It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of the conflict, in late 1918.

The Snipe was not a fast aircraft by the standards of its time, but its excellent climb and manoeuvrability made it a good match for contemporary German fighters.

[1] The design, the Snipe, was in its initial form a single-bay biplane, slightly smaller than the Camel and intended to be powered by similar engines.

[nb 1] The pilot sat higher than in the Camel while the centre-section of the upper wing was uncovered, giving a better view from the cockpit.

[3][4] In the absence of an official order, Sopwith began construction of two prototypes as a private venture in September 1917.

This promised better performance and prompted an official contract for six prototypes to be placed, including the two aircraft built as private ventures.

[7][8] The Snipe was tested against three other fighter prototypes, all powered by the Bentley BR.2 engine: the Austin Osprey triplane, the Boulton & Paul Bobolink and the Nieuport B.N.1.

Although not a fast aircraft for 1918, it was very manoeuvrable and much easier to handle than the Camel, with a superior view from the cockpit - especially forwards and upwards.

The Snipe had a superior rate of climb and much better high-altitude performance compared with its predecessor, allowing it to fight Germany's newer fighters on more equal terms.

The design allowed for a Lewis gun to be mounted on the centre section in a similar manner to those carried by the Dolphin but this was not fitted to production aircraft.

Two aircraft were re-engined with a 320 hp (240 kW) ABC Dragonfly radial engine and these entered production as the Sopwith Dragon.

Lieutenant Leslie Hollinghurst (later an ace in Dolphins and an air chief marshal) flew to 24,000 ft (7,300 m) in 45 minutes.

[14] One of the most famous incidents in which the Snipe was involved occurred on 27 October 1918 when Canadian Major William Barker attached to 201 Squadron flew over the Forêt de Mormal in France.

The engagement with enemy aircraft occurred at the end of a two-week posting to renew his combat experience as Barker was returning to Britain.

In the engagement, he was wounded three times, twice losing consciousness momentarily, but managing to shoot down at least three D.VIIs before making a forced landing on the Allied front lines.

[14] Following the Armistice with Germany that ended the First World War, Snipes formed part of the British Army of the Rhine, returning to the United Kingdom in August and September 1919, while Snipes replaced Camels in four home defence squadrons based in the United Kingdom.

[30] The fuselage (minus landing gear, engine and cowl) of Major William G. Barker's Snipe, E8102 is on display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.