Sopwith Type 860

The Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane torpedo bomber designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company.

Sopwith Type 860
Type 860 No.938 at Woolston, Southampton
Role	Torpedo bomber seaplane
Manufacturer	Sopwith Aviation Company
First flight	1914
Introduction	1915
Retired	1916
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	22

Design and development

First flown in December 1914 the Type 860 was an unswept biplane. The upper wings had a strut braced extension and ailerons were fitted on all four wings. It had twin strut-mounted floats under the fuselage and a float mounted under the tail and each wingtip. Some models were powered by a nose-mounted 200 hp 14-cylinder engine; others used a 225 hp (168 kW) Sunbeam Mohawk engine. Both models utilised a two-bladed propeller. It had two tandem open cockpits and could carry one 810 lb (367 kg) torpedo under the fuselage. The Sopwith Admiralty Seaplane Type 860 was built in two versions. The standard version had wings of equal span; the second version had a lower wing of shorter span. In both versions, the wings were designed to fold. The type remained in service with RNAS until at least 1916.^[1]

Type 860 No.851 with unequal span wings

Operators

 United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Wingspan: 62 ft 11 in (19.18 m)
• Wing area: 790 sq ft (73.4 m²)
• Powerplant: 1 × Salmson 2M7 water-cooled piston engine, 220 hp (160 kW) or 225 hp Sunbeam Mohawk
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Armament
1 x 810 lb (370 kg) 14 inch Whitehead Mk. IX aerial torpedo

See also

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
• List of flying boats and floatplanes