Back with the Bentleys (2)

SnipeCamo1cropped2 Snipe in Showroom
Sopwith Snipe F2367 in No 70 Squadron B Flight colours immediately post -war Sopwith Snipe F2367 in PA Wood’s Showroom 16 Oct 2015
The WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust (WAHT) Sopwith Snipe is back with its Bentley Motor Car roots. It is the only flying aircraft powered by a 230hp Bentley Rotary (BR-2) engine in UK . Thanks to the generosity of Paul and Andrew Wood – the Vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentley Heritage Dealers of Great Dunmow in Essex – it now sits in pride of place in their showroom next to Silver Ghosts and Bentleys of similar vintage. It is for sale and we hope that a future owner may task WAHT with its operation so that it is not lost to the Nation. Such generosity would emulate the patriotic donors one hundred years from around Great Britain and the Empire ago who presented more than 2000 aircraft to the Royal Flying Corps when England appeared to be on the point of succumbing to the might of the German Zeppelins. The donor’s logo was painted on the side of each aircraft presented.

If you would be interested in acquiring the Snipe, please contact PA Wood –

Telephone: +44 (0)1371 870 848, Fax: +44 (0)1371 870 810.
The Sopwith Snipe was the ultimate allied fighter of the Great War with its BR-2 engine giving it a max speed of 125 mph and ceiling of 25,000ft. Full scale production was ordered from numerous manufacturers in late March 1918 but it was not until October that sufficient aircraft were available to fully equip 43 Sqn RAF and 4 Sqn AFC (Australian Flying Corps) in France. The Sopwith Snipe is firmly lodged in the minds of many WWI aeroplane devotees due to the epic one-sided battle fought by Major William Barker in October 1918 in which he brought down four Fokker D.VIIs, an action that resulted in the Victoria Cross for the Canadian pilot. The Snipe, designed to supplant the Camel, had few further opportunities for glory. The Sopwith Snipe continued to serve the RAF post war, against the Bolsheviks in Russia, occupational duties in Germany, in home service and ‘policing duties’ in Egypt and Iraq. The Snipe was the last rotary engine powered fighter to serve in the RAF and was only completely replaced in 1927 by the radial engine powered Gloster Grebe, Hawker Woodcock and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin.

 

Recent Posts
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  • Chat Session 3-5, The fighting Scouts of 1917

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About WW1AHT

WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust Ltd

We intend to provide an enduring flying collection of World War I Allied and German aircraft based in the UK flying from heritage sites like Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome.

Company No 8753767

Registered Charity No 1156699

Contact:

+44 870 9191914
info@ww1aht.co.uk
rockingnacelle@ww1aht.co.uk

Photography

With thanks to Darren Harbar, Huw Hopkins, Leigh Smith and Russell Savory for their magnificent photographs

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Art Connexion
Yes Flyers | UK Youth Aviation Education
Sally Crabtree – Poetry Postie, Pushing the Envelope of Poetry

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