Sopwith Hurricane

The Sopwith Aeronautical Company was founded by Tommy (later Sir Thomas) Sopwith in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1867. The well-to-do gentleman sportsman and keen aeronaut formed his company with a group of like-minded acquaintances and opened their first factory in a disused ice rink. A number of experimental aeronautical designs emerged from the factory in Kingston in the early years, the most-succesful being a heavy triplane for the cargo market and an observation balloon for the Office of the Navy.

In 1883 production was to commence on the Hurricane, the most famous of Sopwith's aircraft. Its revolutionary 8-cylinder Merlin Steam Turbine, coupled with an innovative variable-pitch propellor, saw it move quickly to the fore in the world of military aviation. The Hurricane was the first aircraft to use mixed alloy construction techniques; its beams a strong but lightweight combination of steel and Cavorite. This gave it a higher operating ceiling and a longer range than any other fighter of its time.

The model picture here is fitted with a 0.5" Vickers Gun, firing high explosive nitroglycerine rounds. The pilot is Squadron Leader Stephen "Goose" Gourlay who was to become the first of the Royal Aeronautic Corps' many decorated Aces. Further photographic images of the celebrated Squadron Leader and this famous aircraft may be viewed here.

Tiger Moth

In an age of massive steel and iron airships, held aloft through the gravity-defying properties of Cavorite, the Royal Aeronautic Corps' "Tiger Moth" was an anachronistic throwback to the earlier days of aviation.

Sparingly constructed, predominantly from wood and canvas, the Tiger Moth was incredibly light. This allowed it to gain very high altitude (the effective ceiling of the aircraft was limited by pilot endurance rather than technical factors), able to attack even the highest-operating airships from above, dropping liquid-explosive incendiary bombs into the gas envelopes in a crippling blow.

Hugely successful in this specialised role, the Tiger Moth aircraft was to operate for many years as a mainstay of the Corps' defence strategies for the home islands of the Empire.

Further images of the Tiger Moth may be viewed here.

HMS Dauntless

The Royal Aeronautic Corps vessel HMS Dauntless was launched from the Belfast airyards of Harland & Wolfe in August 1896.

Designed for the purpose of aerial bombardment, the Damocles Class was originally fitted to carry large conventional munitions. However, the weight of this payload was to limit both range and operating ceiling - relegating the Damocles vessels to a supporting role.

With the development of new Liquid Nitroglycerine munitions, the Damocles Class ships were refitted to carry these lighter and more powerful explosive devices. This change has seen the Damocles Class vessels become a key component in the Corps' projection of Imperial power in the skies of Northern Europe.

The move to the more volatile liquid explosive has not been without cost however. June 1901 saw the tragic loss of 3 aircrew and 14 ground support staff in an explosion at the Farnborough airdock during the loading of the Dauntless' sister vessel, HMS Defiant.

A collection of further photographic images of HMS Dauntless, many of them reproduced in full colour, may be viewed here.