Editing Sopwith Pup (section)

==Design and development==
[[File:SopPup2.jpg|thumb|Sopwith Pup in flight (1917)]]

In 1915, Sopwith produced a small aircraft, known as "Hawker's Runabout" (or the SL.T.B.P),  for the company's test pilot [[Harry Hawker]]. It was a single-seat, [[Tractor configuration|tractor]] biplane powered by a seven-cylinder {{cvt|50|hp}} [[Gnome Monosoupape|Gnome]] [[rotary engine]]. Another four similar aircraft have been tentatively identified as [[Sopwith Sparrow]]s. Sopwith next developed a more powerful aircraft as a fighter that was heavily influenced by this design, although controlled laterally with [[ailerons]] rather than by [[wing warping]].<ref>Bruce ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps'' 1992, pp. 509–512.</ref>

The resulting aircraft was a single-bay, single-seat biplane with a fabric-covered wooden framework and staggered equal-span wings. The cross-axle type main landing gear was supported by V-struts attached to the lower fuselage [[longeron]]s. The prototype and most production Pups were powered by the {{cvt|80|hp}} [[Le Rhône 9C]] rotary engine. The armament was a single {{cvt|0.303|in|1}} [[Vickers machine gun]] [[Synchronization gear|synchronized]] with the [[Synchronization gear#The Sopwith-Kauper gear|Sopwith-Kauper synchronizer]].

A prototype was completed in February 1916 and sent to [[RAF Upavon|Upavon]] for testing in late March. The [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) quickly ordered two more prototypes, then placed a production order. Sopwith was heavily engaged in the production of the [[Sopwith 1½ Strutter]], and produced only a small number of Pups for the RNAS. Deliveries commenced in August 1916.

The [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) also placed large orders for Pups. The RFC orders were undertaken by sub-contractors [[Standard Motor Company|Standard Motor Co.]] and Whitehead Aircraft. Deliveries did not commence until the beginning of 1917. 1,796 Pups were built, including 96 by Sopwith, 850 by [[Standard Motor Company|Standard Motor Co.]], 820 by Whitehead Aircraft, and 30 by [[William Beardmore and Company|William Beardmore & Co.]]