Aeroplane Classics: the Sopwith Dove

It’s often described as an offshoot of the Pup, while the Snipe made a contribution to it. The reality, though, is that the Sopwith Dove is an aircraft type all of its own. We sort fact from myth — and find out about flying Andrew Wood’s reproduction, G-EAGA. 

Sopwith Dove reproduction G-EAGA up from Old Warden in September 2020.
DARREN HARBAR

 

BELOW: With pilot and passenger up, the first prototype Dove takes off from Brooklands.
VIA PHILIP JARRETT

With the end of the First World War, Britain’s aircraft manufacturers began to consider the possible markets for their products in the new age of peace. The fighting services were being drastically reduced, and large orders for military aeroplanes were abruptly cancelled, production being halted in mid-flow. The major makers therefore turned their attention to the envisaged demand for civil aircraft: airliners, cargo-carriers and machines for private owners.

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