Sopwith Triplane Typhoon

Austin Production

For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.

Type Description and Production Data

A.F.B.1 A.F.T.3 Osprey Greyhound Whippet Kestrel
A.F.B.1
Single seat, single bay biplane fighter.The un-staggered, equal-span wings, had no dihedral but were slightly swept, as were the wingtips, and featured ailerons on the upper wings only. The large triangular tailplane featured split elevators, while the rudder was aerodynamically balanced; there was no fixed fin. An advanced feature was that the controls were operated by rods mounted within the airframe rather than cables carried externally. Armament consisted of two Lewis machine guns, one firing through the hollow propeller shaft, with the other mounted above the wing on a Foster mounting. One 200 h.p. Hispano-Suiza powerplant with side mounted radiators.

A.F.B.1 Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Endurance Service Ceiling
30 ft 21 ft 6 in 9 ft 3 in 290 sq ft 1525 lb 2077 lb 138 mph/ 120 kn 2-1/4 hr 22000 ft
9.14 m 6.55 m 2.82 m 26.94 m2 692 kg 942 kg 222 km/h 6706 m

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 2 aircraft ordered from Austin Motor Company, Birmingham, to Contract 87/A/1524. First flew July, 1917
 B9909    1      Later tested with two bay, unswept wings with square wingtips. First flown as such on 17 September 1917.
 none        1  Possibly the second, unbuilt, Austin-Ball fighter would have been designated A.F.B.2
Total Production 1 1

A.F.T.3 Osprey
Single seat triplane fighter, of conventional wood and fabric construction, with single-bay wings, to meet Specification A.1(a). The staggered wings featured ailerons on all wings and had swept tips, as did the tailplane. The rudder was aerodynamically balanced; there was no fixed fin. Two synchronised Vickers guns were mounted ahead of the pilot, while a single Lewis gun was mounted on a movable mounting on the centre section of the middle wing, but with a very limited field of fire, the large diameter propeller blocking any forward fire. One 230 h.p. Bentley B.R.2 powerplant.

A.F.T.3 Osprey Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Endurance Service Ceiling
23 ft 17 ft 7 in 10 ft 8 in 233 sq ft 1106 lb 1888 lb 118.5 mph/ 103 kn 3 hr 19000 ft
7.01 m 5.36 m 3.25 m 21.65 m2 502 kg 856 kg 191 km/h 5791 m

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 3 aircraft ordered from Austin Motor Company, Birmingham, under Licence No.17. First flew February 1918.
 X15    1      
 X16 - X17        2  Not completed.
Total Production 1 2

Greyhound
Two seat fighter-reconnaissance two-bay biplane to Specifications RAF Type lIl and Type IX. Of conventional all-wooden construction, the wings were staggered and of unequal span and chord, with ailerons on all wings, and had swept tips, as did the tailplane. The rudder was horn balanced and there was a fixed fin both above and below the fuselage. Armament included two fixed Vickers machine guns for the pilot, while the observer had a Lwis gun on a Scarff ring mounting. The aircraft was provided with dual control, along with a camera, wireless and, due to the increased altitudes being flown, oxygen and electrical heating. One 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly I powerplant.

Greyhound Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Endurance Service Ceiling
39 ft 26 ft 9 in 10 ft 4 in 400 sq ft 1838 lb 3032 lb 129 mph/ 112 kn 3 hr 19000 ft
11.89 m 8.15 m 3.15 m 37.16 m2 834 kg 1375 kg 208 km/h 5791 m

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 3 aircraft ordered from Austin Motor Company, Birmingham, to Contract 35A/1226/C1146 and AS18024/18. Delivered as indicated.
 H4317 - H4319    3      The 2nd prototype was delivered to the A&AEE at Martlesham Heath in January 1919, followed by the first
 prototype in May and the third in February 1920.
Total Production 3

Whippet
Single seat touring biplane of mixed construction. The fuselage was a braced box beam of steel tubing, with no bracing wires. It was built up in two sections, being divided at a point immediately behind the cockpit; the forward section was fabric covered with ply upper decking, wthile the aft featured a rounded upper coaming, the whole fabric covered. The engine was cowled in aluminum. The single-bay, folding wings, which had a slight stagger of 3 inches and 5 degrees of dihedral, was fabric-covered and constructed of hollow box-section wooden spars, with steel tubes employed for compression members, and internal bracing by steel pianowire. Interplane struts consisted of one set of 'N' struts, of streamlined steel tubes, with the top centre section being supported above the fuselage by two pairs of vertical streamlined steel struts, only this portion of the wing being wire-braced. The wings were hinged at the roots of the rear spars to facilitate folding. When folded back, the wings were supported and locked by tubes attached to the.fuselage, and when in flying position were locked by a positive quickrelease locking device. Bracing for lift and incidence was by streamlined steel tubes, anchored at their lower ends to the roots of the lower wings and at their upper to the 'N' strut attachment points, were not disconnected when folding the wings. In order to correct incidence, the rear lift struts were made adjustable. Ailerons were fitted on all wings, which had swept tips. The strut braced tailplane was ground-adjustable for incidence, the elevators and unbalanced rudder framework was of steel tubing with wooden ribs .A triangularvertical fin was mounted both above and below the fuselage. One 45 h.p. Anzani powerplant.

Whippet Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
21 ft 6 in 16 ft 3 in 7 ft 6 in 134 sq ft 580 lb 810 lb 75 mph/ 65 kn 85 mph/ 74 kn 160 mi
6.55 m 4.95 m 2.29 m 12.45 m2 263 kg 367 kg 121 km/h 137 km/h 257 km

Production Details
C/n Initial
Registration
Notes
 5 aircraft built by the Austin Motor Company, Birmingham. First flew mid 1919.
 AU.1  K-158/G-EAGS  Retained by the Austin Motor Co.
 AU.2  G-EAPF  To C.P.G. Ogilvie. To New Zealand 1929, reputedly as ZK-ACR (but see AU.4)
 AU.3  G-EAUZ  To AJ Greenshields. To Argentina as R-151 in 1920.
 AU.4  ZK-ACR  To New Zealand in 1921, originally unregistered; registered ZK-ACR in 1931.
 AU.5  none  To New Zealand in 1921, never flown.
Total Production  5

Kestrel
Two seat, side-by side, touring biplane built for the 1920 Air Ministry Competition. The fuselage was a braced box beam of steel tubing, the two bay wings had ailerons fitted on all wings and had swept tips, as did the tailplane. The rudder was horn bbalanced and there was a fixed fin both above and below the fuselage. One 160 h.p. Beardmore powerplant.

Kestrel Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
38 ft 6 in 25 ft 6 in 10 ft 3 in 417 sq ft 1966 lb 2740 lb 83 mph/ 72 kn 110 mph/ 96 kn
11.73 m 7.77 m 3.12 m 38.74 m2 892 kg 1243 kg 134 km/h 177 km/h

Production Details
C/n Initial
Registration
Notes
 1 aircraft built by the Austin Motor Company, Birmingham. First flew mid 1920.
 none  G-EATR  Retained by the Austin Motor Co.
Total Production  1

Production References

  1. British Aeroplanes 1914-18, J.M. Bruce (Putnam, 1957)
  2. British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Vol 1, Vol 1, A.J. Jackson (Putnam, 1973)
  3. The Complete Civil Register of New Zealand, Air Britain Archive, Various Issues (Air-Britain Publications)
  4. British Aircraft of WWI, Volume 1 - Experimental Fighters Part 1, Colin A Owers (Aeronaut Books, 2017)
  5. British Aircraft of WWI Volume 2 - Experimental Fighters Part 2, Colin A Owers (Aeronaut Books, 2019)
  6. British Aircraft of WWI Volume 7 - Experimental Fighters Part 3, Colin A Owers (Aeronaut Books, 2023)
  7. Flight 14 Aug 1919

Page Revision History

Revised at Version 2.1.1
  • Expanded Whippet Type Description.
Revised at Version 2.0.0
  • Added Type Description and Specification details.