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Replica WWI planes on track for 100th anniversary flight over Vimy Ridge

Volunteers at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C., have built two replicas of the Sopwith Pup to be flown over Vimy Ridge this April on the 100th anniversary of one of the most legendary battles in Canadian military history.

Volunteers built two replica Sopwith Pups at Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C.

Matt Meuse · CBC News ·
Two replica Sopwith Pups, built at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C., are headed to France this spring for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. (Don Marce/CBC)

One of the most iconic planes of the First World War will appear in the skies again next spring.

Volunteers at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C., have built two replicas of the Sopwith Pup to be flown over Vimy Ridge in April on the 100th anniversary of one of the most legendary battles in Canadian military history.

Allan Snowie will be flying one of the replicas as formation leader. He says many WWI pilots described the Pup as the most delightful aircraft they'd flown.

"An amazing thing to say about a combat aircraft," Snowie said. "But it was well-balanced in the controls. It handled well. They felt very safe in it."

Allan Snowie, a retired airline pilot, will be flying one of the replica Pups over Vimy Ridge this spring. (Don Marce/CBC)

Snowie said the Pup was primarily used to escort photo-reconnaissance planes — slow-flying aircraft that took aerial photos used to make maps and provide combat intelligence.

Though not as powerful as its more famous older brother, the Sopwith Camel, and soon outclassed by more advanced German fighters, Snowie said the Pup remained popular for its speed and maneuverability.

"You could escape, if nothing else," he said.

First introduced in 1916, the Sopwith Pup was mostly used to escort slower photo-reconnaissance planes. (Don Marce/CBC)

Though built to look like the original, the replicas use modern components and construction materials.

"It's a bit ironic, but we've got a German Volkswagen engine powering this World War I aircraft," Snowie said.

The Sopwith Pup was one of the first planes to have the firing rate of its machine gun synchronized with its propeller. Older designs had the gun mounted above the propeller to avoid damaging the plane (or the pilot). (Don Marce/CBC)

The Pup's wooden frame has been recreated with aluminum, and its Irish linen exterior with an industry-specific polyester called ceconite, making the modern aircraft much less flammable than the original, which Snowie says was quite fragile.

"They were written off at a fairly fast rate. Almost as fast as the pilots, sadly," Snowie said. "Not a lot of them survived the war."

Though made to look as authentic as possible, the replica Pups have been built with modern construction materials. (Don Marce/CBC)

This April, the two replica Pups will join two Comox-built replica Nieuport XIs — forming two period-authentic formations — for a series of flights over Vimy Ridge in France to mark the centennial of the historic battle.

And Snowie is definitely looking forward to it.

"The word honour is thrown around a little too loosely these days, but this will be a great honour," he said.

Allan Snowie says it will be a great honour to fly a replica Sopwith Pup over Vimy Ridge to mark the 100th anniversary of the ridge's historic battle. (Don Marce/CBC)

With files from Anita Bathe.

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