Roden 404 1/48 Sopwith 1.5 Strutter Single-seat Bomber

After the successful debut of the two-seat Sopwith 1½ Strutter fighter, RNAS ordered the Sopwith 9700 single-seat bomber among six new types for its own needs. At that time the Admiralty were planning great offensive air raids against Germany's industrial centers, but the lack of a suitable aeroplane delayed this idea.

The first single-seat 1½ Strutter was delivered to the RNAS in June 1916, but official acceptance took place in August. At the same time the RFC also ordered the 1½ Strutter from Sopwith, and many subcontractors also began to build this type: Morgan & Co, Hooper, Mann & Egerton, and Westland completed 372 single-seat 1½ Strutters in total.

Specification

• Wingspan: 10,21 m
• Length: 7,70 m
• Take off weight: 1062 kg
• Speed: max 160 km/h
• Time of 2000 m reaching 9 min
• Service ceiling 3900 m
• Powerplant 110 h.p. Clerget 9Z or 130 h.p. Clerget 9B or 110 h.p. Le Rhone 9J
• Armament 0.303 Vickers, fixed, synchronized
• Bombs 4x65 lb. or smaller, equal in weight