Following the success of the Sopwith Pup, the Sopwith Tri-plane was designed and built in 1916 and combined what were thought at the time to be of prime performan- ce requirements for a fighter-high rate of climb and excellent manoeuvrability.In what wasreally a daring experiment the new aircraft was using a fuselage and tail unit similar to that of the Sopwith Pup, a more powerful engine and all-important a third wing.Althogh it could not out manoeuvre the earlier Pup, The triplane could outclimb any other aircraft, friendly or hostile. After its first flight in May 1916, the prototype was sent to France immediately for combat trials and became the first triplane fighter on the Western Front.Within onlt 15 minutes of its arrival in France, it was sent up to attack German aircraft.Observers were amazed at the Triplanes ability to get to 12, 000 feet in only 13 minutes. The enthusiastic response of its first pilots got the Sopwith rushed into production for service with the Royal Naval Air Service, who flew it with devastating effect between Febuary and July 1917.
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