Derived from the Schneider single-seat fighter seaplane, the Baby first appeared in September 1915, and differed from its predecessor primarily in having a 110hp Clerget nine-cylinder rotary in place of the 80 hp Monosoupape Gnome, this being accommodated by a horseshoe-shaped open-fronted cowling.

As on late production Schneiders, ailerons replaced wing warping for lateral control, and armament usually consisted of a single 7.7mm machine gun synchronised to fire through the propeller, although a few Babies retained the arrangement of the Schneider with the gun attached to the centre section and firing upward to clear the propeller.

Several Babies were fitted with two 7.7mm guns side by side over the wing; one batch of Blackburn-built Babies was fitted with Ranken explosive darts as anti-airship weapons, and at least one was fitted with Le Prieur rockets, 10 of these devices being attached to the interplane bracing struts. Two 29.5kg bombs could also be carried.

The Baby was widely used by the RNAS to provide fighter aircraft for use with patrol.ships, as escorts for two-seaters and for operation from early aircraft carriers.

A total of 286 Babies was built of which 195 were produced by Blackburn at Leeds – and sometimes known as Blackburn Babies – 105 of the latter being fitted with the 130hp Clerget engine, and, of these, 40 were fitted (initially) to carry the Ranken dart and no gun armament. A more extensive modification of the Sopwith float fighter was the Fairey Hamble Baby.

Replica ultralight:
Circa Reproductions Sopwith Tabloid / Baby

Engine: Clerget, 130 hp
Wingspan: 6.90 m / 23 ft 8 in
Length: 7.01 m / 23 ft 0 in
Height: 3.05 m / 10 ft 0 in
Wing area: 22.30 sq.m / 240.03 sq ft
Max take-off weight: 778 kg / 1715 lb
Empty weight: 556 kg / 1226 lb
Max. speed: 161 km/h / 100 mph

Derived from the Tabloid float seaplane which won the Schneider Trophy contest in April 1914, the Schneider, the single-seat twin-float seaplane ordered into production in November 1914 for the RNAS resembled closely the aircraft that had gained the Trophy at Monaco. Retaining the same 100hp Gnome Monosoupape nine-cylinder rotary – the upper half of which was enclosed by a ‘bull-nose” cowling – and wing-warping lateral control, the Schneider had a larger fin and rudder, reinforced float bracing and an aperture in the centre section for an upward-angled 7.7mm machine gun.

The RNAS ordered 136 Schneider floatplanes for reconnaissance and light bombing duties, the aircraft entering service in 1915.

Used for patrol duties against enemy airships from seaplane stations around the British coast, the Schneiders were provided with incendiary ammunition and operated against Zeppelins from early 1915. Schneiders were also carried aboard light cruisers of the North Sea Patrol for anti-Zeppelin operations, and served at the Dardanelles, in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Two Schneiders operated from the carrier Ark Royal in April 1915 at Mudros, and the type was still serving in the Aegean as late as November 1916, one shooting down an enemy aircraft which had attacked the airship shed at Mudros on the 21st of that month.

A total of 136 Schneiders is believed to have been built, progressive development resulting in the Baby.

Max take-off weight: 694 kg / 1530 lb
Wingspan: 7.82 m / 26 ft 8 in
Length: 6.90 m / 23 ft 8 in
Height: 2.97 m / 10 ft 9 in
Wing area: 22.30 sq.m / 240.03 sq ft
Max. speed: 143 km/h / 89 mph

The Sopwith Type C and the Sopwith Special were actually two virtually identical designs built to two different contracts – the Type Cs were ordered in July 1914, whilst the ‘Special Tractor Biplane Seaplane’ was ordered first in February 1914. Despite appearing after the Special, the Three Type Cs were allocated the RNAS serials 157 to 159 and the Special received the serial number 170. The photo above shows the Sopwith Special number 170.

The Special and Type Cs were the first purpose built British aeroplanes capable of carrying a torpedo, unfortunately they were not capable of lifting said torpedo into the air! The design was generally considered a failure because of this rather embarrassing character trait. In 1914 commander of the Calshot naval air station Cmdr Arthur Longmore of the Royal Naval Air Service and other RNAS pilots carried out torpedo carrying practice with 14-inch weapons in what Longmore described as the Sopwith Canton-Unné seaplane in August 1914 during experiments at Calshot. Its name was derived from its powerplant.

Engine: 1 x 205hp Canton-Unne (Salmson) 14-cylinder water-cooled radial engine
Max take-off weight: 1963 kg / 4328 lb
Wingspan: 20.12 m / 66 ft 0 in
Length: 10.97 m / 36 ft 0 in
Wing area: 72.93 sq.m / 785.01 sq ft
Crew: 2

The Sopwith Pusher, gun, was a gun-carrying two-seat pusher biplane with twin floats. Six of these floatplanes were ordered from the recently-founded Sopwith Aviation Company by the Greek government in March 1914, but immediately commandeered by the Admiralty when war was declared in August that year, subsequently serving with the RNAS.

The Gun Bus was a land based version.