Hello Lance,
Below is lifted from my booklet which accompanied the RNAS Pup decal set 32014 - it might help a bit.
The Gnome 80hp seven-cylinder engine
N6179 and N6200 (‘Baby Mine’ & ‘Bobs’) are both listed in the Air Britain book as having been built with 80hp Gnome engines.
According to the engine details on page 178 of the book, the Gnome Lambda 7 cylinder, whilst being nominally quoted as an 80 hp engine actually only produced 65 hp at normal revs with a maximum output of 67.5 hp. The Le Rhone 9c (also classed as an 80hp power unit) managed corresponding figures of 90 and 92hp. A difference of almost 50% in output would, in my view, rule out the use of the 80 hp Gnome as an operational engine. It would appear that they were only used to power trainers.
There are many instances of these engines being changed for the LeRhone (even to the extent that they were robbed from RNAS Nieuport 11s) and given that these two machines gained a number of successes against German aircraft (including Albatros DIIIs and Vs with 160 hp at their disposal), I'm fairly confident that they had Le Rhones when in squadron service.
1. N6179 ‘ Baby Mine’ 3 Sqn. RNAS. Marieux, France. April 1917. Flt Cdr T.C.Vernon, Flt Sub-Lts A.W.Carter and L.H.Slatter.
Completed by Sopwith’s at Kingston on Thames in February 1917, N6178 went to Naval 3 on the 15th of that month. Allocated to ‘C’ flight and named ‘Baby Mine’ this aeroplane was used by a number of different pilots to gain at least five victories.
Flt Cdr Vernon drove down and Albatros D.II on 4th March and FSL Carter scored three victories (all Albatros D.IIIs): two on 23rd April and one on the 29th.
After a visit to the Depot at Dover for repairs it went to the Seaplane Defence Flight at Dunkirk on 3rd July. On 29th September FSL Slatter used it to damage and force a Gotha bomber to land. It served with the RNAS Manstone War Flight from October and was still in use there in March of the following year.
Reference photos can be found on page 15 (Photo 29) of the Windsock Datafile Special on the Pup and page 22 of the Osprey Sopwith Pup Aces book. Two further photos are on page 84 of the Air Britain book on the Sopwith Pup.
Note that the Sopwith windscreen has been removed and replaced by a tall windscreen straddling the Vickers gun. Details are quite hard to identify but it can be simply represented using acetate sheet.
2. N6200 ‘Bobs’ 4 Sqn RNAS. Bray Dunes, France. May 1917. Flt Cdr A.M.Shook.
Accepted at Dover 21/3/17 and sent to Naval 4 8/4/17, N6200 it was allocated to ‘B’ flight. The name ‘Bobs’ was painted on the fuselage in intricate blue letters with a white outline. Flown by Canadian F/L Shook, N6200 was his mount when he scored his first victory, a Fokker DII on 14th April, followed by an Aviatik two-seater on the 9th of May and a seaplane on the 12th.
Bob’s engine failed over the sea a week later and F/L Shook ditched into the channel, four miles from the airfield at Bray Dunes. He was picked up, wet but uninjured, by the French Destroyer Oriflamme and N6200 was towed into Dunkirk. Transferred to Dover after repair on 4/6/17, it was crashed again in July, engaged in anti-Gotha patrols during August and crashed for a third time on the 12th of that month! It was again repaired and issued to the War Flight at Manston 29/9/17, finally being deleted without its engine 30/3/18.
4 Sqn RNAS became the first unit to equip with the Sopwith Camel in May and Alexander Shook claimed the Camel’s first two recorded victories, both probably on the 5th June (other sources give the date of the first victory of 4th June). After being promoted to Acting Flt Cdr, Shook went on to achieve a total of eight more victories with Naval 9’s Camels and was awarded the DSC on 1st August. He ended the war as a Major in the RAF (before the Officer ranks had been fully changed to RAF designations). He died in Bala, Ontario in 1966.
Reference photos page 87 of the Air Britain Sopwith Pup book, pages 30 and 31 of the Osprey Aces book and page 5 of the Windsock Datafile number 2.
The wheel discs are shown in blue but could have been clear-doped linen. The fin and tailplane/elevators are shown as blue. In some of the photographs they appear lighter than the camouflaged surfaces, matching the roundel blue in tone.
It is fairly safe to assume that at the time it was delivered, N6200 would have had a clear-doped fin with the Sopwith Trademark applied.
The unpopular Sopwith windscreen has been removed and it seems that no windscreen is carried.