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.
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.
In 1919, the Sopwith Aviation Co of Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, developed three designs for this predicted new outlet. The Transport was a single-engine, long-distance, high-performance weight-carrying utility aircraft, based on the Atlantic built for Hawker and Mackenzie-Grieve’s attempt on the Daily Mail’s £10,000 prize for the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. The Gnu was a high-performance three-seater with either an e…
