Page 305 - (DK) Smithsinian - Military History: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare

303

Upper wings with
full-length ailerons

▶ SOPWITH PUP With a high wing-surface-
Date 1916 Origin UK to-weight ratio, the Sopwith
Scout, as it was officially
1
Wingspan 26 ⁄2ft (8.08m) known, could “almost land Two-bladed
Length 19¼ft (5.9m) on a tennis court.” It enjoyed .303in (7.7mm) laminated-wood
propeller
Vickers MG
Top speed 112mph (180kph) brief superiority but was soon RECONNAISSANCE AND
overtaken by new designs.
Engine 80hp (59.65kW)
Le Rhône 9c single-bank
9-cylinder rotary

▼ FOKKER DR.1
Date 1917 Origin Germany
▶ BRISTOL FIGHTER F.2B Wingspan 23 ⁄2ft (7.2m) FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
1
Date 1917 Origin UK Length 19ft (5.77m)
Observer’s one or two .303in
1
Wingspan 39 ⁄4ft (11.96m) (7.7mm) Lewis gun(s) mounted Top speed 103mph (165kph)
3
Length 25 ⁄4ft (7.87m) on a Scarff ring Engine 110hp (82kW)
Top speed 123mph (198kph) Oberursel UR II or Le Rhône 9J
single-bank 9-cylinder rotary
Engine 275hp (205kW)
Rolls-Royce Falcon III in-line V-12 After the success of the Sopwith
Triplane, the three-wing format
Thanks to its powerful engine, the was adopted by the Luftstreitkräfte
second model of the Bristol Fighter, (German Air Force). The DR was
the F.2b, was one of the few two-seater flown by Manfred von Richthofen,
fighters able to hold its own against the “Red Baron” (see p.301).
opposition from single-seaters.
Exhaust pipe
extended behind
observer’s position
Two .31in (7.92mm)
LMG 08/15 machine-guns
Fuselage composed of welded steel
◀ FOKKER D.VII The last of the Fokkers, tubes, cross-braced with cables and
Date 1918 Origin Germany the Reinhold Platz-designed covered with fabric and plywood
D.VII was considered by
Wingspan 29 ⁄4ft (8.93m)
1
some to be the best fighter
Length 22 ⁄4ft (6.93m) aircraft of World War I, but it
3
Top speed 118mph (190kph) struggled against the Sopwith
Engine 185hp (140kW) BMW IIIa Snipe and the Spad XII.
in-line 6-cylinder

Large rudder
with small, fixed
triangular fin

Fuselage composed of fabric- and Tailplane had
plywood-covered welded steel tubes strengthening struts