The Sopwith Baby was a Sopwith Schneider mounting the 110hp Clerget engine (and later the 130hp model). The change of the engine also forced a change from the pointed nose of the Schneider to a horseshoe cowling. While early Babys used the same gun mount as the Schneider: a top-wing Lewis angled upward to clear the propeller, later Babys used a synchronized Lewis that made for easier aiming.
Like the Schneider, the Baby performed a variety of missions from naval bases and from seaplane carriers in most theatres of the war. Fifty-eight to eighty were still on charge near the end of the war, giving this plane one of the longest service lifetimes of the war.
Ansaldo built a copy of the Baby under license, but by the time they were finished, the Ansaldo Babys were feeling their age, and they only saw limited action outside of training.
Five full-color and two paintable Sopwith or Ansaldo Baby 1:144 aircraft miniatures are now available from https://greatwarplanes.com.
