User Guide

The Fleet
165
8
Sopwith Aviation Company
Born to privilege, Thomas Octave Murdoch
Sopwith could have spent his life playing polo and
sailing his 166-ton schooner “Neva”—interests
that preceded his passion for aviation. But his
intelligence, energy, and curiosity combined well
with his engineering education to steer him into
pursuits that matched a bounding ambition. In
1910, Sopwith earned British Pilot Certificate no.
31, and before the year was out, he was compet-
ing for and setting British aviation records. Shortly
after the New Year, he landed a Howard Wright
biplane on the grounds of Windsor Castle at the
invitation of King George V.
Within two years of earning his pilot certificate,
Sopwith was designing his own aircraft and
ascending rapidly in the ranks of British aviation.
In early 1914, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston
Churchill, took his first ride in a Sopwith airplane.
By then, Sopwith aircraft were already entering
the service of the Royal Flying Corps, which was
fortunate: on August 14
th
of that year, Britain
declared war on Germany.
Among the thousands of airplanes built by
Sopwith Aviation Company, Ltd. during World War
I were such models as the Tabloid, the Strutter,
and the Schneider and Baby floatplanes. More
famous were the Pup, the Sopwith Triplane, and
the most successful fighter of the war, the
Sopwith F.1 Camel.
The rugged design and construction of the planes
was frequently demonstrated in combat. One pilot
had his Strutter set ablaze by anti-aircraft fire. He
was able to put the flames out by ripping strips of
burning fabric off the plane. He was then attacked
by enemy planes and a severed fuel line forced a
landing. The plane was up and flying again the
next morning.
After the war, military order cancellations led to
the dissolution of the Sopwith Aviation Company.
Tom Sopwith became Chairman of Hawker
Engineering, which absorbed the Sopwith patents.
Following a 1935 merger with Siddeley Armstrong,
the company became Hawker Siddeley Aircraft
Company.
With war clouds gathering once again, Hawker
Siddeley joined in the defense of the realm during
the Second World War with the Hawker Hurricane
(which can be flown in Microsoft
®
Combat Flight
Simulator), the Typhoon, and the Tempest. From
1939 to 1941 the Hurricane was Britain’s front-
line fighter. Though the Supermarine Spitfire won
more acclaim in the history books, the Hurricane
shot down more enemy planes in the Battle of
Britain. More than 14,000 were built.
In 1953, Tom Sopwith became Sir Thomas
Sopwith, in recognition of his contributions to
aviation.
In more recent years, Hawker has produced
business, military, and transport aircraft. They
developed the widely respected Hawker 125
business jet, which today is owned and built by
Raytheon Aircraft. Among the most famous
Hawkers is the AV8-B Harrier “jump jet,” the
world’s first vertical takeoff and landing attack
aircraft.
In 1977, Hawker Siddeley merged with the British
Aircraft Corporation to form British Aerospace
(BAE). Employing over 43,000 people, BAE is one
of the largest aerospace and defense contractors
in Europe and is part of the combined effort to
develop the future Eurofighter aircraft.