Sopwith 1½ Strutter

 

Next out of the Blender design factory is another Sopwith, this time the 1½ Strutter. I've made it in both twin-seat and single-seater configurations.

The Strutter was the first British aeroplane of WW1 to have a synchronised forward-firing Vickers gun, and it went into front-line service in February 1916. It did well at first, but it was too stable to make a good dogfighter in the long run, and it was one of the types that suffered very badly in Bloody April.

Its long range and stability made it an ideal candidate for a Home Defence fighter, in which role it was usually configured as a two-seater, though single-seaters were not uncommon.