The Sopwith Buffalo was a British armoured fighter/reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined biplane, two examples of the Buffalo were built by Sopwith to carry out reconnaissance missions low over the trenches while protected against machine-gun fire from the ground, but no production followed, with the end of the war removing the need for such an aircraft.
In July 1918, the British Air Ministry requested Sopwith, who was already building the Sopwith Salamander armoured single-seat ground attack fighter, to build an armoured two-seat aircraft to carry out the dangerous contact patrol mission.[1] This mission involved flying at low altitude over the battlefield to locate and keep in contact with attacking forces, therefore keeping commanders in touch with the progress of the battle. This exposed aircraft carrying out such missions to heavy small arms fire from enemy trenches, resulting in heavy casualties.[2][3]
Sopwith's design, the 3F.2 Buffalo, was a single-engined tractorbiplane, with its two-bay wooden wings taken from Sopwith's earlier Bulldog fighter. Like the Salamander, the forward fuselage was made out of armour plate, weighing about 750 lb (340 kg), with the bottom of the fuselage 0.315 in (8 mm) thick, with the sides and front of 0.179 in (5 mm) plate. The armoured box reached back to the observer's cockpit, protecting the crew together with the fuel tanks and pipes, the carburettor and the magnetos.[3][4]
The first prototype flew on 19 September 1918,[3] flying to France for evaluation in the field on 27 September.[5] The second prototype, which had its armour extended further aft, flew in October.[3] While tests showed that the Buffalo had good performance, and promised to be an excellent contact patrol aircraft, the end of the war ended plans for large scale production. The two prototypes were sent to No. 43 Squadron, serving with the British Army of Occupation at Bickendorf near Cologne, Germany, but were quickly damaged in crashes.[2][5]
Bruce, J. M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
Bruce, J. M. "The First British Armoured Brigade",Part 3. Air International, April 1979, Vol 16 No. 4. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll Publishing. pp. 182–190, 199–200.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN1-55750-082-7.
"Milestones:The Sopwith Machines". Flight, 6 February 1919. pp. 163–174.
Robertson, Bruce. Sopwith-The Man and his Aircraft. Letchworth, UK:Air Review, 1970. ISBN0-900435-15-1.
January 20, 2023
sopwith, buffalo, british, armoured, fighter, reconnaissance, aircraft, first, world, single, engined, biplane, examples, buffalo, were, built, sopwith, carry, reconnaissance, missions, over, trenches, while, protected, against, machine, fire, from, ground, pr. The Sopwith Buffalo was a British armoured fighter reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War A single engined biplane two examples of the Buffalo were built by Sopwith to carry out reconnaissance missions low over the trenches while protected against machine gun fire from the ground but no production followed with the end of the war removing the need for such an aircraft BuffaloRole Armoured fighter reconnaissance aircraftNational origin United KingdomManufacturer Sopwith Aviation CompanyFirst flight 19 September 1918Status PrototypeNumber built 2Developed from Sopwith Bulldog Contents 1 Development and design 2 Operators 3 Specifications 4 See also 5 Notes 6 ReferencesDevelopment and design EditIn July 1918 the British Air Ministry requested Sopwith who was already building the Sopwith Salamander armoured single seat ground attack fighter to build an armoured two seat aircraft to carry out the dangerous contact patrol mission 1 This mission involved flying at low altitude over the battlefield to locate and keep in contact with attacking forces therefore keeping commanders in touch with the progress of the battle This exposed aircraft carrying out such missions to heavy small arms fire from enemy trenches resulting in heavy casualties 2 3 Sopwith s design the 3F 2 Buffalo was a single engined tractor biplane with its two bay wooden wings taken from Sopwith s earlier Bulldog fighter Like the Salamander the forward fuselage was made out of armour plate weighing about 750 lb 340 kg with the bottom of the fuselage 0 315 in 8 mm thick with the sides and front of 0 179 in 5 mm plate The armoured box reached back to the observer s cockpit protecting the crew together with the fuel tanks and pipes the carburettor and the magnetos 3 4 The first prototype flew on 19 September 1918 3 flying to France for evaluation in the field on 27 September 5 The second prototype which had its armour extended further aft flew in October 3 While tests showed that the Buffalo had good performance and promised to be an excellent contact patrol aircraft the end of the war ended plans for large scale production The two prototypes were sent to No 43 Squadron serving with the British Army of Occupation at Bickendorf near Cologne Germany but were quickly damaged in crashes 2 5 Operators Edit AustraliaAustralian Flying Corps No 4 Squadron AFC One Buffalo was attached to No 4 Squadron it was used for tests and trials during October 1918 United KingdomRoyal Air Force No 43 Squadron RAFSpecifications EditData from British Aeroplanes 1914 18 6 General characteristicsCrew Two Length 23 ft 3 1 2 in 7 10 m Wingspan 36 ft 6 in 11 13 m Height 9 ft 6 in 2 90 m Wing area 326 sq ft 30 3 m2 Empty weight 2 178 lb 988 kg Gross weight 3 071 lb 1 393 kg Fuel capacity 25 imp gal 30 US gal 110 L Powerplant 1 Bentley BR 2 9 cylinder rotary engine 230 hp 170 kW Propellers 2 bladed 8 ft 6 in 2 59 m diameter 7 Performance Maximum speed 114 mph 183 km h 99 kn at 1 000 ft 300 m Range 275 mi 443 km 239 nmi 8 Service ceiling 9 000 ft 2 700 m Time to altitude 4 min 55 s to 3 000 ft 910 m Armament Guns 1 forward firing 303 in Vickers machine gun 1 flexibly mounted Lewis gun in rear cockpitSee also EditRelated development Sopwith BulldogAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Sopwith Salamander Junkers J I AEG J I Albatros J INotes Edit Robertson 1970 p 229 a b Bruce 1957 p 629 a b c d Mason 1992 p 139 Bruce 1979 p 199 a b Bruce 1979 p 200 Bruce 1957 p 630 Robertson 1970 p 240 Flight 6 February 1919 p 174 References EditBruce J M British Aeroplanes 1914 18 London Putnam 1957 Bruce J M The First British Armoured Brigade Part 3 Air International April 1979 Vol 16 No 4 Bromley UK Fine Scroll Publishing pp 182 190 199 200 Mason Francis K The British Fighter since 1912 Annapolis Maryland USA Naval Institute Press 1992 ISBN 1 55750 082 7 Milestones The Sopwith Machines Flight 6 February 1919 pp 163 174 Robertson Bruce Sopwith The Man and his Aircraft Letchworth UK Air Review 1970 ISBN 0 900435 15 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sopwith Buffalo amp oldid 1066004221, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
