AP 118 · No. 10 Section II · Aircraft 1916

Aircraft hub · 1916 · First World War

Sopwith Triplane

Climbed like nothing else alive; so alarmed the Germans that Fokker copied it — see the Dr.I below. The gazetteer currently lists it at 3 UK museums.

1916
First flight
147
Built
117 mph
Top speed
3
Museums
Side profile of the Triplane, painted as N5912, the RAF Museum’s Sopwith Triplane, one of only two genuine Triplanes left and one of three built by Oakley & Co of Ilford in 1917 with a 130 hp Clerget 9B rotary, a trainer at Marske in 1918, flown at the Hendon pageants after its 1936 restoration and now displayed in London, painted as it is shown there: khaki-brown PC10 dope over the fuselage, fin and the upper surfaces of all three wings and the tailplane, clear-doped linen undersides, a polished aluminium cowling and engine panels, roundels on the fuselage sides, above the upper wing and under the lower wing, a blue, white and red striped rudder, black ‘N5912’ on a white panel on the rear fuselage, varnished spruce struts and a single Vickers gun on the centreline
Plate 26 · The Hangar

Last verified 2026-10-11 against the gazetteer Compendium. Airframes move — confirm on museum pages before travel.

On charge

Where to see the Sopwith Triplane in the UK

The gazetteer records 3 Sopwith Triplane airframes (including cockpit sections and replicas where noted) across 3 UK collections, in 3 regions: London & Around, East of England, South West England.

MuseumCityRegionAirframes recorded
Fleet Air Arm MuseumChecked 2026-10-08 Yeovil South West England Sopwith Triplane replica N5459 Replica
Royal Air Force Museum LondonChecked 2026-10-08 London London & Around Sopwith Triplane N5912
The Shuttleworth CollectionChecked 2026-10-08 Biggleswade East of England Sopwith Triplane replica G-BOCK Replica

3D model

The Triplane in 3D

A procedural model built in Blender from the type’s published dimensions, painted as N5912, the RAF Museum’s Sopwith Triplane, one of only two genuine Triplanes left and one of three built by Oakley & Co of Ilford in 1917 with a 130 hp Clerget 9B rotary, a trainer at Marske in 1918, flown at the Hendon pageants after its 1936 restoration and now displayed in London, painted as it is shown there: khaki-brown PC10 dope over the fuselage, fin and the upper surfaces of all three wings and the tailplane, clear-doped linen undersides, a polished aluminium cowling and engine panels, roundels on the fuselage sides, above the upper wing and under the lower wing, a blue, white and red striped rudder, black ‘N5912’ on a white panel on the rear fuselage, varnished spruce struts and a single Vickers gun on the centreline. Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom · all 217 models · download .glb (1.0 MB) · Plate 26 in The Hangar

Computed from the survey

Collection context

Types you’ll see alongside

Gloster Gladiator, Sopwith Camel, Supermarine Spitfire, Avro 504, Avro Anson.

Where the type is thickest

East of England has 1 collection recording the type.

Type notes

The Sopwith Triplane in brief

TypeSopwith Triplane
UK museums holding one3
Airframes recorded in this survey3

Serials are the gazetteer's survey snapshot of what each collection records on charge — restorations move between workshops and reserve hangars, so check the museum page for opening times and current display status before travelling. Every type across 119 museums is indexed in the Compendium.

Aircraft questions

Frequently asked

How many Sopwith Triplane airframes are left in the UK?

The Aviation Gazetteer records 3 Sopwith Triplane airframes in UK collections.

Which museum has the most Sopwith Triplane airframes?

Fleet Air Arm Museum has the most in this survey, with 1 recorded airframe.