1-2023 SOPWITH DOLPHIN NR 87

The Sopwith Dolphin was a British mixed biplane fighter with a fixed undercarriage. The drive was provided by a single piston engine Hispano-Suiza 8F with 200 HP. The prototype flight took place in May 1917. In the course of serial production in the period 1917-1918, approximately 1,400 examples of this aircraft were made. The aircraft was armed with two 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns and, in some copies, an additional 1-2 7.7 mm Lewis machine guns. The Sopwith Dolphin was created with the intention of replacing the previously used British fighters with rotary engines. First of all, the Sopwith Dolphin was to provide greater flight stability due to the use of a piston engine and better performance. It was also made easier for the pilot to observe the airspace by lowering the height of the upper lobe. Despite its good performance, the Sopwith Dolphin was not liked by the pilots - the most criticized was the very long time to start the engine and the difficulty of getting out of the machine in the event of a failure. After World War I, machines of this type were quickly withdrawn from British aviation units. Sopwith Dolphin planes served, apart from British aviation, in the Canadian, Polish and United States air forces.