p>It also had limits. Wood and fabric age, absorb moisture and can rot or warp; a century-old original airframe is a fragile thing, which is why the surviving genuine Snipes are static museum exhibits rather than flying aircraft. The machines that fly today are faithful reproductions, built to the original drawings and methods precisely because that is what keeps their weight, strength and behaviour authentic.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the construction helps explain both the Snipe&rsquo;s strengths and its preservation story. It was a practical, repairable, mass-producible fighter in its day; and it is a delicate historical artefact now, kept alive by museums that conserve the originals and by workshops that rebuild the type from scratch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Specifications<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Sopwith Snipe specifications: dimensions, performance and cost<\/h2>\n<div class=\"specgrid\">\n<table class=\"spectable\">\n<caption>Dimensions &amp; weights<\/caption>\n<tr>\n<th>Crew<\/th>\n<td>1 (single seat)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Length<\/th>\n<td>~5.87 m (19 ft 3 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wingspan (upper)<\/th>\n<td>~9.14&ndash;9.47 m (30&ndash;31 ft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Height<\/th>\n<td>~2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wing configuration<\/th>\n<td>Two-bay biplane<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Empty weight<\/th>\n<td>~595 kg (~1,310 lb)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Loaded weight<\/th>\n<td>~916 kg (~2,020 lb)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Number built<\/th>\n<td>~500 by the Armistice; total figures vary (see notes)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"spectable\">\n<caption>Performance, powerplant &amp; cost<\/caption>\n<tr>\n<th>Engine<\/th>\n<td>Bentley BR2 9-cyl rotary, ~230 hp (some sources ~200 hp)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Maximum speed<\/th>\n<td>~195 km\/h (~121 mph) at 3,000 m (10,000 ft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Service ceiling<\/th>\n<td>~5,900 m (~19,500 ft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Endurance<\/th>\n<td>~3 hours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Armament<\/th>\n<td>2 &times; synchronised .303 in Vickers (provision for 4 &times; 25 lb bombs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>First flight<\/th>\n<td>1917 (prototype); front-line service autumn 1918<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Unit cost (1918)<\/th>\n<td>Not reliably recorded (WWI)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cost per flight hour<\/th>\n<td>Not applicable \/ not recorded (period aircraft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"finenote\">Figures for First World War aircraft vary between sources and between individual airframes and engine fits; the values above are representative and rounded, and contested figures are flagged. The Bentley BR2 is most often quoted at about 230 hp but sometimes at around 200 hp. Production totals are especially uncertain: roughly 500 Snipes had been delivered by the Armistice, and while thousands more were on order (contracts and plans have been cited from around 1,700 up to some 4,500 aircraft), the great bulk of those orders were cancelled after the war. Totals for aircraft actually completed are quoted anywhere from about 500 to well over 1,500 depending on how post-war production is counted, so any single &ldquo;number built&rdquo; should be treated as an estimate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deepset\">\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">10<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Sopwith Snipe variants: the two-gun fighter, the long-range Dragon and the trainer<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The mainstream Snipe was the single-seat 7F.1 fighter powered by the Bentley BR2 rotary and armed with two Vickers guns &mdash; the aircraft that equipped the front-line squadrons of 1918 and the post-war RAF. Within that basic type there was the usual minor variation between production batches and sub-contractors, but the fighter was essentially one aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>The most significant variant was the Sopwith Dragon, sometimes called the Snipe (Long Range). This replaced the reliable rotary with a stationary ABC Dragonfly radial engine in the hope of greater power and range. On paper the Dragonfly promised a great deal; in practice it was one of the most notorious engine failures of the era, plagued by overheating and vibration, and the Dragon never became a useful service aircraft as a result. It is a reminder that the Snipe&rsquo;s success rested squarely on the sound, if old-fashioned, BR2 rotary.<\/p>\n<p>There were also two-seat trainer conversions of the Snipe, used to help pilots transition onto the type, and various experimental and development airframes fitted with different engines and equipment. Production was spread across Sopwith and a number of sub-contractors, which introduced small differences in detail between batches.<\/p>\n<p>None of these variants changes the basic picture. The Snipe that matters historically is the standard BR2-powered, two-gun single-seat fighter &mdash; the wartime scout that became the peacetime RAF&rsquo;s standard, with the ill-starred Dragon standing as an instructive footnote about the limits of the engines available in 1918.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">11<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>The Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s cost: why a 1918 price is not recorded &mdash; and what a replica costs today<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The honest answer to &ldquo;what did a Sopwith Snipe cost?&rdquo; is that no reliable unit price survives in a form worth quoting. Wartime aircraft procurement mixed government-furnished engines, guns and instruments with airframe contracts spread across several manufacturers, and cancelled orders and inflation make the surviving figures inconsistent and hard to translate into modern money. Anyone quoting a precise 1918 price for a Snipe is guessing, and we would rather flag the gap than invent a number.<\/p>\n<p>For context, a single-seat fighter of this class was a serious but not extravagant investment by the standards of 1918, and the engine was often the single most valuable component &mdash; which is one reason engines were carefully salvaged and reused. But turning that into a defensible unit price, let alone a modern-style &ldquo;cost per flight hour&rdquo; for a rotary fighter that burned castor oil at a prodigious rate, is simply not something the surviving records support.<\/p>\n<p>What can be said, and clearly flagged as a modern estimate rather than a historical figure, is that building a faithful airworthy Sopwith Snipe reproduction today is an expensive undertaking. A hand-built wooden airframe, a rebuilt or reproduction rotary engine, and the skilled labour of a specialist workshop run comfortably into the high hundreds of thousands of pounds, and a museum-quality machine with an original-pattern engine can approach seven figures.<\/p>\n<p>So the meaningful &ldquo;cost&rdquo; of a Snipe in the twenty-first century is the cost of recreating one, not any 1918 invoice. That figure &mdash; large, and driven above all by the engine and the hand craftsmanship &mdash; is the honest answer to what it takes to put a Snipe in the air today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">12<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Sopwith Snipe versus the Fokker D.VII: how the RAF&rsquo;s new fighter measured up in 1918<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The benchmark for any Allied fighter in the second half of 1918 was the German Fokker D.VII, widely regarded as the finest German fighter of the war and singled out by name in the Armistice terms for surrender. Any honest assessment of the Snipe has to measure it against that yardstick rather than against the fighters of a year or two earlier.<\/p>\n<p>On straight-line speed the two were broadly comparable, and neither the Snipe nor the D.VII was dramatically faster than the best of its contemporaries. The D.VII&rsquo;s great virtues were its stable gun platform, its excellent handling at altitude and its famous ability to &ldquo;hang on its propeller&rdquo; and fight at low speed. The Snipe answered with its own strong altitude performance from the powerful BR2, lively rotary agility, good visibility and forgiving handling.<\/p>\n<p>The fairest verdict is that the Snipe was a genuinely competitive front-line fighter that could meet the D.VII on reasonable terms &mdash; not a war-winning leap ahead, but a sound, modern, well-armed aircraft that gave RAF pilots a fighting chance against Germany&rsquo;s best. Given how little time it had in action, it never got the chance to prove the point across a full campaign.<\/p>\n<p>What tips the balance in the Snipe&rsquo;s favour historically is not a single combat quality but the whole package plus longevity. It was easy and safe enough to train a whole air force on, tough, well-armed and comfortable at height &mdash; qualities that made it not just a match for the D.VII in 1918 but the aircraft the RAF was content to keep as its standard fighter for years afterwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Timeline<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe&rsquo;s timeline: from Kingston prototype to post-war standard<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tl\">\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>1917<\/h4>\n<p>Herbert Smith&rsquo;s Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe prototypes take shape at Kingston upon Thames as a successor to the Camel, going through single- and two-bay wing arrangements and, decisively, adopting the powerful Bentley BR2 rotary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>Early 1918<\/h4>\n<p>The Snipe is evaluated in France and selected for large-scale production. Big contracts are placed in the spring, with plans for thousands of aircraft in anticipation of the fighting continuing into 1919.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>Autumn 1918<\/h4>\n<p>The first squadrons re-equip with Snipes. Nos. 43 and 208 Squadrons RAF and No. 4 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps take the type into action over the Western Front in the war&rsquo;s final weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>27 October 1918<\/h4>\n<p>Major William Barker, flying Snipe E8102, fights a large formation of German aircraft single-handed, is gravely wounded, and is awarded the Victoria Cross &mdash; the most famous combat in the type&rsquo;s history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>11 November 1918<\/h4>\n<p>The Armistice ends the fighting. Roughly 500 Snipes have been delivered; the vast wartime orders for thousands more are cut back sharply in the months that follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>Early 1920s<\/h4>\n<p>The Snipe becomes the standard single-seat fighter of the peacetime RAF, equipping squadrons at home and across the empire &mdash; in Iraq, India and the Middle East as well as in Britain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>1924&ndash;1926<\/h4>\n<p>The Gloster Grebe and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin, with modern radial engines, begin to replace the Snipe in front-line RAF fighter squadrons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>c. 1927<\/h4>\n<p>The last Snipes are retired from RAF training units, ending the front-line career of the last rotary-engined fighter in British service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tl-item\">\n<h4>Today<\/h4>\n<p>Genuine originals are preserved &mdash; notably E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and examples at the RAF Museum and the Smithsonian &mdash; while airworthy reproductions, including one with an original BR2 rotary, keep the type flying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Stories &amp; eyewitnesses<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe in service: aces, engines and the fight for 1918<\/h2>\n<div class=\"car\">\n<div class=\"cbtn\"><button type=\"button\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('snipe-track').scrollBy({left:-712,behavior:'smooth'})\" aria-label=\"Previous\">&lsaquo;<\/button><button type=\"button\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('snipe-track').scrollBy({left:712,behavior:'smooth'})\" aria-label=\"Next\">&rsaquo;<\/button><\/div>\n<div class=\"track\" id=\"snipe-track\">\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">27 October 1918<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Barker&rsquo;s Victoria Cross<\/h3>\n<p>Major William Barker took Snipe E8102 into a lone battle against a large German formation, was wounded in both legs and his left arm, fainted and fought on, and shot down several enemy machines before crash-landing alive. It became one of the most celebrated air combats of the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The brief<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A better Camel<\/h3>\n<p>The Snipe was designed to replace the deadly but dangerous Camel. It kept the twin guns and rotary agility but was more docile, sturdier, higher-flying and gave a far clearer view &mdash; a better all-round fighter, if a less famous one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The engine<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Bentley&rsquo;s rotary<\/h3>\n<p>Its Bentley BR2, of around 230 hp, was the most powerful British rotary of the war and the last to power a front-line RAF fighter. W. O. Bentley, its designer, would later give his name to the famous cars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">No. 43 Squadron<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>First into action<\/h3>\n<p>No. 43 Squadron RAF was among the first to re-equip with Snipes, taking the type into combat over the Western Front in the closing weeks of the war before the Armistice cut short its wartime career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">No. 4 Sqn AFC<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Australian Snipes<\/h3>\n<p>No. 4 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps re-equipped with Snipes in the war&rsquo;s final weeks and flew them on the Western Front, one of the very few units to take the new fighter into action in 1918.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">Too late<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A career interrupted<\/h3>\n<p>Only about 500 Snipes had been delivered by the Armistice, and just a handful of squadrons flew them in anger. Had the war run into 1919, the Snipe would have been the RAF&rsquo;s principal fighter for the great offensives planned that year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The peacetime RAF<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Made the standard<\/h3>\n<p>After the war the Snipe became the standard single-seat fighter of the shrunken peacetime RAF &mdash; a mark of how sound the design was &mdash; serving at home and across the empire into the mid-1920s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">Overseas<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Empire policing<\/h3>\n<p>RAF Snipes served far from home in the early 1920s, equipping squadrons in Iraq, India and the Middle East as the aircraft that carried Britain&rsquo;s air power across a vast post-war empire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The last rotary<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>End of an era<\/h3>\n<p>The Snipe was the last rotary-engined fighter in front-line RAF service. Its successors, the Grebe and Siskin, used modern radial engines, and the whirling rotary scout passed into history with it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The Dragon<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A dead end<\/h3>\n<p>A long-range version, the Sopwith Dragon, swapped the reliable rotary for the ABC Dragonfly radial. The Dragonfly proved a notorious failure, and the Dragon never entered useful service &mdash; a reminder of how much the Snipe owed to its sound BR2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">From Sopwith to Hawker<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A seed of the future<\/h3>\n<p>Sopwith did not survive the post-war slump, but its people reformed as Hawker &mdash; the company that would build the Fury, the Hurricane and the Harrier. The Snipe was the last Sopwith fighter and, in a sense, the first Hawker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The survivors<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Kept alive<\/h3>\n<p>The genuine original E6938 is preserved in Canada, Barker&rsquo;s E8102 fuselage in the Canadian War Museum, and airworthy reproductions &mdash; one with an original BR2 rotary &mdash; keep the sight and sound of a flying Snipe alive today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">The name<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Why &ldquo;Snipe&rdquo;?<\/h3>\n<p>Sopwith fighters carried bird and animal names &mdash; Pup, Camel, Dolphin, Snipe. The snipe is a small, fast, erratically flying game bird, an apt namesake for a compact and agile scout. The factory designation 7F.1 marked it as a single-seat fighter design.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mscard\"><span class=\"yr\">Herbert Smith<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The designer&rsquo;s last Sopwith<\/h3>\n<p>Herbert Smith drew nearly all the great Sopwith scouts, and the Snipe was his final one for the firm. Soon after, he left to design fighters in Japan, carrying the Sopwith philosophy of the light, honest fighter across the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Photographs<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Sopwith Snipe photographs: period images and preserved aircraft<\/h2>\n<div class=\"gal\">\n<figure><img data-opt-id=88010684  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1024\/h:751\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-wwi-period-photograph.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201024%20751%22%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22751%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22751%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-wwi-period-photograph.jpg\" alt=\"Period First World War photograph of a Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe\"><figcaption>A Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe during the First World War. British official photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=44674152  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1024\/h:707\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-raf-1918.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201024%20707%22%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22707%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221024%22%20height%3D%22707%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-raf-1918.jpg\" alt=\"Sopwith Snipe of the Royal Air Force, 1918\"><figcaption>A Sopwith Snipe of the Royal Air Force, 1918. Imperial War Museums (Q66088), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=637663600  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1440\/h:1080\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-e6938-canada-aviation-space-museum.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%201152%22%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-e6938-canada-aviation-space-museum.jpg\" alt=\"Genuine original Sopwith Snipe E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum\"><figcaption>The genuine original Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa. Photo JustSomePics, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=937251554  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1440\/h:1080\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-raf-museum-hendon.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%201152%22%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221152%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-raf-museum-hendon.jpg\" alt=\"Preserved Sopwith Snipe at the Royal Air Force Museum, London\"><figcaption>A preserved Sopwith Snipe at the Royal Air Force Museum, London. Photo Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=825575088  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-replica-f2367.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%201024%22%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221024%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%221536%22%20height%3D%221024%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-replica-f2367.jpg\" alt=\"Airworthy Sopwith Snipe replica marked F2367\"><figcaption>An airworthy Sopwith Snipe replica marked F2367 (G-CKBB). Photo Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1872388930  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-reproduction-display.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-reproduction-display.jpg\" alt=\"Sopwith Snipe reproduction on display\"><figcaption>A Sopwith Snipe reproduction. SDASM Archives, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">On film<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe in the air: the only one flying with an original rotary<\/h2>\n<p class=\"rp\">The best way to understand the Snipe is to watch one fly. The footage below shows the airworthy Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe reproduction built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand &mdash; the only Snipe flying anywhere in the world with an original 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. The stutter of the blipped rotary, the easy climb and the clean lines of the last great rotary fighter are all on show.<\/p>\n<div class=\"vidwrap\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LLWPf2D0HLg\" title=\"Sopwith Snipe 1918 British fighter flying display\" loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"credit\">&ldquo;Sopwith Snipe 1918 British fighter&rdquo; &mdash; The Vintage Aviator&rsquo;s airworthy Snipe with an original Bentley BR2 rotary. Video by the Historical Aviation Film Unit on YouTube (approx. 30,000 views at time of writing). Shown here for reference; all rights remain with the creator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Where it operated<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Sopwith Snipe operations map: origin, wartime and post-war service, and survivors<\/h2>\n<p class=\"rp\">The Sopwith Snipe was a thoroughly British fighter with a story that spread outward from Kingston upon Thames: designed and built in England, flown briefly over the Western Front in 1918, kept on as the standard fighter of the peacetime RAF across a global empire, exported and operated by a few other nations, and preserved today in a handful of countries. The map colours Britain as origin and manufacturer, marks the wartime and post-war RAF service theatres, shows the export and other operators, and highlights where original and reproduction airframes survive. Toggle the categories and hover a country for detail.<\/p>\n<div id=\"snipe-map-widget\" style=\"font-family:'Gilroy semiBold','Gilroy regular',Helvetica,Arial,Lucida,sans-serif;max-width:1080px;width:100%;\">\n<div id=\"snipe-map-container\" style=\"width:100%;position:relative\"><svg id=\"snipe-map-svg\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\"><\/svg><\/p>\n<div id=\"snipe-tooltip\" style=\"position:fixed;background:#1a1a2e;color:#fff;padding:10px 16px;border-radius:0;font-size:13px;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:.3px;pointer-events:auto;opacity:0;transition:opacity .15s;z-index:1000;max-width:360px;line-height:1.5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"snipe-controls\" style=\"display:flex;gap:8px;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:flex-start;margin-top:12px;\"><button class=\"snipe-toggle active\" data-cat=\"migflug\" data-full=\"Origin &amp; Manufacturer\" data-short=\"Origin\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #5C91FF;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"snipe-label\">Origin &amp; Manufacturer<\/span><span class=\"snipe-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"snipe-toggle active\" data-cat=\"combat\" data-full=\"WWI &amp; Post-war RAF Service\" data-short=\"RAF service\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #6B8E23;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#4A6741 25%,#6B8E23 25%,#6B8E23 50%,#556B2F 50%,#556B2F 75%,#8B9D77 75%);background-size:8px 8px\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"snipe-label\">WWI &amp; Post-war RAF Service<\/span><span class=\"snipe-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"snipe-toggle active\" data-cat=\"current\" data-full=\"Export &amp; Other Operators\" data-short=\"Operators\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #555;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#555\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"snipe-label\">Export &amp; Other Operators<\/span><span class=\"snipe-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><button class=\"snipe-toggle active\" data-cat=\"former\" data-full=\"Surviving Airframes &amp; Replicas\" data-short=\"Survivors\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #bbb;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap;transition:all .25s\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#bbb\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"snipe-label\">Surviving Airframes &amp; Replicas<\/span><span class=\"snipe-check\" style=\"font-size:10px;opacity:1;transition:opacity .2s\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<div id=\"snipe-count\" style=\"text-align:left;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:12px;line-height:1.7;width:100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/d3\/7.8.5\/d3.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/topojson\/3.0.2\/topojson.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/d3-geo-projection@4\/dist\/d3-geo-projection.min.js\"><\/script><div id=\"snipe-data\" data-js=\"(function(){
function boot(){ if(typeof d3==='undefined'||typeof topojson==='undefined'||!d3.geoRobinson){ setTimeout(boot,150); return; } init(); }
function init(){
var CAT={
 migflug:{l:'Origin & Manufacturer',c:['United Kingdom']},
 combat:{l:'WWI & Post-war RAF Service',c:['France','Belgium','Iraq','India','Egypt']},
 current:{l:'Export & Other Operators',c:['Canada','Australia','Brazil','Russia']},
 former:{l:'Surviving Airframes & Replicas',c:['United Kingdom','Canada','United States of America','New Zealand']}
};
Object.keys(CAT).forEach(function(k){CAT[k].s=new Set(CAT[k].c)});
var active={migflug:1,combat:1,current:1,former:1};
var LABELS={migflug:'Origin & Manufacturer',combat:'WWI & Post-war RAF Service',current:'Export & Other Operators',former:'Surviving Airframes & Replicas'};
var FLEET={
 'United Kingdom':'Origin: Sopwith, Kingston-upon-Thames · standard post-war RAF fighter',
 'France':'Western Front theatre · front-line service autumn 1918',
 'Belgium':'Flanders sector of the Western Front, 1918',
 'Iraq':'Post-war RAF overseas service (Mesopotamia), early 1920s',
 'India':'Post-war RAF service, North-West Frontier, early 1920s',
 'Egypt':'Post-war RAF Middle East garrison',
 'Canada':'Canadian Air Force · original E6938 preserved',
 'Australia':'No. 4 Sqn AFC flew Snipes in 1918',
 'Brazil':'Small reported post-war use (uncertain)',
 'Russia':'A few examples reached Russia (Civil War era)',
 'United States of America':'Original & reproduction Snipes preserved',
 'New Zealand':'Airworthy reproductions built and flown (TVAL)'
};
var DESC={
 'United Kingdom':'Designed by Herbert Smith and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company at Kingston-upon-Thames as the successor to the Camel. It reached the front only in autumn 1918, then became the Royal Air Force’s standard single-seat fighter into the mid-1920s.',
 'France':'Northern France was the Snipe’s brief wartime battleground. Front-line squadrons (including Nos. 43 and 208 RAF and No. 4 Squadron AFC) flew it in the war’s final weeks — the scene of Major William Barker’s Victoria Cross combat on 27 October 1918.',
 'Belgium':'The Flanders sector of the Western Front, over which RAF Snipe squadrons operated in the closing weeks of the First World War.',
 'Iraq':'In the early 1920s the post-war RAF used Snipes for overseas garrison and air-policing duties in Mesopotamia (Iraq).',
 'India':'RAF Snipe squadrons served in India in the early 1920s, including operations on the North-West Frontier.',
 'Egypt':'Snipes formed part of the RAF’s Middle East garrison in the early post-war years.',
 'Canada':'The Canadian Air Force operated Snipes after the war. The sole genuine original still complete, E6938, is preserved at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and Barker’s VC aircraft E8102 is held by the Canadian War Museum.',
 'Australia':'No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, re-equipped with Sopwith Snipes in the war’s final weeks on the Western Front.',
 'Brazil':'A small number of Snipes are reported to have served with Brazilian forces in the post-war years; details and figures are uncertain.',
 'Russia':'A small number of Snipes are reported to have reached Russia around the Russian Civil War and Allied intervention; records are sparse.',
 'United States of America':'The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum holds a Sopwith Snipe, and American collections preserve originals and reproductions of the type.',
 'New Zealand':'The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand has built airworthy Sopwith Snipe reproductions, including one flying with an original 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine.'
};
var NM={4:'Afghanistan',8:'Albania',12:'Algeria',24:'Angola',32:'Argentina',36:'Australia',40:'Austria',50:'Bangladesh',51:'Armenia',56:'Belgium',64:'Bhutan',68:'Bolivia',70:'Bosnia and Herzegovina',72:'Botswana',76:'Brazil',96:'Brunei',100:'Bulgaria',104:'Myanmar',108:'Burundi',116:'Cambodia',120:'Cameroon',124:'Canada',140:'Central African Republic',144:'Sri Lanka',148:'Chad',152:'Chile',156:'China',170:'Colombia',174:'Comoros',178:'Congo',180:'Dem. Rep. Congo',188:'Costa Rica',191:'Croatia',192:'Cuba',196:'Cyprus',203:'Czech Republic',208:'Denmark',214:'Dominican Republic',218:'Ecuador',818:'Egypt',222:'El Salvador',226:'Equatorial Guinea',232:'Eritrea',233:'Estonia',231:'Ethiopia',246:'Finland',250:'France',266:'Gabon',270:'Gambia',268:'Georgia',276:'Germany',288:'Ghana',300:'Greece',320:'Guatemala',324:'Guinea',328:'Guyana',332:'Haiti',340:'Honduras',348:'Hungary',352:'Iceland',356:'India',360:'Indonesia',364:'Iran',368:'Iraq',372:'Ireland',376:'Israel',380:'Italy',384:'Ivory Coast',388:'Jamaica',392:'Japan',400:'Jordan',398:'Kazakhstan',404:'Kenya',408:'North Korea',410:'South Korea',414:'Kuwait',417:'Kyrgyzstan',418:'Laos',422:'Lebanon',426:'Lesotho',430:'Liberia',434:'Libya',440:'Lithuania',442:'Luxembourg',450:'Madagascar',454:'Malawi',458:'Malaysia',466:'Mali',478:'Mauritania',484:'Mexico',496:'Mongolia',498:'Moldova',499:'Montenegro',504:'Morocco',508:'Mozambique',516:'Namibia',524:'Nepal',528:'Netherlands',540:'New Caledonia',554:'New Zealand',558:'Nicaragua',562:'Niger',566:'Nigeria',578:'Norway',512:'Oman',586:'Pakistan',591:'Panama',598:'Papua New Guinea',600:'Paraguay',604:'Peru',608:'Philippines',616:'Poland',620:'Portugal',630:'Puerto Rico',634:'Qatar',642:'Romania',643:'Russia',646:'Rwanda',682:'Saudi Arabia',686:'Senegal',688:'Serbia',694:'Sierra Leone',702:'Singapore',703:'Slovakia',705:'Slovenia',706:'Somalia',710:'South Africa',716:'Zimbabwe',724:'Spain',728:'South Sudan',729:'Sudan',740:'Suriname',748:'Swaziland',752:'Sweden',756:'Switzerland',760:'Syria',762:'Tajikistan',764:'Thailand',768:'Togo',780:'Trinidad and Tobago',788:'Tunisia',792:'Turkey',795:'Turkmenistan',800:'Uganda',804:'Ukraine',784:'United Arab Emirates',826:'United Kingdom',834:'Tanzania',840:'United States of America',858:'Uruguay',860:'Uzbekistan',862:'Venezuela',704:'Vietnam',887:'Yemen',894:'Zambia',31:'Azerbaijan',112:'Belarus',275:'Palestine',304:'Greenland',10:'Antarctica',158:'Taiwan',652:'Western Sahara'};
function gc(n){ if(active.migflug&&CAT.migflug.s.has(n))return'migflug'; if(active.combat&&CAT.combat.s.has(n))return'combat'; if(active.current&&CAT.current.s.has(n))return'current'; if(active.former&&CAT.former.s.has(n))return'former'; return null; }
function ac(n){ var r=[]; if(CAT.migflug.s.has(n))r.push(LABELS.migflug); if(CAT.combat.s.has(n))r.push(LABELS.combat); if(CAT.current.s.has(n))r.push(LABELS.current); if(CAT.former.s.has(n))r.push(LABELS.former); return r; }
function buildTooltip(n){ var cats=ac(n); if(!cats.length)return null; var h='<span class="tt-name">'+n+'</span>'; h+='<span class="tt-cat">'+cats.join(' · ')+'</span>'; if(FLEET[n]){ h+='<span class="tt-fleet">'+FLEET[n]+'</span>'; } if(DESC[n]){ h+='<span class="tt-desc">'+DESC[n]+'</span>'; } return h; }
function updateLabels(){ var isMobile=window.innerWidth<=600; document.querySelectorAll('.snipe-toggle').forEach(function(b){ var label=b.querySelector('.snipe-label'); if(label){ label.textContent=isMobile?b.getAttribute('data-short'):b.getAttribute('data-full'); } }); }
updateLabels(); window.addEventListener('resize',updateLabels);
document.querySelectorAll('.snipe-toggle').forEach(function(b){ b.addEventListener('click',function(){ var c=this.getAttribute('data-cat'); active[c]=active[c]?0:1; this.classList.toggle('active',!!active[c]); upd(); }); });
function upd(){ d3.selectAll('#snipe-map-widget .country').each(function(){ var el=d3.select(this),n=el.attr('data-name'),c=gc(n); el.attr('class','country'+(c?' cat-'+c:'')); }); var vis=new Set(); Object.keys(active).forEach(function(k){if(active[k])CAT[k].c.forEach(function(c){vis.add(c)})}); document.getElementById('snipe-count').innerHTML='<span style="font-weight:700;color:#5C91FF">'+vis.size+'</span> countries shown across active categories'; }
var W=1080,H=500;
var svg=d3.select('#snipe-map-svg').attr('viewBox','0 0 '+W+' '+H).attr('preserveAspectRatio','xMidYMid meet');
var defs=svg.append('defs');
var pat=defs.append('pattern').attr('id','camo-pattern').attr('patternUnits','userSpaceOnUse').attr('width',20).attr('height',20);
pat.append('rect').attr('width',20).attr('height',20).attr('fill','#6B8E23');
pat.append('circle').attr('cx',3).attr('cy',3).attr('r',5).attr('fill','#556B2F');
pat.append('circle').attr('cx',13).attr('cy',8).attr('r',4).attr('fill','#4A6741');
pat.append('circle').attr('cx',8).attr('cy',16).attr('r',6).attr('fill','#3E5631');
pat.append('circle').attr('cx',18).attr('cy',15).attr('r',3).attr('fill','#8B9D77');
pat.append('circle').attr('cx',1).attr('cy',12).attr('r',3).attr('fill','#2F4024');
var proj=d3.geoRobinson().scale(170).translate([W/2,H/2+10]);
var pathG=d3.geoPath().projection(proj);
svg.append('rect').attr('width',W).attr('height',H).attr('fill','#fff');
svg.append('path').datum({type:'Sphere'}).attr('fill','none').attr('stroke','#D0D8E4').attr('stroke-width',.5).attr('d',pathG);
svg.append('path').datum(d3.geoGraticule()()).attr('fill','none').attr('stroke','#E0E5ED').attr('stroke-width',.3).attr('d',pathG);
var tt=document.getElementById('snipe-tooltip'); var ttTimer=null; var onCountry=false,onTooltip=false; var isTouchDevice=false; var selectedCountry=null;
window.addEventListener('touchstart',function(){isTouchDevice=true},{once:true});
function showTT(html,x,y){ clearTimeout(ttTimer); tt.innerHTML=html; tt.style.opacity=1; posTT(x,y); }
function posTT(x,y){ var tw=tt.offsetWidth,th=tt.offsetHeight; var vw=window.innerWidth,vh=window.innerHeight; if(isTouchDevice){ var left=Math.max(8,Math.min(x-tw/2,vw-tw-8)); var top=y-th-16; if(top<8){top=y+24} if(top+th>vh-8){top=vh-th-8} tt.style.left=left+'px'; tt.style.top=top+'px'; }else{ var nx=x+14,ny=y-10; if(nx+tw>vw-10)nx=x-tw-14; if(ny+th>vh-10)ny=y-th-10; if(ny<10)ny=10; tt.style.left=nx+'px'; tt.style.top=ny+'px'; } }
function hideTT(){ ttTimer=setTimeout(function(){ if(!onCountry&&!onTooltip)tt.style.opacity=0; selectedCountry=null; },200); }
tt.addEventListener('mouseenter',function(){onTooltip=true;clearTimeout(ttTimer);});
tt.addEventListener('mouseleave',function(){onTooltip=false;hideTT();});
document.addEventListener('touchstart',function(e){ if(isTouchDevice&&tt.style.opacity==='1'){ var target=e.target; if(!tt.contains(target)&&(!target.classList||!target.classList.contains('country'))){ tt.style.opacity=0; selectedCountry=null; } } });
d3.json('https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/world-atlas@2/countries-110m.json').then(function(world){
 var countries=topojson.feature(world,world.objects.countries);
 svg.selectAll('.country').data(countries.features).enter().append('path').attr('d',pathG).attr('data-name',function(d){return NM[+d.id]||''}).attr('class',function(d){var n=NM[+d.id]||'',c=gc(n);return'country'+(c?' cat-'+c:'')})
  .on('mouseover',function(e,d){ if(isTouchDevice)return; onCountry=true; var n=NM[+d.id]||'',html=buildTooltip(n); if(html)showTT(html,e.clientX,e.clientY); })
  .on('mousemove',function(e){ if(isTouchDevice)return; posTT(e.clientX,e.clientY); })
  .on('mouseout',function(){ if(isTouchDevice)return; onCountry=false;hideTT(); })
  .on('touchstart',function(e,d){ e.preventDefault(); var n=NM[+d.id]||''; if(selectedCountry===n){ tt.style.opacity=0; selectedCountry=null; return; } var html=buildTooltip(n); if(html){ var touch=e.touches[0]||e.changedTouches[0]; selectedCountry=n; showTT(html,touch.clientX,touch.clientY); }else{ tt.style.opacity=0; selectedCountry=null; } });
 svg.append('path').datum(topojson.mesh(world,world.objects.countries,function(a,b){return a!==b})).attr('fill','none').attr('stroke','#C8D0DA').attr('stroke-width',.4).attr('d',pathG).style('pointer-events','none');
 upd();
});
}
boot();
})();\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(){var el=document.getElementById(\"snipe-data\");var js=decodeURIComponent(escape(atob(el.getAttribute(\"data-js\"))));var sc=document.createElement(\"script\");sc.text=js;document.body.appendChild(sc);})();<\/script><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">By the numbers<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe by the numbers: service, standing and survival<\/h2>\n<div class=\"cstat\">\n<div class=\"combat\"><span class=\"n\">~500<\/span><span class=\"t\">Delivered by the Armistice (of thousands ordered)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"combat\"><span class=\"n\">1<\/span><span class=\"t\">Victoria Cross &mdash; Barker&rsquo;s combat of 27 Oct 1918<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"combat\"><span class=\"n\">~230 hp<\/span><span class=\"t\">Bentley BR2 &mdash; the war&rsquo;s most powerful British rotary<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"combat\"><span class=\"n\">1918&ndash;26<\/span><span class=\"t\">Front-line RAF service, war&rsquo;s end to mid-1920s<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"rp\">The numbers capture the Snipe&rsquo;s peculiar shape of a career. Only a few hundred reached the front before the war ended, and its wartime fame rests largely on a single extraordinary combat. Yet the same aircraft went on to be the standard fighter of the peacetime RAF for years &mdash; the real proof of a sound design. Few fighters have done so little in wartime and so much afterwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Survivors &amp; preservation<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe today: the originals that survive and the reproductions that fly<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lede\">The Sopwith Snipe is a genuinely rare aircraft. Of the several hundred built, only a small number of originals survive, and none of them flies &mdash; the airworthy Snipes seen at airshows today are faithful reproductions. But between the museum originals and the modern reproductions, the last great rotary fighter can still be seen both on the ground and in the air.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">The most complete genuine original is E6938, preserved at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa &mdash; an actual 1918 airframe rather than a later reconstruction, and the reference point against which the type is understood. The Royal Air Force Museum in London holds a Snipe, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington has one as well, so originals of the type can be seen on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">There is also a uniquely poignant survivor: the fuselage of E8102, the very Snipe in which Major William Barker won his Victoria Cross on 27 October 1918, is preserved by the Canadian War Museum. Few aircraft relics are so directly tied to a single famous action, and it is a fitting thing that Barker&rsquo;s aircraft, like the man, came home to Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">Beyond the originals, the Snipe lives on through reproduction. The best known flying example was built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand and is notable for flying with an original 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine &mdash; the only Snipe in the world doing so &mdash; while other airworthy and static reproductions have been built in Britain and the United States. These are not toys: recreating a Snipe means building a wood-and-fabric airframe to original drawings and sourcing or manufacturing a suitable rotary, a serious feat of craftsmanship.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deepset\">\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">13<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>The genuine Sopwith Snipes: E6938 in Canada, and the originals at Hendon and the Smithsonian<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The survival of any genuine Sopwith Snipe is a small miracle. The type was built in the last months of the war and the years just after, and like almost all wooden fighters of its generation the great majority were scrapped once they left service. That so few originals remain makes each one historically precious.<\/p>\n<p>The flagship survivor is E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, generally regarded as the most complete genuine Snipe in existence. It is a real 1918-pattern airframe, conserved as a museum exhibit, and it is the aircraft historians and reproduction-builders turn to when they need to check a detail against the real thing.<\/p>\n<p>The Royal Air Force Museum in London and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington also hold Snipes, so the type is represented in the national collections of Britain and the United States as well as Canada. Between them these museums ensure that anyone who wants to stand beneath a real Snipe and read its design at a glance can do so.<\/p>\n<p>Standing in front of one, the Snipe&rsquo;s character is plain: a compact but sturdy two-bay biplane, twin guns ahead of a roomy cockpit, and the broad cowling of the big Bentley rotary. It is visibly a more grown-up, more practical machine than the little Camel &mdash; exactly as its designers intended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">14<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Building a flying Sopwith Snipe today: an original rotary and a lot of craftsmanship<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>Because no original Snipe is airworthy, every flying Snipe is a reproduction &mdash; and building one is a formidable undertaking. The airframe must be recreated in wood, wire and fabric to original drawings, because that is what keeps the weight, strength and handling authentic. Getting the two-bay wing cell rigged true is as skilled a job now as it was in 1918.<\/p>\n<p>The engine is the hardest part of all. A working Bentley BR2 rotary is a rare and precious thing, and the reproduction built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand is celebrated precisely because it flies with an original 230 hp BR2 &mdash; the only Snipe in the world to do so. Other builders have had to rely on overhauled period engines or reproduction rotaries, each of which demands its own specialist knowledge to run and maintain.<\/p>\n<p>A running rotary is a discipline in itself: the total-loss oil system, the blip-switch handling in place of a throttle, and the gyroscopic effects on take-off and landing are all part of the deal, and display pilots train specifically to manage them. Flying a Snipe reproduction is as close as anyone will ever get to the experience of a 1918 RAF fighter pilot.<\/p>\n<p>The reward is that the sight and sound of a Snipe in the air &mdash; the blipping rotary, the easy climb, the clean two-gun nose &mdash; are not lost to history. The museums conserve the originals; the workshops and display pilots keep the type flying. Between them, the last great rotary fighter remains a living aircraft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">In context<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">The Sopwith Snipe in context: the end of one era and the start of another<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lede\">The Sopwith Snipe sits at a genuine turning point. It was the last of the great Sopwith fighters and the last rotary-engined fighter in RAF service, the culmination of a line that ran from the Pup through the Triplane and Camel &mdash; and, through the company that succeeded Sopwith, a direct ancestor of the Hurricane and everything that followed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">Look backward from the Snipe and you see the whole Sopwith story. The Pup established the philosophy of the small, honest, beautifully balanced scout. The Triplane pushed climb and agility to an extreme with three narrow wings. The Camel concentrated mass and firepower into the war&rsquo;s deadliest and most demanding dogfighter. The Snipe gathered up the lessons of all of them: keep the agility and the guns, but add strength, altitude performance, a clear view and, above all, handling an ordinary pilot could master.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">Look forward and you see the future arriving. The Snipe was the last rotary fighter the RAF flew; its successors used modern radial engines, and the aircraft that replaced it in the mid-1920s pointed the way to the monoplane fighters of the 1930s. And the company that built it, reconstituted as Hawker, would go on to create the Fury, the Hurricane and the Harrier. The Snipe is the hinge between the Sopwith era and the Hawker era.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rp\">There is a neat honesty to its place in history. The Snipe was not the most famous fighter of the war &mdash; it arrived too late for that, and the Camel will always overshadow it in popular memory. But it was, in most respects, the better aeroplane, and the peacetime RAF&rsquo;s decision to make it the standard says more about its real quality than any wartime legend could. It is the fighter that outlived the war it was built for, and did so on merit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deepset\">\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">15<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>Pup, Triplane, Camel, Snipe: where the Sopwith Snipe sits in the Sopwith fighter line<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Sopwith Aviation Company produced a run of fighters in the First World War that few manufacturers have ever matched. The Pup came first &mdash; light, docile and much loved &mdash; and set the template of the small, agile Sopwith scout. The Triplane followed, trading two wings for three in pursuit of climb and visibility and briefly outperforming everything around it.<\/p>\n<p>The Camel came next and became the most famous of all: two guns and a concentrated mass of engine, guns, pilot and fuel that made it viciously manoeuvrable and lethally effective, at the cost of handling that killed many of its own pilots. The Dolphin, with its unusual back-staggered wings and a stationary engine, explored a different path. And the Snipe closed the line.<\/p>\n<p>In that company the Snipe is the mature synthesis &mdash; the aircraft that took everything the earlier Sopwiths had taught and produced a rounded, practical, forgiving fighter fit to equip a whole air force. It is less extreme than the Triplane, less famous than the Camel, and better, all round, than either as a service fighter.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the Snipe means seeing it as the last and most complete step in a designer&rsquo;s long argument, not as an isolated late-war type. It is the point at which the Sopwith philosophy of the honest, pilot-friendly scout reached its full expression &mdash; just as the rotary engine that had powered the whole line reached the end of its road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"deep\">\n<summary><span class=\"num\">16<\/span><span class=\"go\"><\/p>\n<h3>From Sopwith to Hawker: how the Snipe&rsquo;s maker became a giant of British aviation<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"tag\">+<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"deep\">\n<p>The Sopwith Aviation Company did not survive the peace it had helped to win. With military orders collapsing and a heavy post-war tax bill for wartime profits, the firm went into voluntary liquidation in 1920. It would have been easy for the Sopwith story to end there, as one more casualty of the brutal contraction of the aircraft industry after 1918.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Thomas Sopwith, Harry Hawker and their key colleagues promptly reconstituted the business as the H. G. Hawker Engineering Company, named after the famous test pilot. The new firm inherited Sopwith&rsquo;s people, its expertise and its Kingston base, and carried the same design philosophy forward under a new name.<\/p>\n<p>What followed is one of the great runs in aviation history. Hawker built the Fury biplane fighter, then the Hurricane that bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain, and eventually, as Hawker Siddeley, the Harrier jump-jet. The thread of pilot-friendly, well-engineered fighters runs unbroken from the Sopwith scouts through to some of the most important aircraft Britain ever built.<\/p>\n<p>This is why the Snipe deserves to be seen as more than a footnote. It was the last fighter to bear the Sopwith name, and it stands at the head of the Hawker line that followed. The company that built the Snipe became one of the pillars of British aviation, and the Snipe is the aircraft that carried its philosophy across the divide from war to peace. That the same design office should draw both the rotary-engined Snipe of 1918 and, within twenty years, the eight-gun Hurricane monoplane, is one of the more striking continuities in the whole story of the fighter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section id=\"faq\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Questions &amp; answers<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Sopwith Snipe: frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"qa\">\n<details class=\"q\" open>\n<summary>Can I fly in a Sopwith Snipe?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Not as a passenger &mdash; and not with MiGFlug. The Sopwith Snipe was a single-seat fighter, so there is no second seat to carry you, and the genuine originals (such as E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum) are static museum exhibits. Airworthy Snipe reproductions do fly at airshows &mdash; most famously the one built by The Vintage Aviator with an original Bentley BR2 rotary &mdash; but they are single-seaters flown by specialist display pilots and are not available as rides. MiGFlug does <b>not<\/b> offer Sopwith Snipe flights.<\/p>\n<p>What you <b>can<\/b> do is fly in a real, genuine fighter today. MiGFlug arranges flights in aircraft such as the MiG-29 to the edge of space and the L-39 Albatros jet in Europe and the USA. See <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">migflug.com\/flights-prices<\/a> for the current line-up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Was the Sopwith Snipe better than the Sopwith Camel?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>In most respects, yes &mdash; as an all-round combat aircraft. The Snipe was designed specifically to replace the Camel and to keep its strengths while curing its worst faults. It was more docile and forgiving to fly, sturdier, had better performance at altitude thanks to its powerful Bentley BR2 rotary, and gave the pilot a much clearer view. It was not dramatically faster, and the Camel&rsquo;s knife-edge agility in a low-level dogfight was hard to match, but the Snipe was the better and safer service fighter, which is exactly why it was chosen to succeed the Camel and why the RAF kept it for years after the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>What happened in Major Barker&rsquo;s Victoria Cross combat?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>On 27 October 1918 Major William George Barker, flying Snipe E8102, fought a large formation of German aircraft alone over the Western Front. He was wounded in both thighs and had his left elbow shattered, fainting from his wounds and recovering to fight on, and shot down several enemy machines before crash-landing inside Allied lines, gravely wounded but alive. For this action he was awarded the Victoria Cross, and it became one of the most celebrated single combats of the entire air war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>What engine and guns did the Sopwith Snipe use?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The Snipe was powered by a Bentley BR2 9-cylinder rotary engine of around 230 horsepower (some sources quote closer to 200 hp) &mdash; the most powerful British rotary of the war and the last to power a front-line RAF fighter. Its standard armament was two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller, with provision on some aircraft to carry four 25 lb bombs for ground attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>How fast was the Sopwith Snipe?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Roughly 195 km\/h (about 121 mph) at 3,000 m (10,000 ft), with a service ceiling around 5,900 m (19,500 ft). Raw speed was never the Snipe&rsquo;s headline, though &mdash; it was not dramatically faster than the best late-war fighters. Its advantages lay in its altitude performance, its handling and its all-round soundness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>How many Sopwith Snipes were built?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Roughly 500 had been delivered by the Armistice in November 1918, out of thousands ordered in anticipation of the war continuing into 1919. Most of those orders were cancelled after the war. Totals for the number actually completed vary widely between sources &mdash; from around 500 up to well over 1,500 depending on how post-war production is counted &mdash; so any single figure should be treated as an estimate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Did the Sopwith Snipe serve after the First World War?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes &mdash; this is the heart of its story. After the war the Snipe became the standard single-seat fighter of the peacetime Royal Air Force, equipping squadrons in Britain and across the empire, including in Iraq, India and the Middle East. It served through the early 1920s and was not fully replaced by the Gloster Grebe and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin until the middle of the decade, with some aircraft lingering in training units until about 1927. That long post-war career is the clearest proof of how sound the design was.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Why is the Sopwith Snipe less famous than the Camel?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Mainly because of timing. The Camel served for two years and ran up the highest aerial victory tally of any British fighter of the war, becoming a legend in the process. The Snipe reached the front only in the war&rsquo;s last few weeks, so it never had the chance to build a comparable combat record, and the Armistice cut its wartime career short. Its real career was in peacetime, which is less romantic than a wartime legend &mdash; but as an aeroplane it was, in most respects, the better of the two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Are there any original Sopwith Snipes left?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes, a small number. The most complete genuine original is E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, and originals are also held by the Royal Air Force Museum in London and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The fuselage of E8102, the Snipe in which Barker won his Victoria Cross, is preserved by the Canadian War Museum. None of the originals is airworthy; the Snipes that fly today are faithful reproductions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Can you see a Sopwith Snipe flying today?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes &mdash; but only reproductions. The best-known airworthy Snipe was built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand and is unique in flying with an original 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. Other airworthy and static reproductions exist in Britain and the United States. Because the genuine originals are fragile century-old museum pieces, every flying Snipe is a faithful modern reproduction rather than an original airframe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Who designed and built the Sopwith Snipe?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The Snipe was designed by Herbert Smith, chief designer of the Sopwith Aviation Company, and built at Sopwith&rsquo;s works in Kingston upon Thames along with sub-contractors. Smith designed most of the famous Sopwith fighters, and the Snipe was the mature expression of his philosophy. When Sopwith went into liquidation after the war, its people reformed as the Hawker company, which would go on to build the Fury, Hurricane and Harrier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>What was the Bentley BR2 engine?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The Bentley BR2 was a 9-cylinder rotary engine of around 230 horsepower, designed by W. O. Bentley &mdash; later famous for his cars &mdash; and the most powerful British rotary of the First World War. In a rotary the whole cylinder block spins with the propeller. The BR2 gave the Snipe its useful altitude performance and was, in effect, the rotary engine&rsquo;s last and finest word before stationary radial and in-line engines took over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Where can I see a Sopwith Snipe today?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The most complete original, E6938, is at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, and Barker&rsquo;s E8102 is at the Canadian War Museum nearby. The Royal Air Force Museum in London and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington also display Snipes. To see one fly you would look for airworthy reproductions at airshows, most notably the example built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>What does the designation &ldquo;7F.1&rdquo; mean?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>&ldquo;7F.1&rdquo; was the Sopwith factory design number for the Snipe. In the company&rsquo;s system the &ldquo;F&rdquo; indicated a single-seat fighter type, and the numbers identified the specific design; the name &ldquo;Snipe&rdquo; was the service name by which the RAF knew it. So &ldquo;Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe&rdquo; simply pairs the manufacturer&rsquo;s design number with the aircraft&rsquo;s name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>Did the Sopwith Snipe fight the Fokker D.VII?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes, in the war&rsquo;s final weeks. The Fokker D.VII was the best German fighter of 1918 and the benchmark against which the Snipe has to be judged. On speed the two were broadly comparable; the D.VII excelled as a stable gun platform that fought well at altitude, while the Snipe answered with strong altitude performance, lively agility, good visibility and forgiving handling. The Snipe was a genuinely competitive front-line fighter that could meet the D.VII on reasonable terms, though it never had the time in action to prove the point across a full campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"q\">\n<summary>What replaced the Sopwith Snipe in RAF service?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The Gloster Grebe and the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin, both fighters with modern air-cooled radial engines, began to replace the Snipe in front-line RAF squadrons from about 1924. The Snipe had been the standard single-seat fighter of the peacetime RAF through the early 1920s, and its replacement marked the end of the rotary-engined fighter in British service. Some Snipes lingered in training units until around 1927.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section class=\"cta\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">You can&rsquo;t fly the Snipe &mdash; these, you can<\/div>\n<h2>Fly a real fighter yourself<\/h2>\n<p class=\"rp\">The Sopwith Snipe is a museum piece and a single-seater, so no one can take you up in one. But MiGFlug can put you in the cockpit of a genuine fighter today &mdash; from a Cold War jet trainer to a Mach-2 interceptor at the edge of space.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flycar\"><a class=\"flycard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/mig-29-edge-of-space\/\"><span class=\"k\">Mach 2 &middot; Edge of space<\/span><span class=\"h\">MiG-29 to the Edge of Space<\/span><span class=\"d\">Climb to the stratosphere in a genuine Russian interceptor and see the curvature of the Earth.<\/span><span class=\"go\">See this flight<\/span><\/a><a class=\"flycard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/l-39-albatros-in-switzerland\/\"><span class=\"k\">Jet warbird &middot; Alps<\/span><span class=\"h\">L-39 Albatros over Switzerland<\/span><span class=\"d\">Low-level aerobatics in a real military jet trainer through the Swiss Alps.<\/span><span class=\"go\">See this flight<\/span><\/a><a class=\"flycard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/l-39-albatros-florida\/\"><span class=\"k\">Jet warbird &middot; USA<\/span><span class=\"h\">L-39 Albatros in Florida<\/span><span class=\"d\">Fly and even take the controls of an L-39 jet over the Florida coast.<\/span><span class=\"go\">See this flight<\/span><\/a><a class=\"flycard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/l-39-albatros-italian-alps\/\"><span class=\"k\">Jet warbird &middot; Italy<\/span><span class=\"h\">L-39 Albatros over the Italian Alps<\/span><span class=\"d\">A jet adventure through Alpine valleys and peaks in a classic Albatros.<\/span><span class=\"go\">See this flight<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Related aircraft<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Explore more First World War fighters<\/h2>\n<div class=\"relgrid\"><a class=\"rel\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-camel\/\"><span class=\"rk\">Sopwith<\/span><span class=\"rh\">Sopwith Camel<\/span><span class=\"rp\">The famous, deadly and demanding fighter the Snipe was designed to replace.<\/span><\/a><a class=\"rel\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/se-5a\/\"><span class=\"rk\">Royal Aircraft Factory<\/span><span class=\"rh\">S.E.5a<\/span><span class=\"rp\">The steady, fast in-line-engined fighter that fought alongside the Sopwith scouts in 1918.<\/span><\/a><a class=\"rel\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fokker-d-vii\/\"><span class=\"rk\">Fokker<\/span><span class=\"rh\">Fokker D.VII<\/span><span class=\"rp\">Germany&rsquo;s finest fighter of 1918 and the benchmark the Snipe had to meet over the front.<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"divider\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"rk\">Sources<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"rh\">Sopwith Snipe sources &amp; further reading<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"srclist\">\n<li><b>Royal Air Force Museum<\/b><span>Collection material and blog features on the Sopwith Snipe, the Dragon and the type&rsquo;s post-war RAF service.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Canada Aviation and Space Museum<\/b><span>Collection record for the surviving original Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe E6938, Ottawa.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Canadian War Museum<\/b><span>Record of the fuselage of E8102, the Snipe in which Major William Barker won the Victoria Cross.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum<\/b><span>Object record for the museum&rsquo;s Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe and background on late-war fighter development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Imperial War Museums<\/b><span>Photographs and records of RAF and Australian Flying Corps fighter operations, 1918.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>The Vintage Aviator (New Zealand)<\/b><span>Project material on the airworthy Sopwith Snipe reproduction flying with an original Bentley BR2 rotary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>The Museum of Flight, Seattle<\/b><span>Aircraft profile for its Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe reproduction and the type&rsquo;s history.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>J. M. Bruce, British Aeroplanes 1914&ndash;1918<\/b><span>The standard technical reference on Sopwith Snipe design, variants and production numbers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Accounts of William Barker VC<\/b><span>Biographical references on Barker and his 27 October 1918 combat, and the RAF Museum&rsquo;s &ldquo;For Valour&rdquo; feature.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>MiGFlug Afterburner magazine<\/b><span>Articles on flyable warbirds and the fighters of the First World War.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Historical Aviation Film Unit<\/b><span>Flying footage of The Vintage Aviator&rsquo;s airworthy Snipe with an original Bentley BR2 rotary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Fleet Air Arm Museum &amp; RAF squadron histories<\/b><span>Records of Nos. 43 and 208 Squadrons RAF and No. 4 Squadron AFC operating the Snipe in 1918.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"snipe-lb-data\" data-js=\"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\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(){var el=document.getElementById(\"snipe-lb-data\");var js=decodeURIComponent(escape(atob(el.getAttribute(\"data-js\"))));var sc=document.createElement(\"script\");sc.text=js;document.body.appendChild(sc);})();<\/script><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Can I fly in a Sopwith Snipe?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Not as a passenger, and not with MiGFlug. The Sopwith Snipe was a single-seat fighter, so there is no second seat, and the genuine originals (such as E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum) are static museum exhibits. Airworthy Snipe reproductions do fly at airshows, most famously the one built by The Vintage Aviator with an original Bentley BR2 rotary, but they are single-seaters flown by specialist display pilots and are not available as rides. MiGFlug does not offer Sopwith Snipe flights, but does arrange flights in genuine fighters such as the MiG-29 and L-39 Albatros. See migflug.com\/flights-prices.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Was the Sopwith Snipe better than the Sopwith Camel?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"In most respects, yes, as an all-round combat aircraft. The Snipe was designed to replace the Camel and to keep its strengths while curing its worst faults. It was more docile and forgiving, sturdier, had better altitude performance from its powerful Bentley BR2 rotary, and gave the pilot a much clearer view. It was not dramatically faster, and the Camel's low-level agility was hard to match, but the Snipe was the better and safer service fighter, which is why it succeeded the Camel and why the RAF kept it for years after the war.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What happened in Major Barker's Victoria Cross combat?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"On 27 October 1918 Major William George Barker, flying Snipe E8102, fought a large formation of German aircraft alone over the Western Front. He was wounded in both thighs and had his left elbow shattered, fainting and recovering to fight on, and shot down several enemy machines before crash-landing inside Allied lines, gravely wounded but alive. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, and it became one of the most celebrated single combats of the air war.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What engine and guns did the Sopwith Snipe use?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The Snipe used a Bentley BR2 9-cylinder rotary of around 230 horsepower (some sources say closer to 200 hp), the most powerful British rotary of the war and the last to power a front-line RAF fighter. Standard armament was two synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller, with provision on some aircraft to carry four 25 lb bombs.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How fast was the Sopwith Snipe?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Roughly 195 km\/h (about 121 mph) at 3,000 m (10,000 ft), with a service ceiling around 5,900 m (19,500 ft). Speed was not the Snipe's headline quality; it was not dramatically faster than the best late-war fighters. Its advantages lay in altitude performance, handling and all-round soundness.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How many Sopwith Snipes were built?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Roughly 500 had been delivered by the Armistice in November 1918, out of thousands ordered in anticipation of the war continuing into 1919. Most of those orders were cancelled. Totals for aircraft actually completed vary widely, from around 500 up to well over 1,500 depending on how post-war production is counted, so any single figure is an estimate.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the Sopwith Snipe serve after the First World War?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes, and it is the heart of its story. After the war the Snipe became the standard single-seat fighter of the peacetime RAF, equipping squadrons in Britain and across the empire, including in Iraq, India and the Middle East. It served through the early 1920s and was not fully replaced by the Gloster Grebe and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin until mid-decade, with some aircraft in training units until about 1927.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Why is the Sopwith Snipe less famous than the Camel?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Mainly timing. The Camel served for two years and ran up the highest victory tally of any British fighter of the war, becoming a legend. The Snipe reached the front only in the war's last few weeks and never had the chance to build a comparable combat record. Its real career was in peacetime, which is less romantic, but as an aeroplane it was in most respects the better of the two.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Are there any original Sopwith Snipes left?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes, a small number. The most complete genuine original is E6938 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, and originals are held by the RAF Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington. The fuselage of E8102, Barker's Victoria Cross Snipe, is preserved by the Canadian War Museum. None of the originals is airworthy; the Snipes that fly today are reproductions.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Can you see a Sopwith Snipe flying today?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes, but only reproductions. The best-known airworthy Snipe was built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand and is unique in flying with an original 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. Other airworthy and static reproductions exist in Britain and the United States. Because the genuine originals are fragile century-old museum pieces, every flying Snipe is a modern reproduction.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Who designed and built the Sopwith Snipe?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The Snipe was designed by Herbert Smith, chief designer of the Sopwith Aviation Company, and built at Sopwith's Kingston upon Thames works with sub-contractors. Smith designed most of the famous Sopwith fighters. When Sopwith went into liquidation after the war, its people reformed as the Hawker company, which went on to build the Fury, Hurricane and Harrier.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What was the Bentley BR2 engine?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The Bentley BR2 was a 9-cylinder rotary engine of around 230 horsepower, designed by W. O. Bentley (later famous for his cars) and the most powerful British rotary of the First World War. In a rotary the whole cylinder block spins with the propeller. The BR2 gave the Snipe its altitude performance and was the rotary engine's last and finest word before stationary engines took over.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Where can I see a Sopwith Snipe today?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The most complete original, E6938, is at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, and Barker's E8102 is at the nearby Canadian War Museum. The RAF Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington also display Snipes. To see one fly, look for airworthy reproductions at airshows, most notably the example built by The Vintage Aviator in New Zealand.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What does the designation \\\"7F.1\\\" mean?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"\\\"7F.1\\\" was the Sopwith factory design number for the Snipe; the \\\"F\\\" indicated a single-seat fighter and the numbers identified the design, while \\\"Snipe\\\" was the RAF service name. So \\\"Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe\\\" pairs the manufacturer's design number with the aircraft's name.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the Sopwith Snipe fight the Fokker D.VII?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes, in the war's final weeks. The Fokker D.VII was the best German fighter of 1918 and the benchmark for the Snipe. On speed the two were broadly comparable; the D.VII was a superb stable gun platform at altitude, while the Snipe answered with strong altitude performance, agility, good visibility and forgiving handling. The Snipe could meet the D.VII on reasonable terms, though it never had time to prove the point across a full campaign.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What replaced the Sopwith Snipe in RAF service?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The Gloster Grebe and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin, both fighters with modern radial engines, began to replace the Snipe in RAF squadrons from about 1924. The Snipe had been the standard single-seat fighter of the peacetime RAF through the early 1920s, and its replacement ended the rotary-engined fighter in British service. Some Snipes lingered in training units until around 1927.\"}}]}<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home\/Aircraft Museum\/Sopwith Snipe First World War Fighter &middot; 1918 Sopwith Snipe The Sopwith Camel&rsquo;s successor: a tougher, kinder, higher-flying rotary fighter that reached the Western Front in the war&rsquo;s last weeks &mdash; and then became the standard fighter of the peacetime Royal Air Force. ~195 km\/hTop speed 230 hpBentley BR2 rotary 2Vickers guns 1918&ndash;26RAF service [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21107,"parent":15960,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21114","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &amp; the Camel&#039;s Successor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel&#039;s tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker&#039;s VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/\u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9-\u05d8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05e1\/sopwith-snipe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"he_IL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos &amp; the Camel&#039;s Successor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel&#039;s tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker&#039;s VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/\u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9-\u05d8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05e1\/sopwith-snipe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u05d6\u05de\u05df \u05e7\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05d4 \u05de\u05d5\u05e2\u05e8\u05da\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"50 \u05d3\u05e7\u05d5\u05ea\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & the Camel's Successor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T19:57:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel's tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker's VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"he-IL\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"he-IL\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"An airworthy Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe reproduction. Photo Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/sopwith-snipe\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book of Beasts \u2014 The Big Military Aircraft Encyclopedia\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sopwith Snipe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug\",\"description\":\"Fly a Jet Fighter Yourself\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"he-IL\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"he-IL\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2018\\/10\\/logo-migflug-blue.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2018\\/10\\/logo-migflug-blue.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & the Camel's Successor","description":"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel's tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker's VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/\u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9-\u05d8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05e1\/sopwith-snipe\/","og_locale":"he_IL","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & the Camel's Successor","og_description":"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel's tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker's VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/\u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9-\u05d8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05e1\/sopwith-snipe\/","og_site_name":"MiGFlug","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"\u05d6\u05de\u05df \u05e7\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05d4 \u05de\u05d5\u05e2\u05e8\u05da":"50 \u05d3\u05e7\u05d5\u05ea"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/","name":"Sopwith Snipe \u2014 History, Specs, Photos & the Camel's Successor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-14T19:57:49+00:00","description":"The Sopwith Snipe: the Camel's tougher, higher-flying successor, Billy Barker's VC fighter and the standard RAF fighter of the early 1920s.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"he-IL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"he-IL","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sopwith-snipe-airworthy-reproduction-tval.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"An airworthy Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe reproduction. Photo Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sopwith-snipe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Book of Beasts \u2014 The Big Military Aircraft Encyclopedia","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sopwith Snipe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/","name":"\u05de\u05d9\u05d2\u05e4\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2","description":"\u05d8\u05e1\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e2\u05e6\u05de\u05db\u05dd \u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05e7\u05e8\u05d1","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"he-IL"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"he-IL","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/logo-migflug-blue.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/logo-migflug-blue.png","width":200,"height":100,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21115,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21114\/revisions\/21115"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/he\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}