"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote:

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
As usual you are wrong. The Brits had the Sopwith triplane.

Snoopy was a Brit?

Doesn't Snoopy fly a Camel?

Yes. Sopwith made more than one model aircraft, just like Fokker did.

Of course he does, and both were designed for the RNAS. AFAIK the Tripe
only flew with them (No. 1 and 3 Sq. RNAS IIRR), while the Camel served
with both RFC and RNAS units before they became the RAF. The Sopwith Tripe
was a lot of fun to fly in the flight sim Red Baron, and I used to plot
how to wangle a transfer into one of the RNAS units that got them as soon
as it entered service. In its period you were Sky King, cause no one
could touch you. Only problem was the single MG, but otherwise, the
Albatri and Pfalz were meat on the table. It was equivalent to flying an
F-15 or 16 against MiG-21s.

The Fokker Tripe was a different matter, designed in response to the
Sopwith Tripe. It had two guns and incredible rudder response that
allowed you to make flat turns, but it was slow, god awful slow. It
climbed like an elevator but if you were in a Spad XIII or SE.5A with a
Tripe on your tail you just dove until he'd back off to keep the wings
from failing, or else you raised the nose until you were at the Tripe's
max. level speed (103 mph true IIRR) or thereabouts, and disengaged in a
shallow fast climb until you had sufficient range to turn around and come
back neutral or better. Just like P-38s did against Zeros. Damn, that
game was fun, andgave you a good feel for the different a/c's strengths
and weaknesses.

Guy