Advertisements

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter (One-and-One-Half Strutter)

Fighter / Reconnaissance / Light Bomber [ 1916 ]

The Sopwith Strutter was the first British aircraft to feature synchronized firing machine guns.

Authored By: Dan Alex | Last Edited: 03/12/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

Like other Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft, the wartime Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter owed its existence to the arrival of the Sopwith Tabloid, a boxy, competition aircraft that sat two in a side-by-side arrangement constructed while being constructed of canvas and wood. The Tabloid design proved a success, earning speed and performance accolades that pushed it to the attention of the British military Despite its limited value as a military mount, the Tabloid nonetheless paved the way for more capable Sopwith designs to come. The 1-1/2 Strutter held two British aviation "firsts" when it was adopted for service - becoming its first "puller" engine arrangement (the engine mounted at the front of the fuselage) two-seater and its first to implement an effective machine gun synchronizer.

Britain went to war in the summer of 1914 and all manner of aircraft were sought for the initiative. This included the Sopwith Tabloid and its floatplane derivatives, the Sopwith Baby and Sopwith Schneider. While these aircraft proved adequate for their given roles of scout (sometimes being armed for the role, sometimes not), they were hardly military-grade end -products built for the rigors of war time abuses. As such, Sopwith engineers took to designing a whole new biplane fighter in the same mold though with changes to incorporate the latest in construction methods while attempting to fulfill the military requirements of a rapidly evolving war in Europe.

Company founder, Thomas Sopwith, along with engineers R.J. Ashfield and Herbert Smith ironed out a new aircraft fuselage with a biplane wing arrangement and inline seating for two - a pilot and an observer/gunner. The powerplant of choice was the French Clerget 9Z rotary engine of 110 horsepower. A single .303 machine gun was fitted in a fixed, forward-firing emplacement, synchronized to fire through the two-bladed spinning propeller blade via a Vickers-Challenger interruptor. For the rear observer, a .303 Lewis machine gun was mounted along a Scarff No. 2 Ring Mounting for trainable fire along the airframe's crucial "six". The wings were supported by struts in a conventional way through full-length, staggered parallel struts making single bays - though half-length struts were used to connect the upper wing assembly to the fuselage (known as cabane struts) and, thusly, this garnered the aircraft the nickname, and ultimately its formal designation, of "1-1/2 Strutter" (One-and-One Half Strutter"). An adjustable rudder surface was added to the vertical tail fin and the wings proved notable in their implementation of pivoting surfaces which were essentially equivalent to later dive brakes. Testing of the 1-1/2 Strutter was undertaken in December of 1915.©MilitaryFactory.com

Advertisements

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) found interest in this newer dedicated Sopwith military development and procured the type in number with deliveries beginning in February of 1916. Requiring a steady stable of airplanes all its own, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) joined in procurement of the type, eventually fielding it across nine complete squadrons - No. 37, No. 39, No. 43 (bomber), No. 44, No. 45 (bomber), No. 46, No. 70 (bomber), No. 78 and No. 143. RNAS No. 5 Wing, operating in France, became the first 1-1/2 Strutter squadron in April of 1916. The 1-1/2 Strutter was eventually in such great demand that other British concerns were charged with its production and license manufacture was also handled overseas in factories across France and Imperial Russia. The aircraft would prove to be a commercial success for Sopwith in that operators ultimately spanned the globe in wartime and post-war use - Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Estonia, France, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia (then later as the Soviet Union), Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the United States, the 1-1/2 Strutter stocked the inventories of its US Signal Corps, the United States Navy and the American Expeditionary Force (the latter in action across Europe during World War 1). Civilian use extended to Argentina, France, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

In practice, the 1-1/2 Strutter compared favorably to the offerings of the Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian air services of the time. The type was utilized initially as a bomber escort and became an effective scout platform all its own. When armed with conventional drop ordnance, the 1-1/2 Strutter proved equally effective as a light two-man bomber. The fuselage eventually came in two flavors for its required roles - produced in twin-seat and single-seat fuselage forms. In 1916, the original Vickers-Challenger interrupter gear was replaced by the more effective Scarff-Dobovsky system. When utilizing a two-man crew, the aircraft was a capable "fighting scout" and benefitted from the "two heads are better than one" mentality. In its single-seat form, construction was simplified and the aircraft lightened to an extent, though more responsibility fell to the single operator now. Within time, a dedicated night-fighter form emerged to combat German incursions over British soil after dark and made up a critical portion of homeland defense squadrons.

Production of 1-1/2 Strutters included 1,439 built for British forces and an additional 4,200 to 4,500 examples built in France brining the combined reported total to nearly 6,000 units.

While quickly brought about to fight in a frontline role, the 1-1/2 Strutter suffered the fate of many-a-World War 1 aircraft - the evolution of technology in the period often led to once-proud mounts being quickly outmoded by arriving enemy designs. 1-1/2 Strutters were superseded by Sopwith Pups and Triplanes beginning to come online throughout 1916 and Strutters were therefore pressed into second-line roles thereafter. All of these designs eventually laid the groundwork for the war-winning Sopwith Camel of mid-1917. 1-1/2 Strutters proved a modest ace-maker as well, Englishman Geoffrey Cock leading the way with 13 confirmed kills.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1916

Origin

United Kingdom

Status

RETIRED
Not in Service.

Crew

1 or 2

Production

5,939
UNITS

Sopwith Aviation Company - UK

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Afghanistan; Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Estonia; France; Japan; Latvia; Lithuania; Mexico; Netherlands; Poland; Romania; Imperial Russia; Soviet Union; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

25.2 ft
(7.69 m)

Width/Span

33.5 ft
(10.21 m)

Height

10.2 ft
(3.12 m)

Empty Wgt

1,257 lb
(570 kg)

MTOW

2,150 lb
(975 kg)

Wgt Diff

+893 lb
(+405 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter production variant)

Installed: 1 x Clerget 9B rotary engine developing 130 horsepower.

Max Speed

102 mph
(164 kph | 89 kts)

Ceiling

12,992 ft
(3,960 m | 2 mi)

Range

351 mi
(565 km | 1,046 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
1 x 7.7mm Vickers Machine Gun in fixed, forward-firing mounting.
1 x 7.7mm Lewis Machine Gun on trainable mounting in rear cockpit position.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 224lb of external ordnance (drop bombs).

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 2

Sopwith Type 9400 - Initial Admiralty Designation.

Sopwith Type 9700 - Initial Admiralty Designation.

Sopwith Type Two-Seater - Initial RFC Designation.

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter - Fighter-Scout/Bomber/Reconnaissance Variant; produced in single and twin-seat versions.

Sopwith Comic - Home Defense Variant

Ship Strutter - Naval Version

SOP. 1 - French Production Designation

SOP. 1A2 - French Two-Seat Reconnaissance Variant.

SOP. 1B2 - French Two-Seat Bomber Variant.

SOP. 1B1 - French Single Seat Bomber Variant.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing all American military medals and ribbons.

www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-

Aviation / Aerospace

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter (One-and-One-Half Strutter)

Fighter / Reconnaissance / Light Bomber [ 1916 ]

The Sopwith Strutter was the first British aircraft to feature synchronized firing machine guns.

Specifications

Images Gallery