Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander

United Kingdom (1918)

Ground Attack Aircraft [300-500+ Built]

A frontal view of a production Sopwith Salamander. The entire front section of this aircraft was armored. (Wikipedia)

The Sopwith Salamander was a dedicated ground attack aircraft, at this point known as a trench fighter, designed for use by the Royal Air Force in the First World War. The Salamander was based off of the Sopwith Snipe fighter and reused many components, but was much more armed and armored. Only a few Salamanders would be assigned to squadrons for testing during the war and none would see frontline combat. After the war, the Salamander was in service with squadrons in British territory until at least 1922. The aircraft was interesting as, in addition to its other modifications, it would be one of the first aircraft to be officially painted by the RAF in camouflage, most likely being the first in RAF aircraft to do so.

The Trench Fighter: Birth of the Ground Attacker

Rear view of the T.F.1 Camel. This was Sopwith’s first attempt at a dedicated Trench Fighter before the Salamander. (Sopwith Aircraft from 1912-1920)

Late into the First World War, the British Royal Air Force began using single-engine fighters to deliberately attack enemy trenches. This was seen at the Battle of Ypres and Cambrai in 1917. Oftentimes, the types used for this role could not perform well enough to dogfight or had some other glaring issue that prevented them from seeing widespread service. Although not their original purpose, these “Trench Fighters” were the first evolutionary step to creating what is now known as dedicated ground attack and close air support aircraft. The Sopwith Aviation Company began experimenting with dedicated, purpose-built trench fighters in 1918. The first of these was a derivative design based on their famous Sopwith Camel fighter. The T.F.1 Camel, TF standing for Trench Fighter, was a modified Sopwith F.1 Camel that had additional armor and was to be used to strafe trenches with a machine gun or bombs. Despite work being done on the T.F.1, it was only considered as a test for a trench fighting aircraft and was never meant to enter service nor production.

Instead, the Royal Air Force was looking for an aircraft with a more powerful engine, which the Camel airframe could not accommodate. Sopwith looked instead to their recently developed Snipe fighter. The Sopwith Snipe aircraft had been designed in late 1917 as a successor to the esteemed Sopwith Camel. It would not enter widespread service until September of 1918 and would only see combat for three months before the end of the war. Despite its short combat service, the Snipe proved itself as one of the most advanced fighters of the time, thanks to its powerful engine and excellent maneuverability. All of this had yet to be proven, however, when the trench fighter derivative design was being drawn up, as the Snipe had only just started testing in late 1917.

Official work began on the trench fighter Snipe in January of 1918. This machine was seen to have several advantages over the TF1. The newer design of the Snipe proved to be much more agile and it was able to carry the powerful 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. There were three factors that sought to specialize the design of this new aircraft; engine, armor and armament. A rotary engine was favored over an inline on the aircraft because an armored cowling could easily fit over the engine and was thus less likely to be hit from ground fire. For armament, it was planned to have a single forward facing Vickers machine gun with two more in a downward firing position, akin to the armament of the TF1. This idea was ultimately scrapped and two forward facing Vickers were chosen instead, like the armament on the Snipe. Relating to the armor, the front section of the fuselage was made to be a heavily armored box that would protect the pilot and engine from enemy fire. It was optimistically thought only three things would be able to shoot this new aircraft down; a direct hit from anti-air artillery, damage to the flying wires or heavily damaging the main spar. Three prototypes of the new trench fighter aircraft began construction in late January 1918. The first of these would be airworthy and ready in April. By now, the aircraft had received an official name; the Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander.

An example of a production Sopwith Snipe. This would be one of the best aircraft the RAF would field in the later stages of the First World War, and is the aircraft the Salamander would be based on. (Pilots and Planes)

Design

A cockpit view of the aircraft. (Imperial War Museum)

The Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander was an early ground attack aircraft based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter. The two aircraft shared many components, but the Salamander would have a number of features that would make its design unique. It had a wingspan of 19ft 6in (9.5 m). The wings were of two bay construction and consisted of a frame covered in canvas. The fuselage was of all wooden construction and covered in fabric, like the Snipe. It had a length of 19ft 6in (5.9 m). In total, the aircraft had a height of 9ft 4in (2.8 m). The sides of the fuselage were flat, being a change from the rounder fuselage of the Snipe.

In the front of the aircraft would sit the 230-hp Bentley B.R.2 air-cooled radial engine. The eleven-cylinder Clerget 11E engine was an alternative to the Bentley, but no Salamander would be equipped with this engine. The engine and cockpit section of the aircraft would sit in an armored box that would protect its most vital assets. The armored box was 8 mm thick in the front (the armor over the engine and the engine itself also factored in as frontal protection), 6 mm for the sides, 11 mm for the floor, and 10-gauge sheet metal with an additional 6-gauge sheet at the rear. In addition to the armored box, the engine would have an armored cowling over it. The aircraft had around 650 Ibs of armor in total. The sheer amount of armor was meant to protect the aircraft from German anti-armor rounds fired from short range, something it would no doubt deal with at the frontlines.

The controls and cockpit were likely carried over from the Snipe. Behind the cockpit was an armored head fairing that was not present on the Snipe. This detail is a distinct visual difference that one can use to identify the Salamander over the Snipe. Beneath the cockpit was the undercarriage and landing gear. During testing, it was found the armor made the aircraft quite hard to land, and the landing gear was further reinforced during development to assist in this area. The fuselage would taper towards the rear and tailplane. Beneath the tail was a simple landing skid. The tail and rudder were small at first on the prototype Salamanders, like on earlier Snipes, but this would be replaced by a larger rudder and tailfin on the production versions. At first, the tailplane was rigged via wires but this was replaced by four steel tubes connecting at the top and bottom.

A view of the armored front section of the aircraft. (Weapons and Warfare)

For fuel, the Salamander would carry less than the Snipe to accommodate the extra weight of the armor. The fuel delivery system was composed of a Badin vacuum-feed system with a Weyman hand pump connected to the main petrol tank for standby use. The fuel delivery system was protected with armor and rubber along the piping to prevent leaks or fire. In addition to the main petrol tank, there was an oil and gravity tank connected via piping.

The armament of the Salamander went through a number of iterations before its final layout. Originally, the aircraft was going to have a single forward facing Lewis machine gun, with two more facing downwards into the hull, but this was replaced by two synchronized Vickers guns that were staggered to house more ammunition (1000 rounds each). There exist other known layouts pf the Salamander but it is unknown if any of these were tested at any point. These included eight downward firing guns in one layout and two downward facing Lewis guns with two more over the center (in addition to the standard two Vickers). No photos of these two layouts exist. For special missions, the Salamander could carry up to four 20 Ib (9 kg) bombs or a single 112 Ib (51 kg) bomb.

A direct frontal view of the Sopwith Salamander. (Wikipedia)

The Sopwith Salamander: World War Woes

Rear view of the 3rd prototype Salamander. This example has the early rudder. Unfortunately this particular aircraft would be lost in a crash. (Pilots and Planes)

The Salamander would have its first flight on April 27th at Brooklands. The prototype Salamander, E5429, shared the wing mainplane, ailerons and tail control surfaces with the early model Snipe, but these would be improved later on the production models. The improvements were the same as done on the Snipe, which included increasing the size of the rudder. On May 9th, the first Salamander prototype was sent to France for service testing. There is a strange overlap in information with the prototype. Some sources claim that it returned to England on June 30th for further testing at Martlesham Heath, but others claim the prototype was lost to a crash in France on May 19th. Perhaps this was confused with the 3rd prototype, which did crash at a later unknown date. By this point, the other two prototypes were completed (E5430 and E5431). Testing found that the aircraft performed well, but problems appeared with the controls, which were found to be sluggish due to the extra armor.

The Salamander did have its fair share of critics, with several pilots being harsh towards the slower controls of the aircraft and some even finding the concept of an armored aircraft a waste of resources. Many of those who were strong critics of the aircraft criticized it as they did conventional fighters of the time, glossing over its specialized role of ground attack and arguing its armor would make it sluggish in a dogfight, when the aircraft was never intended to operate as a dogfighter. Originally, a plan for 6 prototypes was made but the last 3 were canceled. The 3rd prototype would stagger its machine guns to accommodate the increased amount of ammunition the Salamander had over the Snipe. This change would be present on all Salamanders going forward. With the aircraft performing well in testing, an initial order of 500 aircraft was requested in the early summer months of 1918. Sopwith would begin building production Salamanders at their factories, being constructed alongside the Snipe. In addition to Sopwith, several other aircraft manufacturers would begin constructing Salamanders as well; Air Navigation Co Ltd, National Aircraft Factory No.1, Palladium Autocars Ltd, Glendower Aircraft Co Ltd and Wolseley Motors Ltd. The production versions differed from the prototype Salamanders, having the larger tail fin and rudder as well as the ailerons from the production Snipes being fitted, as well as the staggered machine guns from the 3rd prototype.

A production line at a Sopwith factory where both Salamanders and Snipes are under construction. The first row are incomplete Salamanders. (Armament of British Aircraft)

As the year went on, production for the Salamander increased, as the order jumped from from 500, to 600 to 1400 by the war’s end. Producing the Salamander was found to be more difficult than the Snipe, thanks to its complicated wiring due to the extra steps of creating the armored cockpit area. Problems also began to be found with the armor, as the box was found to warp after some time and distort the frame. This was not a known problem at first, but it plagued many of the early production versions after the war. In October, production Salamanders began being painted in unique disruptive camouflage patterns. This practice started on the 3rd prototype. This would be one of the first times the RAF would officially camouflage paint aircraft, something that would eventually become a mainstay in the next World War. By early November, two Salamanders were sent over and stationed in France, with one being assigned to No 86 Squadron at Phalempin. No 86 Squadron had just been assigned as a dedicated ground attack unit when it arrived. Back in Britain, squadrons No 95 at Weyton, and No 157 at Upper Heyford were also reworked to be dedicated trench fighting squadrons and equipped with five Salamanders each. No 157 Squadron was scheduled to leave for the front on November 21st. With production rapidly increasing and the aircraft soon to be used at the front, all of this was suddenly brought to a halt when the Armistice was signed on November 11th.

Postwar Mediocrity

A Sopwith Salamander showcasing its unique camouflage livery (RAF Museum)

With the signing of the armistice, all plans to ship the Salamander-equipped squadrons to the front were canceled. Production was soon to be cut short as well, as the need for such a specialized aircraft disappeared. Gradually, the order of 1400 was decreased to a much smaller number. Sopwith and Glendower continued producing the Salamander until mid 1919, when total production was completely halted. The other companies mentioned before either stopped production entirely or produced only a few more Salamanders after the Armistice. The Salamander was prepared to be used in full force had the war continued into 1919, with an expected thirteen full Salamander squadrons stationed in France by May. There were expected delays with the production of the Bentley engine, so five of these squadrons were to be equipped with the aforementioned Clerget engines. The exact number of Salamanders produced varies from source to source. The most common number found is that 210 were produced in total, but other sources claim that the actual number is closer to 300. Others claim that almost 500 were built. None of these numbers can truly be confirmed but it is likely much more than the commonly thrown around 210.

Rear view of a Sopwith Salamander (Imperial War Musuem)

Postwar, the Salamander did not find itself too popular, as many issues rose up with the design. The warping of the armor began to become a serious problem on early production Salamanders and it was also found the first 70 Salamanders built by Sopwith had upper wings from Snipes, which were not capable of supporting the heavier Salamander. All of these 70 aircraft were found to be extremely dangerous to fly and it took until December of 1918 for the problem to be realized and fixed. From what can be gathered, most of the production Salamanders were put into storage after the Armistice, with many being finished and immediately sent into storage. Flight testing of the type continued until 1920 despite all interest in the Salamander seemingly being lost in mid 1919.

In addition to the disruptive camo, there is mention of a Salamander being painted in a type of lozenge camo, similar to German aircraft schemes in the war, but no photos are known to exist. It was to be tested at Farnborough alongside the regular camo in July of 1919 but it was unlikely anything became of the tests. Despite the lack of interest, the Salamander did occupy a number of squadrons post war, however the details of where and when are sparse. The latest Salamanders mentioned in RAF service were a squadron stationed out of Egypt in 1922. This would have coincided with the Chanak Crisis against Turkey. A few Salamanders were sent to foreign nations for testing. An unknown Salamander was sent to France to be tested by the Section Technique de l’Aéronautique (Aeronautical Technical Section) in Villacoublay, France. Salamander F6533 was sent overseas to America for trials and testing by their Army Air Service. No further orders or Salamanders were made by America after this and the sole example was known to have been still at McCook Airfield as late as 1926. It is likely the warping issue happened with this particular aircraft, as beneath the cockpit “This machine is not to be flown.” was printed and was seen in photographs of the aircraft.

Salamander F6533 at Mccook Airfield (Pilots and Planes)

Many combat aircraft of the First World War found new life in the following years in the hands of private collectors or attending airshows for spectacular performances. The Salamander was unfortunately not one of these aircraft due to its specialized nature and slower performance compared to the fast aircraft that were featured in such displays. With the purpose of the aircraft now gone and with no future in sight, the Salamander was left to be forgotten as newer aircraft replaced it in squadrons and eventually all would be scrapped. None survive to this day.

Conclusion

The Salamander was one of the first British attempts to create a dedicated ground attack aircraft. In addition, it first tested camouflage patterns on RAF aircraft. Unfortunately, it came too late, if only by a few weeks, to be tested in combat. With the war over and the need for such an aircraft gone, the dream of the Salamander strafing enemy positions died and it fell into obscurity as the type was eventually completely scrapped. Had it entered combat, it would have encountered the same problems it did postwar, which would have left the aircraft prone to accidents of its own design and would have taken time to repair in the field. A strange, and perhaps sad, note is the Salamander was the last Sopwith aircraft to enter service with the RAF before the company became defunct in 1920.

Variants

Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander Prototypes – The first prototypes for the Salamander had many of the same features as the Snipe, including sharing the mainplane, unstaggered guns and the tailplane was supported by wires.
Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander Production – The production version of the Salamander had staggered guns, provisions for carrying bombs, and the tailplane was supported by four steel rods. The first 70 production aircraft accidentally were equipped with the upper wings of the Sopwith Snipe.

Operators

United Kingdom – The Sopwith Salamander was built as a dedicated Trench Fighter for the Royal Air Force, but hostilities would stop before it could be sent to the frontlines. After the war, most Salamanders would be put in storage, but a few would be sent abroad, such as to Egypt.
United States of America – A single T.F.2 Salamander (F6533) was sent to McCook Field for testing.
France – A single T.F.2 Salamander was sent to France for testing with the Section Technique de l’Aéronautique in Villacoublay, France.