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The Sopwith Baby is a single-seat seaplane used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915. The Baby is a development of the two-seat Sopwith Tabloid. Although the Baby had won the Schneider Trophy in 1914, the RNAS did not place a formal order until January 1915. The production version of the Baby did not differ much from the Schneider Trophy winner.
The Baby was used as a shipborne scout and bomber aircraft operating from larger ships such as seaplane carriers and cruisers, and smaller vessels such as trawlers and minelayers. It was even considered for operation from submarines. The main role of the Baby was to intercept German Zeppelin raids as far from Britain as possible.
The Baby was also built by Blackburn, Fairey, and Parnall in the United Kingdom. In Italy licensed manufacture was undertaken by SA Aeronautica Gio Ansaldo of Turin. Babies saw service with Canada, the US, France, Chile, Greece and Norway. In Norway Babies were built occasionally as replacements, with a few seeing service until 1930. A small number of Norwegian Babies were used by Roald Amundsen in his polar expedition. Altogether, about 700 Babies were built.
As on late production Schneiders, ailerons replaced wing warping for lateral control, and armament usually consisted of a single 7.7mm machine gun synchronised to fire through the propeller, although a few Babies retained the arrangement of the Schneider with the gun attached to the centre section and firing upward to clear the propeller. Several Babies were fitted with two 7.7mm guns side by side over the wing; one batch of Blackburn-built Babies was fitted with Ranken explosive darts as anti-airship weapons, and at least one was fitted with Le Prieur rockets, 10 of these devices being attached to the interplane bracing struts. Two 29.5kg bombs could also be carried.
A more extensive modification of the Sopwith float fighter was the Fairey Hamble Baby.
Canada, Chile, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom.
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