Sopwith Triplane Typhoon

Siddeley Deasy Production

For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.

Type Description and Production Data

R.T.1 S.R.2 Siskin Siniai
R.T.1
Two seat reconnaissance biplane based on the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 and designed by John Lloyd and Major F.M. Green, formerly chief engineer of the Royal Aircraft Factory. It featured a new two bay equal span constant chord wings, but there were only small changes to the R.E.8 fuselage: the decking aft of the gunner, together with his gun-ring were raised, and the fin and rudder were larger and more rounded. The first and third were powered by a 200 h.p. Hispano-Suiza and the second by the 150 h.p. RAF 4a as used in the R.E.8.

R.T.1 Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
41 ft 9 in 27 ft 8 in 11 ft 7 in 433 sq ft 1803 lb 2707 lb 108 mph/ 94 kn 18000 ft
12.73 m 8.43 m 3.53 m 40.23 m2 818 kg 1228 kg 174 km/h 5486 m

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 6 aircraft ordered from the Siddeley Deasy Motor Car Co, Parkside, to contract A.S.7903, dated 23 July 1917. Three built, remainder cancelled. First flew (mid?) 1917.
 B6625 - B6626    3      
 B6628 - B6630        3  
Total Production 3 3

S.R.2 Siskin
Single seat, single bay biplane fighter, predominantly of wooden construction with fabric skinning, to meet Air Board Specification A.2(a) and designed by John Lloyd and F.M. Green.radial air -cooled engine. The aircraft featured a top plane larger in span and in chord than the bottom plane. The pilot was placed with his eye in line with the chord of the top plane so that he could see either above or below the aircraft; the bottom plane being of narrow chord it offered little obstruction to view downwards. Equally, the fuselage, of fabric covered wooden construction, being comparatively narrow, helped give a good view over either side. The wings of unequal span and chord, constructed of wood with hollow spars of ample section. The interplane struts were of steel and the construction is such that the aircraft was extremely easy to erect, a minimum of trueing up being required. The engine was mounted on a pressed steel frame arranged so that it could be withdrawn from the aircraft without removing the carburetter or any other of its parts, the cowling remaining on the engine when it was dismounted; all ordinary adjustments to the engine could be carried out without removing any of the cowling. Fuel was supplied from gravity fed from a main tank on the top of the frame, containing sufficient fuel for about three-quarters of an hour, with the remainder of the fuel carried in a service tank above the fuselage structure, but within the top fairing and pumped by a wind-driven pump to the gravity tank. A fireproof bulkhead was mounted between the engine and the fuel tank.
Armament consisted of a pair of Vickers machine guns which were carried directly over the steel tube longerons of the fuselage frame, mounted in the nose decking in front of the pilot.. A belt box could be fixed between the two guns with sufficient capacity to take about 2,000 rounds of ammunition. An additional gun could be carried on the top plane. The aircraft was fitted with a spidery-looking undercarriage with long-stroke oleo shock-absorbers.designed to enable the pilot to make safe landings at slow speed without shock to the machine. Originally it had been intended that the S.R.2 should be powered by the proposed 300 h.p. fourteen-cylinder two-row radial engine which, as the RAF 8, was being designed under Major Green at Farnborough. In the event, the development of the radial engine was deferred and the aircraft was first flown with the ill-fated 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly nine-cylinder radial engine, which was installed on the nose of the aircraft within a streamlined cowling to reduce drag; to regulate the temperature of the engine, each individual cylinder had its own cooling channels.

S.R.2 Siskin Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
27 ft 6 in 21 ft 3 in 9 ft 9 in 247 sq ft 1473 lb 2181 lb 145 mph/ 126 kn 23800 ft
8.38 m 6.48 m 2.97 m 22.95 m2 668 kg 989 kg 233 km/h 7254 m

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 6 aircraft ordered from the Siddeley Deasy Motor Car Co, Parkside to contract AS.11537, dated 11 December 1917. First flew spring 1919. Only three completed.
 C4541 - C4543    3      
 C4544 - C4546        3  
Total Production 3 3
For full details of Armstrong Whitworth Siskin production, click here

Siniai
Four seat, twin engine biplane designed by John Lloyd and F.M. Green to meet an Air Ministry requirement for a day bomber. It was a three bay (with struts to the upper wings from the engine nacelles) biplane, the equal span wings chaving no stagger, though the lower wing was of narrower chord. There were horn balanced ailerons on all wings. The empennage was of biplane configuration with a balanced elevator on the upper plane and containing three balanced rudders. The engines were in nacelles mounted on the top of the lower wings and these nacelles were extended rearwards and upwards. Each extension housed a gunner's cockpit at its extremity, fitted with a gun ring. From these positions the gunners would have been able to defend both sides of the bomber independently. The square section fuselage placed the pilot's cockpit well forward of the engines and a third gunner's position in the extreme, slanted nose. A two-wheeled main undercarriage unit was mounted under each engine. Two 500 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Tiger powerplants.

Siniai Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
86 ft 10 in 1823 sq ft 16000 lb
26.47 m 169.36 m2 7257 kg

Production Details
Serial Range C/n Batch
Qty
Conv. Canc'd Notes
 4 aircraft ordered from the Siddeley Deasy Motor Car Co, Parkside, to contract AS.5553/18, dated 12 February 1918. Order revised due to engine delays
 X21 - X24        4  Revised to new contract 55143/21
 4 aircraft ordered from the Siddeley Deasy Motor Car Co, Parkside, to contract 55143/21, dated 7 March 1921. Two built, remainder cancelled. First flew June 1921.
 J6858 - J6859    2      J6859 used as spares
 not allocated        2  
Total Production 2 6

Production References

  1. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Since 1913, Oliver Tapper (Putnam, 1973)
  2. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps, J.M. Bruce (Putnam, 1982)
  3. Royal Air Force Aircraft J1 - J9999, RAF Aircraft Register Series (Air-Britain Publications, 1987)
  4. Contract ledger in AIR 20/761 via http://www.airhistory.org.uk/rfc/aircraft.html

Page Revision History

Revised at Version 2.1.1
  • Improved S.R.2 Siskin description.
Revised at Version 2.0.0
  • Added Type Description and Specification details.