Why did the Air Ministry dislike the Sopwith Cuckoo?
Short answerIt disliked the compromises required for carrier operation, while the postwar Royal Air Force prioritized institutional survival and its own training infrastructure over a small naval torpedo-bomber force.
NotesThe Air Ministry viewed the Sopwith Cuckoo as an aircraft burdened by compromises for carrier use and then employed only rarely from carriers. After the First World War, the new Royal Air Force was concentrating on institutional survival, independence, and a permanent training system. Investment in RAF Cranwell reflected those priorities more clearly than a small force of naval torpedo bombers did. The aircraft's reception therefore cannot be separated from the inter-service politics and organizational choices of the immediate postwar period.