WOW122 Sopwith Pup

Description

WOW122 is a limited 10 piece edition of the Sopwith Pup but this time fitted with Le Prieur anti Zeppelin rockets! The Sopwith Pup was a single seat biplane fighter designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company, it entered service in 1916 but was eventually replaced by the end of 1917 (in frontline service) with more advanced aircraft. The Pup was considered by its pilots a dream to fly and could out fly most German aircraft of the period when it was introduced. It was notably the first aircraft in the world to land on a moving ship, HMS Furious by a Lt Dunning. To counter the Zeppelin and observation balloon threat, some Allied aircraft were fitted with Le Prieur rockets. This was essentially a cardboard tube filled with 200 grams of gun powder with a wooden conical head and a triangular blade inserted across the rear to aid stability. The rockets were fitted to a sectioned wooden stick about 1.5 metres long and these were attached to the aircraft struts. Due to fears of a fire hazard on board an actual aircraft, initial tests were carried out by fitting a wing from a Voisin aircraft to a Pictet automobile, which was one of the few cars of the time that could travel at more than 120 KMH. The tests were successful and the rockets were immediately fitted to various Allied aircraft. The rockets were controlled by a switch fitted in the cockpit and were all fired simultaneously 100-150 metres from the target. Several successes were scored against observation balloons but none against Zeppelins. Le Prieur rockets were eventually withdrawn from service with the introduction of Tracer and Incendiary rounds. Our limited edition is 1/30 scale and comes with a free figure from our WW1 range. The $ price shown includes an additional charge for postage and therefore no further charges will apply at checkout.