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Sopwith Dolphin
The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on the Western Front in early 1918 and proved to be a formidable fighter. The aircraft was not retained in the postwar inventory, however, and was retired shortly after the war.
==Design and development==
In early 1917, Sopwith's chief engineer Herbert Smith began designing a new fighter (internal Sopwith designation 5F.1) powered by the geared 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8B.〔Franks 2002, p. 7.〕 The resulting Dolphin was a two-bay, single-seat biplane. The upper wings were attached to an open steel cabane frame above the cockpit. To maintain the correct centre of gravity, the lower wings were positioned 13 inches forward of the upper wings, creating the Dolphin’s distinctive negative wing stagger.〔〔Cooksley 1991, p. 34.〕 The pilot sat with his head raised through the frame, where he had an excellent field of view. This configuration sometimes caused difficulty for novice pilots, who found it difficult to keep the aircraft pointed at the horizon because the nose was not visible from the cockpit.〔 The cockpit was nevertheless warm and comfortable,〔 in part because pipes ran alongside the cockpit walls to the two side-mounted radiator blocks. Shutters in front of each radiator core allowed control of engine temperature.
The first Dolphin prototype was powered by a geared 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 and featured a deep "car-type" frontal radiator.〔Mason 1992, p. 104.〕〔〔Davis 1999, p. 126.〕〔Bruce 1969, p. 15.〕 Test pilot Harry Hawker carried out the maiden flight on 23 May 1917.〔〔Robertson 1970, p. 102.〕 In early June, the prototype was sent to Martlesham Heath for official trials. On 13 June, the prototype flew to Saint-Omer, France, where the aircraft's unfamiliar shape prompted Allied anti-aircraft gunners to fire on it.〔 Several pilots, including Billy Bishop of No. 60 Squadron, evaluated the prototype and reported favorably on it.〔Davis 1999, pp. 126-127.〕 On 28 June 1917, the Ministry of Munitions ordered 200 Dolphins from Hooper & Co.〔Davis 1999, p. 127.〕 Shortly thereafter, the Ministry ordered a further 500 aircraft from Sopwith and 200 aircraft from Darracq Motor Engineering Co.〔
The second prototype introduced upper wing radiators in lieu of the frontal radiator and large cut-outs in the lower wing roots to improve the pilot's downward vision.〔 These features proved unsuccessful and were omitted from subsequent aircraft.〔〔Davis 1999, p. 128.〕 The third and fourth prototypes incorporated numerous modifications to the radiator, upper fuselage decking, fin and rudder.〔Franks 2002, p. 8.〕〔 The fourth prototype was selected as the production standard.〔〔Bruce 1961, p. 134.〕 Series production commenced in October 1917, with 121 Dolphins delivered by the end of the year.〔〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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