Formerly | Sopwith Aviation Company |
---|---|
Industry | Aviation |
Founded | 15 December 1913 |
Founder | Thomas Sopwith |
Defunct | 16 September 1920 |
Fate | Ceased trading |
Successor | H.G. Hawker Engineering |
Headquarters | Kingston-on-Thames, UK |
Products | Aircraft |
Number of employees | 5,000 |
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. Sopwith aircraft were also used in varying numbers by the French, Belgian and American air services during the war.
In April 1919, the company was renamed as the Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company Limited. In September 1920, the company entered voluntary liquidation after an attempt to build motorcycles failed. The patents and other assets were bought by a new company, H.G. Hawker Engineering.