Sopwith Cuckoo

Sopwith Cuckoo
Sopwith Cuckoo
Sopwith Cuckoo
Description
Roletorpedo bomber
Crew
First flightJune 1917
Entered serviceSeptember 1918
ManufacturerSopwith Aviation Company
Dimensions
Length ft in m
Wingspan ft in m
Height ft in m
Wing area ft²
Weights
Empty lb kg
Loaded lb kg
Maximum takeoff lb kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines
Power hp kW
Performance
Maximum speed mph km/h
Combat range miles km
Ferry range miles km
Service ceiling ft m
Rate of climb ft/min m/min
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Bombs
Other

The Sopwith Cuckoo was a bi-plane torpedo bomber used by the British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), and its sucessor organisation, the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Cuckoo was built by the Sopwith Aviation Company, better known for making the Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Pup. Though the Cuckoo would also prove to be a good design, it had only a relatively brief career.

It first flew in June 1917, with the first Cuckoo's being delivered in September 1918, meaning the Cuckoo was too late to be involved in the First World War. Though, in October 1918, there was a plan made by Admiral Sir David Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, to attack the German High Seas Fleet at harbour using the Cuckoo's which would have flown off the new carrier HMS Argus. However, the plan was rejected, and the war was already coming to an end. A similar operation, launched by Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet would take place in 1940, against the Italian Fleet at Taranto, and which would prove to be a success.

Over three hundred Cuckoos were ordered, but like many programs still in production upon the end of the First World War, high numbers of the Cuckoo ordered were cancelled due to the post-WW1 cuts. Over 140 of the type were produced, though less than 100 of them actually entered service with the RAF. The Cuckoo was the first land plane designed to operate off warships for use as a torpedo-bomber, its wings being foldable. It carried a single 18 in (457 mm) torpedo under its fuselage. It was powered by a single 200 hp (150 kW) Sunbeam Arab piston engine, had a max speed of just over 100 mph (160 km/h), her endurance was just over three hours and her range was over 400 miles (640 km). By 1 April 1923, the Cuckoo's career was over and the last squadron to use her, No. 210 Squadron RAF, was disbanded.

Squadrons that operated the Cuckoo

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