SOPWITH SCHNEIDER - BRYTYJSKI WODNOSAMOLOT Z 1914 ROKU

The Sopwith Schneider is a specially rebuilt Sopwith Tabloid plane, equipped with floats and a more powerful 100 HP (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape engine that won the seaplane competition for the Schneider Cup in Monaco. The Sopwith Tabloid is a British single-seater sports biplane, one of the first to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The name Tabloid comes from a small-format newspaper and was intended to mark the small dimensions of the plane. The appearance of the machine caused a great sensation due to its high maneuverability and excellent flight parameters compared to the then popular monoplane airplanes. During World War I, it was used as a fast reconnaissance aircraft, or occasionally also as a bomber, carrying two bombs weighing 9 kg. The first raids on German positions began on September 22, 1914. The most famous bombing mission of Tabloid machines was the raid of October 8, 1914. two RNAS machines for German Zeppelin hangars in Cologne and Dusseldorf. In Cologne, the targets were not located, therefore the railway station was bombed, while in Dusseldorf, from a ceiling of 200 meters, two bombs were dropped that destroyed the Zeppelin Z.IX airship. These aircraft were withdrawn from service in early 1915. Technical data (Sopwith Schneider): length: 6.96m, wingspan: 7.83m, height: 3.05m, maximum speed: 140km / h, rate of climb: 2.2m / s, practical ceiling: 2100m, maximum range: 510km.