re: Barker's Snipe

DR DOUGLAS G FAULDER (NTQM36A@prodigy.com)
Sat, 09 Dec 1995 20:54:00 EST

Cheers to all,

Our Aussie friend noted that the stripes on Barker's Snipe in photo
29 of Datafile 46 look irregular and handpainted. I am positive that
this is some kind of distortion in the reproduction of this photo,
probably an artefact of digitizing or scanning it. Look at the
aileron connecting wire, and other straight lines and you can see a
similar problem. Other photos of this a/c as in Squadron/Signal
Sopwith Fighters in Action, page 40 show nice, straight stripes. This
a/c is featured on the cover as well. Same photo is in Vintage
Warbirds No. 5, The Sopwith Fighters, photo 100. A photo of this
machine up on its nose is in 'The Brave Young Wings' between pages 90
and 91.

The fuselage was listed as a war trophy in the Canadian War Museum as
early as 1919. But there also was a Category B crash of a Snipe with
serial E8102 at Camp Borden in 1921! This puzzle was discussed in
the Canadian Aviation Historical Society Journal in 1966, and no
obvious answer found but _possibly_ another Snipe was marked with
these famous markings for an air show or something(?) The fuselage
in the museum has a few differences, the serial has been cut out and
repatched, the turtle deck is green not grey, but it is considered by
experts to be the true fuselage of E8102.

I hope this sheds a little light on this famous, VC winning, aircraft.

Doug Faulder, in Edmonton, Alberta