The Sopwith Buffalo was a British armoured
fighter/
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. A single-engined
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
, 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.
Development and design
In July 1918, the British
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
requested Sopwith, who were already building the
Sopwith Salamander
The Sopwith TF.2 Salamander was a British ground-attack aircraft of the First World War designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company which first flew in April 1918. It was a single-engined, single-seat biplane, based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter, w ...
armoured single-seat ground attack fighter, to build an armoured two-seat aircraft to carry out the dangerous contact patrol mission. 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.
[Bruce 1957, p. 629.][Mason 1992, p. 139.]
Sopwith's design, the 3F.2 Buffalo, was a single-engined
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
, with its two-bay wooden wings taken from Sopwith's earlier
Bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.[carburettor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...]
and the
magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
s.
[Bruce 1979, p. 199.]
The first prototype flew on 19 September 1918,[ flying to France for evaluation in the field on 27 September.][Bruce 1979, p. 200.] The second prototype, which had its armour extended further aft, flew in October.[ 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
Bickendorf is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...
near Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, but were quickly damaged in crashes.[
]
Operators
;
*Australian Flying Corps
The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
** No. 4 Squadron AFC - One Buffalo was attached to No. 4 Squadron, it was used for tests and trials during October 1918.
;
*Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**No. 43 Squadron RAF
("Glory is the end")
, colors=
, colors_label=
, march=
, mascot=
, battles=
, anniversaries=
, decorations=
, battle_honours=
*Western Front (1917–1918)
*Arras (1917)
* Ypres (1917)*
* Cambrai (1917)
*Somme (1918)*
*Lys
*Amiens (1918)
*Dunk ...
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
*Bruce, J. M. ''British Aeroplanes 1914-18''. London:Putnam, 1957.
*Bruce, J. M. "The First British Armoured Brigade",Part 3. ''Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', 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. .
Milestones:The Sopwith Machines
. ''Flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
'', 6 February 1919. pp. 163–174.
*Robertson, Bruce. ''Sopwith-The Man and his Aircraft''. Letchworth, UK:Air Review, 1970. .
{{Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft
1910s British fighter aircraft
1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft
Buffalo
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1918
Rotary-engined aircraft