Sopwith Salamander

infobox Aircraft
name = Sopwith TF.2 Salamander
type = ground attack
manufacturer = Sopwith



caption =
designer =
first flight = 27 April 1918
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users =
produced = 1918-1919
number built = 419
unit cost =
developed from = Sopwith Snipe
variants with their own articles =

The Sopwith TF.2 Salamander was a British World War I ground attack aircraft which first flew in April 1918. The war ended before the type could enter squadron service, although two were in France in October 1918.

Design and Development

By 1917, the use of close support aircraft had become an essential part of an infantry attack. On the German side, specialist aircraft were designed specifically for the task, such as the Halberstadt CL.II and the armoured Junkers J.I – the British however relied for this work on ordinary fighters such as the DH 5, and the Camel, and general purpose two seaters such as the F.K.8. Ground fire took a heavy toll of aircrew involved, and an equivalent to the armoured German machines was sought. The first British aircraft to be built specifically for “ground strafing”, as close support was known, was an armoured version of the Camel, known by the company as the “TF.1” (for "trench fighter"). This did not go into production, but information gained in testing it was used for the Salamander design.

Design of the Salamander, conceived as an armoured version of the Sopwith Snipe, began in January 1918. The forward portion of the fuselage was a 650 lb (295 kg) box of armour plate. The rear portion was a generally similar structure to the Snipe’s, but flat sided, to match the forepart. The wings and tail unit were identical with the Snipe, and the same Bentley BR2 rotary engine was fitted. This was protected by a standard (unarmoured) cowling – the foremost armour plate forming the firewall.

Originally an armament of three Lewis guns was planned, as for the TF.I. Two would have fired forward and downwards through the cockpit floor, while a third would have fired upwards. In the event a conventional battery of two synchronised Vickers guns was mounted in front of the cockpit, as on the Snipe, although they were staggered, the starboard gun being mounted a few inches forward of the port one.

The prototype underwent its initial trials in April 1918, and was sent to France for evaluation on 9 May. By this time four prototypes were flying, undergoing many of the same modifications to the tail and ailerons as the Snipe in order to correct the initially rather heavy and unresponsive controls.

ervice history

Production was intended to be on a very large scale – The Air Navigation Co., Glendower Aircraft, and Palladium Motors all signed contracts to supply Salamanders, as well as the Sopwith company itself. By the end of the war, however, only 37 Salamanders were on RAF charge, and only two of these were in France. None had as yet been issued to an operational squadron.

With the Armistice, the immediate need for a specialist close support aircraft evaporated, and no squadron was ever fully equipped with the type, which had disappeared from RAF service altogether by the mid 1920s. The type was not developed, but was used in trials of various patterns of disruptive camouflage in the early post war years. One example went to America, and was apparently still in existence at McCook Field in 1926.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force
**No. 86 Squadron RAF
**No. 95 Squadron RAF
**No. 157 Squadron RAF

pecifications (Sopwith TF.2 Salamander)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=1
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 19 ft 6 in
length alt=5.94 m
span main=31 ft 3 in [upper wing]
span alt=9.53 m
height main=9 ft 4 in
height alt=2.84 m
area main= 272 sq ft
area alt= 25.27 sq m
airfoil=*Chord: 5 ft (1.5 m)
empty weight main= 1,844 lb
empty weight alt= 836 kg
loaded weight main= 2,512 lb
loaded weight alt= 1.140 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
*Fuel: 29 gallons (110 litres)
engine (prop)=Bentley BR2
type of prop=rotary
number of props=1
power main=230 hp
power alt=172 kw
power original=
max speed main= 117 mph at 10,000 ft, 125 mph at low altitude
max speed alt= 188 km/h at 3,048 m, 201 km/h at low altitude
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 13,000
ceiling alt=4,000 m
climb rate main= 17 minutes to 10,000 ft
climb rate alt=3,048 m
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
*Endurance: 1.5 hours
armament=
* 2 x 0.303 Vickers machine guns
* 4 light bombs
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
see also=
related=
*Sopwith Snipe
*Sopwith Dragon
similar aircraft=
sequence=
lists=
*List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force

References

cite book
title =Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I
publisher = Military Press
year =1990
location =New York, New York
pages =87
isbn = 0-517-03376-3

cite book
author=Bruce, J.M.
title =War Planes of the First World War (Vol.2)
publisher = Macdonald
year =1969
location =London
pages =
isbn = 0-356-01490-8