1:144 Sopwith Dolphin
This is a paintable 1:144 scale model of a Sopwith Dolphin with its twin Vickers guns but no auxiliary Lewis guns. Since many painters choose their own mounting system, no peg is included on the plane. Pegs can be purchased separately in the Accessories section of this catalog. Also available are Dolphins with single or twin Lewis guns.
While most Sopwith fighters used a rotary engine, the Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin used a Hispano-Suiza vee. The upper wing sat low on a deep cockpit to give the pilot maximum visibility, with his head poking out in a cage structure splitting the upper wing. The lower wing was negatively staggered to maintain the correct center of gravity. Pilots were not keen on this arrangement, though, fearing being decapitated if the plane should flip over. Those fears were unfounded though, and the plane proved easy to fly and quite capable, especially at high altitude where Camels struggled. The first operational trials commenced in June 1917, but it was not until the late months of 1917 that production units reached the front. Problems with the geared 200hp Hispano-Suiza plagued rapid production, just as it was slowing the R.A.F. S.E.5a.
Twin synchronized Vickers were fitted to the fuselage, and sometime additionally one or two limited-movement Lewis guns aimed upward at a 45 degree angle, though the latter were frequently removed, with a corresponding increase in performance. The Dolphin performed all the normal fighter patrol and escort duties and one unit was issued Dolphins for Home Defense.
For more data and gaming info on this plane, see https://linen.miraheze.org/wiki/Sopwith_Dolphin.
1:144 Sopwith Dolphin
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