Sopwith Two-Seat Scout

Sopwith Two-Seat Scout
Role	Anti-Zeppelin biplane
Manufacturer	Sopwith Aviation Company
First flight	1914
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	24

The Sopwith Two-Seat Scout (or Type 880) was a 1910s British biplane Anti-Zeppelin scout biplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was nicknamed the Spinning Jenny due to a tendency to enter a spin.

Design and development

First flown in November 1914 the Two-Seat Scout was developed from the 1914 Circuit of Britain seaplane. It was two-bay unswept biplane with equal span wings and ailerons fitted on all four wings and a braced tailplane and a single rudder. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear with a cross-axle type main gear with twin wheels carried on vee legs under the fuselage. It was powered by a nose-mounted 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine driving a two-bladed propeller. It had two tandem open cockpits and could carry small bombs under the fuselage.

Operators

United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)
• Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
• Wing area: 440 sq ft (41 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,160 lb (526 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,800 lb (816 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Monosoupape nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine , 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 69 mph (111 km/h, 60 kn)
• Endurance: 3 hours 30 minutes

See also

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
• List of flying boats and floatplanes

References

• Bruce, J.M. (1957). British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London: Putnam.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2940.