Manufacturer

Sopwith Aviation Co

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The Sopwith Aviation Company Ltd in Kingston-on-Thames was founded in a shed at Brooklands in 1912 by Tommy, Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith.

Tommy Sopwith

Sopwith rebuilt early aircraft before First World War, began development of own types and formed important associations with F. Sigrist (engineer and largely responsible for future success) and H. G. Hawker (pilot). Company registered March 1914.

Sopwith Aviation Co Article

Bat Boat of 1913 was notable flying-boat and Tabloid landplane of same year gained renown as floatplane by winning 1914 Schneider Trophy. Wartime developments were Schneider and Baby floatplanes.

Became world famous for fighter aircraft, built in great numbers by many companies, though first landplane fighter built in great numbers was two-seat 1 1/2-Strutter. Pup was smaller single-seater. Triplane of 1916 excelled in climb. Two-gun Camel, in service 1917, excelled in maneuverability; shipboard version had detachable rear fuselage. Cuckoo of 1917 was world’s first deck-landing torpedo-bomber. Snipe was intended to succeed Camel late in war, and remained in RAF service until 1926: Salamander was similar but armored for ground attack.

With an output of 90 ships a week at Kingston alone, due for commercial reasons this company had to end its activities in 1920 and the busi¬ness had to liquidate.

Sopwith wanted to stay in aviation and couldn’t start a company with the same name. So he called the new company the Hawker Engineering Company, with a capital of 20,000 pounds.

Sommer, Roger

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France

Roger Sommer had built an aircraft of his own design in 1908, achieving a few short straight-line flights in early 1909. This was housed at Châlons, where Sommer had a hangar between those occupied by Gabriel Voisin and Henri Farman. In May 1909 Sommer bought a Farman III aircraft, and on 7 August 1909 he gained fame in this by breaking the endurance record held by Wilbur Wright, making a flight lasting 2 hr 27 min 15 sec. Later that year he made a successful appearance at the Doncaster flight meeting, winning the prize for the greatest distance flown during the meeting. Meanwhile, he had started building an aircraft of his own design at Mouzon in the Ardennes, where his family had a felt-making business.

First began aeronautical work in 1904. Special Sommer biplane of 1911 lifted 13 persons. After a dormant period the company resumed aircraft construction 1915, and at the Armistice the Sommer works was claimed to have been producing up to 200 aircraft per month under subcontract.

Soltau, Andreas

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Austro-Hungarian engineer Andreas Soltau designed the “Sturmvogel” ornithopter. The machine was not successful, and after his adventure with the Sturmvogel, Soltau left aeronautics, but he can still be traced in patents dating from the 1920s, one of which features a hot-air engine.