The Sopwith Snipe is often referred to as the pinnacle of British fighter design in WWI. A statement that has me rather confused.

Is that simply because a) it was the last British fighter to see active service in the war, b) is a case of hyperbole used by enthusiastic but uninformed writers or c) actually offered superior performance over current 'in service' fighters such as the Se.5a, Sopwith Dolphin and Sopwith Camel?

If 'a', then yes. it was the last British fighter to see active service.

If 'c' then no. Both the Se.5a and the Sopwith Dolphin were the equal of the Snipe in high altitude performance, with the 5a faster at all altitudes and the Dolphin more manoeuverable. Admittedly it was an improvement over RFC Camels equipped with the 130hp Clegert Sopwith Camel's in climb rate, speed and service ceiling. However it was no better than RNAS Camels equipped with the Br1 Bentley, and less manoeuverable to boot.

Personally I think the claim has more to do with 'b'.

Would be interested to her what others think.

My guesstimate is that it was described so enthusiastically owing to the better high-alt. performance of the Bentley Br2 230 hp rotary, compared to the Br1 of some Camels (therefore better high-alt performance against the Fokk. D.VIIs and Siemens-Schuckert D.IIIs/IVs). Also, the Snipe was a wee bit easier to handle than Camels, thus also perhaps the added praise. Performance-wise, about the same as 150 hp Bentley Br1 or Gnome-powered 165 hp Camels up to about 12,000 or 13,000 feet alt., but better performing above such alts. Top speed on the Snipe is similar to top speeds for the Tripehound, also the 150 or 165 hp-powered Camels. Personally I'd take an Se5a instead, preferably 8Ba Hisso-powered and with that fine-looking four-blade prop, also the nicer looking oval cowling than on the Vipers, for slightly less drag and perhaps adding a nice spinner to boot.

Cheers all and happy WW1 performance comparisons,
Von S

As VonS says, better high altitude performance and climb rate than the Camel, and less quirky (saves a few more pilots in training too!).