No.50, THE SOPWITH SNIPE
SOPWITH'S SUPERLATIVE SNIPE!
Although a late-comer to the first air war and only fielded by three Front line units, the 7F.1 Snipe nevertheless made an impressive contribution to the combat areas over France and generally liked by its crews. After the war it remained in service for almost ten years where it exchanged its drab wartime camouflage for an overall aluminium finish often bearing colourful unit markings. Jack Bruce does the type credit in this excellent Profile with its 25 photos and accurate colour profiles.
THE 1918 Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a natural development of the exceptional-if often capricious-Sopwith Camel and entered service in September 1918 with No.43 Squadron RAF. The type served during the last seven weeks of WWI with two other units-one being No.4 of the Australian Flying Corps. The wartime Snipe is best known for the epic one-sided combat by Major William G Barker on 27 October that earned him the Victoria Cross. Post-war the Snipe equipped 11 RAF units until 1927 when it was withdrawn.This excellent 1967 Profile was written by J M Bruce and contains over 24 period photos and nine colourful examples illustrated on the inner covers.