Sopwith Camel#Home defence and night fighting

File:AC0158CobbyCamel1918-19.jpg sitting in the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel]]

When it became clear the Sopwith Pup was no match for the newer German fighters such as the Albatros D.III, the Camel was developed to replace it,Bruce Flight 22 April 1955, p. 527. as well as the Nieuport 17s that had been purchased from the French as an interim measure. It was recognised that the new fighter needed to be faster and have a heavier armament. The design effort to produce this successor, initially designated as the Sopwith F.1, was headed by Sopwith's chief designer, Herbert Smith.Bruce 1965, p. 3.

Early in its development, the Camel was simply referred to as the "Big Pup". A metal fairing over the gun breeches, intended to protect the guns from freezing at altitude, created a "hump" that led pilots to call the aircraft "Camel", although this name was never used officially.Bruce 1965, pp. 4-5. On 22 December 1916, the prototype Camel was first flown by Harry Hawker at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey; it was powered by a {{convert|110|hp|adj=on}} Clerget 9Z.Jackson 2007, p. 2.

In May 1917, the first production contract for an initial batch of 250 Camels was issued by the British War Office.Bruce 1965, p. 5. Throughout 1917, a total of 1,325 Camels were produced, almost entirely the initial F.1 variant. By the time that production of the type came to an end, approximately 5,490 Camels of all types had been built.Bruce Flight 29 April 1955, p. 563. In early 1918, production of the naval variant of the Sopwith Camel, the "Ship's" Camel 2F.1 began.Bruce 1965, p. 6.

File:Replica Sopwith Camel (G-BZSC) (12243203404).jpg

The Camel had a conventional design for its era, with a wire-braced wooden box-girder fuselage structure, an aluminium engine cowling, plywood panels around the cockpit, and a fabric-covered fuselage, wings and tail. While possessing some clear similarities with the Pup, it had a noticeably bulkier fuselage. For the first time on an operational British-designed fighter, two 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns were mounted directly in front of the cockpit, synchronised to fire forwards through the propeller disc – initially this was the Sopwith firm's own synchronizer design, but after the mechanical-linkage Sopwith-Kauper units began to wear out, the more accurate and easier-to-maintain hydraulic-link Constantinesco-Colley system replaced it from November 1917 onward. In addition to the machine guns, a total of four Cooper bombs could be carried for ground attack purposes.

The bottom wing was rigged with 5° dihedral while the top wing lacked any dihedral; this meant that the gap between the wings was less at the tips than at the roots; this change had been made at the suggestion of Fred Sigrist, the Sopwith works manager, as a measure to simplify the aircraft's construction.{{Cite book|title=Sopwith Camel|last=Jon.|first=Guttman|date=2012|publisher=Osprey|isbn=9781780961767|location=Oxford|pages=9, 16, 30|oclc=775415602}} The upper wing had a central cutout section to improve upwards visibility for the pilot.Bruce 1965, pp. 3-5.

Production Camels were powered by various rotary engines, most commonly either the Clerget 9B or the Bentley BR1.Bruce 1968, pp. 148-149. In order to evade a potential manufacturing bottleneck being imposed upon the overall aircraft in the event of an engine shortage, several other engines were adopted to power the type as well.Bruce 1965, pp. 7-8.

File:1917 Sopwith F.1 Camel.jpg]]

File:E02659CobbyCamel1918.jpg

Unlike the preceding Pup and Triplane, the Camel was considered to be difficult to fly.Bruce 1965, pp. 5-6. With light and sensitive controls the type owed both its extreme manoeuvrability and its difficult handling to the close placement of the engine, pilot, guns and fuel tank (some 90% of the aircraft's weight) within the front {{convert|7|ft|m|spell=in}} of the aircraft, and to the strong gyroscopic effect of the rotating mass of the cylinders common to rotary engines.As compared with radial engines in which a conventional rotating crankshaft is driven by a fixed engine block.

Due to the torque of the rotary engine the Camel turned more slowly to the left, which resulted in a nose-up attitude, but the torque also resulted in being able to turn to the right quicker than other fighters,Clark 1973, p. 134. although that resulted in a tendency towards a nose-down attitude from the turn. Because of the faster turning capability to the right, some pilots preferred to change heading 90° to the left by turning 270° to the right.{{cite book |last= Hoyland |first= Graham |title= Merlin: The Power behind the Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster |location= London |publisher= William Collins |date= 2021 |pages= 93 |isbn= 978-0-00-835930-0}}

Upon entering service, the Camel gained an unfortunate reputation with pilots,Jackson 2005, pp. 15–16. with inexperienced ones crashing on take-off when the full fuel load pushed the aircraft's centre of gravity beyond the rearmost safe limit.

When in level flight, the Camel was markedly tail-heavy. Unlike the Sopwith Triplane, the Camel lacked a variable incidence tailplane, so that the pilot had to apply constant forward pressure on the control stick to maintain a level attitude at low altitude. The aircraft could be rigged so that at higher altitudes it could be flown "hands off". A stall immediately resulted in a dangerous spin.

RFC pilots used to joke that it offered the choice between "a wooden cross, the Red Cross, or a Victoria Cross".Leinburger [https://books.google.com/books?id=DKv-TahJStsC&q=%22wooden+cross%22 2008, p. 30.]

A two-seat trainer version was later built to ease the transition process: in his Recollections of an Airman, Lieutenant Colonel L. A. Strange, who served with the central flying school, wrote: "In spite of the care we took, Camels continually spun down out of control when {{sic|flew}} by pupils on their first solos. At length, with the assistance of Lieut Morgan, who managed our workshops, I took the main tank out of several Camels and replaced [them] with a smaller one, which enabled us to fit in dual control." Such conversions, and dual instruction, went some way to alleviating the previously unacceptable casualties incurred during the critical type-specific solo training stage.

Despite these issues, its agility in combat made the Camel one of the best-remembered Allied aircraft of the First World War. Aviation author Robert Jackson notes that: "in the hands of a novice it displayed vicious characteristics that could make it a killer; but under the firm touch of a skilled pilot, who knew how to turn its vices to his own advantage, it was one of the most superb fighting machines ever built".

File:148th American Aero Squadron field. Making preparations for a daylight raid on German trenches and cities. The... - NARA - 530739.tif

In June 1917, the Sopwith Camel entered service with No. 4 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service, which was stationed near Dunkirk, France; this was the first squadron to operate the type.Jackson 2007, p. 3. Its first combat flight and reportedly its first victory claim were both made on 4 July 1917. By the end of July, the Camel also equipped No. 3 and No. 9 Naval Squadrons; and it had become operational with No. 70 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. By February 1918, 13 squadrons had Camels as their primary equipment.{{Cite book|title=The Camel File|last1=Sturtevant|first1=Ray|last2=Page|first2=Gordon|publisher=Air-Britain, Ltd.|year=1993|isbn=0-85130-212-2|location=UK|pages=6}} The Camel proved in service to have better manoeuvrability than the Albatros D.III and D.V and offered heavier armament and better performance than the Pup and Triplane. Together with the S.E.5a and the SPAD S.XIII, it helped to re-establish the Allied aerial superiority for a time. While flying a Sopwith Camel with the serial number B6313, the Canadian ace Billy Barker was credited with shooting down 46 aircraft. The total aircraft credited to Barker while flying B6313 is the highest attributed to a single aircraft during World War I.Franks 2018, p. 89.

File:The Battle of Passchendaele, July- November 1917 Q7784.jpg, West Flanders, Belgium, 26 September 1917]]

An important role for the Camel was home defence. The RNAS flew Camels from Eastchurch and Manston airfields against daylight raids by German bombers, including Gothas, from July 1917.Bruce 1965, p. 9. The public outcry against the night raids and the poor response of London's defences resulted in the RFC deciding to divert Camels that had been heading to the frontlines in France to Britain for the purposes of home defence; in July 1917, 44 Squadron RFC reformed and reequipped with the Camel to conduct the home defence mission.Davis 1999, p. 96. By March 1918, the home defence squadrons had been widely equipped with the Camel and by August 1918, a total of seven home defence squadrons were operating these aircraft.Davis 1999, p. 98.

When the Germans switched to performing night attacks, the Camel proved capable of being flown at night. Those aircraft assigned to home defence squadrons were quickly modified with navigation lights to serve as night fighters. A smaller number of Camels were more extensively changed; on these aircraft, the Vickers machine guns were replaced by over-wing Lewis guns and the cockpit was moved rearwards so the pilot could reload the guns. This modification, which became known as the "Sopwith Comic" allowed the guns to be fired without affecting the pilot's night vision and allowed the use of new, more effective incendiary ammunition that was considered unsafe to fire from synchronised Vickers guns.Davis 1999, p. 97.Bruce 1968, p. 151, 153.{{#tag:ref|The ammunition in question was the RTS (Richard Thelfall and Sons) round, a combined incendiary and explosive round with a nitroglycerin and phosphorus filling. While more effective than earlier incendiary bullets such as the phosphorus-filled Buckingham bullet, they required careful handling, and were initially banned from synchronised weapons, because of fears about the consequences of bullets striking the propeller of the fighter, and to prevent cooking off of the sensitive ammunition in the chambers of the Vickers guns, which fired from a closed bolt—a required feature for guns used in synchronized mounts—where heat could build up much quicker than in the open bolted Lewis gun.Williams and Gustin 2003, pp. 11, 14.|group=Note}}

The Camel was used to intercept and shoot down German bombers on several occasions during 1918, serving in this capacity through] to the final German bombing raid upon Britain on the night of the 20/21 May 1918.Jackson 2007, pp. 3-6. During this air raid, a combined force of 74 Camels and S.E.5s intercepted 28 Gothas and Zeppelin-Staaken R.VIs; three German bombers were shot down, while two more were downed by anti-aircraft fire and a further aircraft was lost to engine failure, resulting in the heaviest losses suffered by German bombers during a single night's operation over England.Jackson 2007, p. 6. In July 1918 seven Sopwith Camels destroyed two German Zeppelins by bombing their hangars in the Tondern raid; they were flown off {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} and then landed in Denmark or ditched in the sea to be picked up.

File:HMS Furious Tondern Raid 1918 IWM SP 1156.jpg]]

The Camel night fighter was also operated by 151 Squadron to intercept German night bombers operating over the Western Front. These aircraft also carried out night intruder missions against German airstrips. After five months of operations, 151 Squadron had claimed responsibility for shooting down 26 German aircraft.Davis 1999, pp. 98–99.

File:HMA R 23 Airship With Camel N6814.jpg

The RNAS operated a number of 2F.1 Camels that were suitable for launching from platforms mounted on the turrets of major warships as well as from some of the earliest aircraft carriers to be built, e.g. HMS Furious. Furthermore, the Camel could be deployed from aircraft lighters, which were specially modified barges; these had to be towed fast enough that a Camel could successfully take off. The aircraft lighters served as means of launching interception sorties against incoming enemy air raids from a more advantageous position than had been possible when using shore bases alone.

During the summer of 1918, a single 2F.1 Camel (N6814) participated in a series of trials as a parasite fighter. The aircraft used Airship R23 as a mothership.Fitzsimons, p.521.

By mid-1918, the Camel had become obsolescent as a day fighter as its climb rate, level speed and performance at altitudes over 12,000 ft (3,650 m) were outclassed by the latest German fighters, such as the Fokker D.VII. However, it remained viable as a ground-attack and infantry support aircraft and instead was increasingly used in that capacity. The Camel inflicted high losses on German ground forces, albeit suffering from a high rate of losses itself in turn, through the dropping of 25 lb (11 kg) Cooper bombs and low-level strafing runs. The protracted development of the Camel's replacement, the Sopwith Snipe, resulted in the Camel remaining in service in this capacity until well after the signing of the Armistice.

During the German spring offensive of March 1918, squadrons of Camels participated in the defence of the Allied lines, harassing the advancing German Army from the skies.Jackson 2007, pp. 7-8. Jackson observed that "some of the most intense air operations took place" during the retreat of the British Fifth Army, in which the Camel provided extensive aerial support. Camels flew at multiple altitudes, some as low as {{convert|500|ft|m}} for surprise strafing attacks upon ground forces, while being covered from attack by hostile fighters by the higher altitude aircraft.Jackson 2007, p. 8. Strafing attacks formed a major component of British efforts to contain the offensive, the attacks often having the result of producing confusion and panic amongst the advancing German forces. As the March offensive waned, the Camel was able to operate within and maintain aerial superiority for the remainder of the war.

In the aftermath of the First World War, the Camel saw further combat action. Multiple British squadrons were deployed into Russia as a part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. Between the Camel and the S.E.5, which were the two main types deployed to the Caspian Sea area to bomb Bolshevik bases and to provide aerial support to the Royal Navy warships present, Allied control of the Caspian region had been achieved by May 1919. Starting in March 1919, direct support was also provided for White Russian forces, carrying out reconnaissance, ground attack, and escort operations.Jackson 2007, pp. 8-10. During the summer of 1919, Camels of No. 47 Squadron conducted offensive operations in the vicinity of Tsaritsyn, primarily against Urbabk airfield; targets including enemy aircraft, cavalry formations, and river traffic. In September 1919, 47 Squadron was relocated to Kotluban, where its aircraft operations mainly focused on harassing enemy communication lines. During late 1919 and early 1920, the RAF detachment operated in support of General Vladimir May-Mayevsky's counter-revolutionary volunteer army during intense fighting around Kharkiv. In March 1920, the remainder of the force was evacuated and their remaining aircraft were deliberately destroyed to avoid them falling into enemy hands.Jackson 2007, p. 10.

Camels were powered by several makes of rotary engines:

• Bentley BR1, 150 hp (standard for RNAS aircraft)
• Clerget 9B, 130 hp (standard powerplant)
• Clerget 9Bf, 140 hp
• Le Rhône 9J, 110 hp
• Gnome Monosoupape 9B-2, 100 hp
• Gnome Monosoupape 9N, 160 hp

The F.1 was the main production version. It was armed with twin synchronised Vickers guns.

File:Sopwith Camel at the Imperial War Museum.jpg, at the Imperial War Museum, London. Note mounting of twin Lewis guns over the top wing]]

The 2F.1 was a shipboard variant, flown from {{HMS|Furious|47|6}}.{{cite web| title=Sopwith 2F.1 Ship's Camel| website= Their Flying Machines|url=http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft31478.htm|access-date=10 June 2016}} It had a slightly shorter wingspan and a Bentley BR1 as its standard engine. Additionally, one Vickers gun was replaced by an overwing Lewis gun to assist in destroying Zeppelins using incendiary ammunition.

The "Comic" was a Camel variant designed specifically for night-fighting duties. The twin Vickers guns were replaced by two Lewis guns on Foster mountings firing forward over the top wing, as the muzzle flash of the Vickers guns could blind the pilot. The second reason to use Lewis guns was to facilitate the use of incendiary ammunition because of the risk of using it in synchronized guns. To allow reloading of the guns, the pilot was moved about {{convert|12|in|cm|0}} to the rear, and to compensate the fuel tank was moved forward.Mason 1992, p. 91. It served with Home Defence Squadrons against German air raids. The "Comic" nickname was unofficial, and was shared with the night fighter version of the Sopwith 1½ Strutter.

The F1/1 was a version with tapered wings.

The T.F.1 was an experimental trench fighter used for development work for the Sopwith Salamander. Its machine guns were angled downwards for efficient strafing, and it featured armour plating for protection.

The trainer variant had a second cockpit behind the normal pilot's position. The weapons were removed, although the hump was sometimes kept.

File:Sopwith Camel Cremers.jpg

File:Portrait of Major Wilfred Ashton McCloughry MC (3288054135).jpg

;{{AUS}}

• Australian Flying Corps
• No. 4 Squadron AFC in France.
• [[No. 5 Squadron RAAF|No. 5

Squadron AFC]] in the United Kingdom.

• No. 6 (Training) Squadron AFC in the United Kingdom.
• No. 8 (Training) Squadron AFC in the United Kingdom.

;{{BEL}}

• Aviation Militaire Belge
• 1ère Escadrille de Chasse
• Groupe de Chasse
• 9ème Escadrille de Chasse
• 11ème Escadrille de Chasse

;{{flag|Canada|1868}}

• Royal Canadian Air Force

;{{EST}}

• Estonian Air Force

;{{FRA}}

• French Government

;{{flagicon image|Flag of Georgia (1918-1921).svg}}

• Georgian Air Force – 3-4 aircraft, 1920

;{{flag|Greece|old}}

• Hellenic NavyDavis 1999, p. 102.

;{{LVA}}

• Latvian Air Force

;{{NLD}}

• Royal Netherlands Air Force

;{{POL}}

• Polish Air Force operated 1 Camel post-war (1921)

{{flag|Russian Empire|1914}}

• Imperial Russian Air Service

;{{USSR}}

• Soviet Air Force – Postwar.

;{{UK}}

• Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

:*3 Squadron

:*17 Squadron

:*28 Squadron

:*37 Squadron

:*43 Squadron

:*44 Squadron

:*45 Squadron

:*46 Squadron

:*47 Squadron

:*50 Squadron

:*51 Squadron

:*54 Squadron

:*61 Squadron

{{col-break}}

• 65 Squadron
• 66 Squadron
• 70 Squadron
• 71 Squadron
• 73 Squadron
• 75 Squadron
• 78 Squadron
• 80 Squadron
• 81 Squadron
• 89 Squadron
• 94 Squadron
• 112 Squadron
• 139 Squadron

{{col-break}}

• 143 Squadron
• 150 Squadron
• 151 Squadron
• 152 Squadron
• 155 Squadron
• 187 Squadron
• 188 Squadron
• 189 Squadron
• 198 Squadron
• 201 Squadron
• 203 Squadron
• 204 Squadron
• 208 Squadron

{{col-break}}

• 209 Squadron
• 210 Squadron
• 212 Squadron
• 213 Squadron
• 219 Squadron
• 220 Squadron
• 222 Squadron
• 225 Squadron
• 230 Squadron
• 233 Squadron
• 273 Squadron

{{col-end}}

• Royal Naval Air Service
• No. 1 Squadron RNAS
• No. 3 Squadron RNAS
• No. 4 Squadron RNAS
• No. 6 Squadron RNAS
• No. 8 Squadron RNAS
• No. 9 Squadron RNAS
• No. 10 Squadron RNAS
• No. 12 Squadron RNAS
• No. 13 Squadron RNAS

File:Sopwith Camel F.1 Right Rear.jpg

;{{flag|United States|1912}}

• American Expeditionary Force
• United States Army Air Service
• 9th Aero Squadron[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9784 "9 Bomb Squadron (ACC)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927093654/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9784 |date=27 September 2015 }} Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved: 19 December 2010.
• 17th Aero Squadron[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9849 "17 Weapons Squadron (ACC)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225175157/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9849 |date=25 February 2013 }} Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved: 19 December 2010.
• 27th Aero Squadron[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10190 "27 Fighters Squadron (ACC)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223194744/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10190 |date=23 February 2012 }} Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved: 19 December 2010.
• 37th Aero Squadron[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11645 "37 Bomb Squadron (ACC)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925081855/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11645 |date=25 September 2011 }}Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved: 19 December 2010.
• 148th Aero Squadron
• United States Navy

{{Commons category-inline|Sopwith Camel museum aircraft}}

File:Sopwith Camel 1.jpg]]

There are eight known original Sopwith Camels extant:{{cite web |url= http://demobbed.org.uk/aircraft.php?type=299 |title=Sopwith Camel |work=Demobbed – Out of Service British Military Aircraft |year=2015 |access-date=28 July 2015}}

• B5747 – F.1 on static display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.{{cite web|title=Airframe Dossier – Sopwith Camel, s/n B5747 RAF|url=http://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=16677|website=Aerial Visuals|publisher=AerialVisuals.ca|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• B6291 – F.1 on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. After being discovered in the 1960s by Desmond St. Cyrien, the aircraft was restored through the 1980s, with the restoration being completed by Tony Ditheridge at AJD Engineering in the United Kingdom, first flying in 1992.{{cite web |title=New Aircraft on Display at NASM's Udvar-Hazy Center |url=http://warbirdsnews.com/aviation-museum-news/new-aircraft-on-display-at-nasms-udvar-hazy-center.html |website=Warbirds News |date=27 December 2017}} From 2005 the aircraft was part of the Javier Arango Collection in Paso Robles, California and was donated to the NASM on Arango's death in April 2017.{{cite web |last1=Glenshaw |first1=Paul |title=Javier Arango's Extraordinary Gifts |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/javier-arango-extraordinary-gifts-180970368/ |website=Air & Space Magazine |language=en}}
• B7280 – F.1 on static display at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, Lesser Poland. The aircraft was built in Lincoln by Clayton & Shuttleworth. On 5 September 1918, when being flown by Captain Herbert A. Patey of No. 210 Squadron RAF over Belgium, it was shot down by Ludwig Beckmann of Jasta 56. Patey survived and was taken prisoner. The Germans repaired the aircraft and flew it until the end of the war. It was then taken to Berlin and exhibited at the Deutsche Luftfahrt Sammlung (German Aviation Collection). During World War II it was moved to Poland for safekeeping, and put into storage. Restoration began in 2007 and was completed by 2010.{{cite web|title=Aeroplane: Sopwith F.1 Camel|url=http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/zbiory_sz.php?ido=11&w=a|website=Polish Aviation Museum|publisher=NeoServer|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite news|title=Lincoln-built Sopwith Camel from the First World War is restored to its former glory|url=http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/lincoln-built-icon-world-war-restored-glory/story-11223827-detail/story.html|access-date=12 May 2017|work=LincolnshireLive|publisher=Local World|date=22 July 2010}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• C8228 – F.1 on static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.{{cite web |title= Sopwtih Camel |url= http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=sopwith_camel|website= National Naval Aviation Museum |publisher= Naval Aviation Museum Foundation|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=Aircraft A5658 Data|url=http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/A5658.html|website=Airport-Data.com|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• F6314 – F.1 on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum London in London. It was built by Boulton & Paul and is painted to represent an aircraft coded B of No. 65 Squadron RAF.{{cite web|title=Sopwith F1 Camel|url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/sopwith-f1-camel|website=Royal Air Force Museum|publisher=Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Simpson|first1=Andrew|title=INDIVIDUAL HISTORY [F6314]|url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/74-A-18-Sopwith-Camel.pdf|website=Royal Air Force Museum|access-date=12 May 2017|date=2015}}
• N6812 – 2F.1 on static display at the Imperial War Museum in London. It was built by William Beardmore and was flown by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Stuart Culley on 11 August 1918 when he shot down Zeppelin LZ 100.{{cite web|title=Sopwith Camel|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000220|website=Imperial War Museums|access-date=12 May 2017}}Ellis 2008, p. 148.
• N8156 – 2F.1 on static display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. Manufactured in 1918 by Hooper and Company Limited, it was purchased by the RCAF in 1925 and last flew in 1967.{{cite web|title=SOPWITH 2F.1 SHIP CAMEL|url=http://casmuseum.techno-science.ca/en/collection-research/artifact-sopwith-camel-2f1-ship-camel.php|website=Canada Aviation and Space Museum|publisher=Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=22 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722052651/http://casmuseum.techno-science.ca/en/collection-research/artifact-sopwith-camel-2f1-ship-camel.php|url-status=dead}}
• ZK-SDL – F.1 airworthy in New Zealand with The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL){{cite web |title= Sopwith Camel F.1 3|url=https://www.aviation.govt.nz/aircraft/aircraft-registration/aircraft-register-search/querymark?Mark=SDL |website=Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand |access-date=27 March 2021}} and painted as B5663. It was previously displayed in the Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, until it closed in December 2010, and the aircraft was sold to help pay debts. The Camel was sold to TVAL and restored to flying condition.{{cite news|last1=Oman|first1=Noel|title=History Takes Flight: Vintage aircraft sold to pay center's bills|url=http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2011/mar/16/history-takes-flight-vintage-aircraft-sol-20110316|access-date=12 May 2017|work=Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette|publisher=Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC.|date=16 March 2011}}{{failed verification|date=May 2017}} It was previously registered as N6254.{{cite web|title=FAA Registry [N6254]|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N6254|website=Federal Aviation Administration|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=12 May 2017}}

{{Commons category-inline|Sopwith Camel replicas}}

File:Sopwith F-1 Camel USAF.jpg]]

• Replica – F.1 airworthy in Oliver BC Canada, operated as C-FGHT by the Royal Flying Corps School of Aerial Fighting Ltd. Built from Replicraft plans by Rolland Carlson in Wi.Powered by a Warner Super Scarab 165 hp engine.
• Replica – Type T.57 on static display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton near Yeovil, Somerset. It was built in 1969 Slingsby for use in a Biggles film. It has a Warner Scarab engine installed and is painted as B6401.Jackson 1988, p. 349.{{cite web|title=Sopwith Camel (replica) (B6401)|url=http://www.fleetairarm.com/exhibit/Sopwith-Camel-replica-B6401/6-30-3.aspx|website=Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum|publisher=Fleet Air Arm Museum|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was built by museum personnel from original First World War factory drawings and was completed in 1974. It is painted and marked as the Camel flown by Lt. George A. Vaughn Jr. while flying with the 17th Aero Squadron.{{cite web|title=Sopwith F-1 Camel|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197401/sopwith-f-1-camel/|website=National Museum of the US Air Force|access-date=12 May 2017|date=17 July 2015}}
• Replica – F.1 airworthy at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, formerly in Addison, Texas. It was built by Dick Day from original factory drawings. The aircraft is fitted with original instruments, machine guns and an original Gnome rotary engine. It is painted in the scheme of the World War I flying ace Captain Arthur Roy Brown (RAF officer), a Canadian who flew with the Royal Air Force.{{cite web|title=Aircraft|url=http://www.cavflight.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=119|website=Cavanaugh Flight Museum|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=FAA Registry [N86678]|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=86678|website=Federal Aviation Administration|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=12 May 2017}} The museum closed indefinitely on 1 January 2024 and announced that its aircraft would be relocated to North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Cole |date=1 January 2024 |title=Historic Addison flight museum announces closure |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/addison-texas-cavanaugh-flight-museum-closing/287-85fe72cf-3131-4919-88ed-e92d8cfa30c0 |work=WFAA |location=Dallas, Texas |access-date=4 January 2024}}
• Replica – F.1 on display at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey. It was built in 1977 by Viv Bellamy at Lands End, as a flyable reproduction for Leisure Sport Ltd. Painted to represent B7270 of 209 Squadron, RAF, the machine which Captain Roy Brown flew when officially credited with shooting down Baron Manfred von Richthofen, it has a Clerget rotary engine of 1916 and was registered as G-BFCZ until 2003. First displayed at the museum in January 1988 for Sir Thomas Sopwith's 100th birthday celebrations, it was purchased by the museum later that year.{{cite web|title=Sopwith Camel F1 (replica)|url=http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/our-collection/aircraft/sopwith-camel-f1-replica|website=Brooklands Museum|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{failed verification|date=May 2017}}{{cite web|title=GINFO Search Results [G-BFCZ]|url=https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=BFCZ|website=Civil Aviation Authority|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{failed verification|date=May 2017}}
• Replica – B6299 at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, New York. It was completed in 1992 with a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape model 9N rotary, built by Nathaniel deFlavia and Cole Palen.{{cite web|title=Sopwith Camel|url=http://oldrhinebeck.org/sopwith-camel|website=Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220095820/http://oldrhinebeck.org/sopwith-camel|archive-date=20 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=FAA Registry [N7157Q]|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=7157Q|website=Federal Aviation Administration|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=12 May 2017}} It replaced one of the Dick Day-built and -flown Camel reproductions formerly flown at Old Rhinebeck by Mr. Day in their weekend vintage airshows, which had left the Aerodrome's collection some years earlier.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 airworthy with the Javier Arango Collection in Paso Robles, California. It was constructed by Dick Day, is powered by a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape 9N rotary, and is registered as N8343.{{cite web|title=FAA Registry [N8343]|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=8343|website=Federal Aviation Administration|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{failed verification|date=May 2017}}
• Replica – Unknown airworthy with the Vintage Aviator Collection in Masterton, New Zealand. It was originally built by Carl Swanson for Gerry Thornhill. It is powered by a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and is painted as B3889.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
• Replica – F.1 on static display at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British Columbia. Lacking an engine, a full reproduction 130 hp rotary engine has been installed.{{Cite web|url=http://www.canadianflight.org/content/sopwith-camel-replica|title=Sopwith Camel Replica|website=The Canadian Museum of Flight|access-date=27 January 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 on static display at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek, Western Australia. The engine is original and the propeller is suspected to also be genuine.{{cite web|title=Sopwith F.1 Camel|url=http://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/replicas/item/231-sopwith-f-1-camel|website=Aviation Heritage Museum|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 airworthy at the Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden, Bedfordshire. It was built by the Northern Aeroplane Workshops.{{cite web |title= Sopwith Camel |url= http://www.shuttleworth.org/collection/sopwithcamel|website=Shuttleworth|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=Civil Aviation Authority [G-BZSC]|url=https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=BZSC|website=Civil Aviation Authority|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 under construction by Koz Aero in Comstock Park, Michigan. It is based on original factory drawings and using many original parts, including an original engine and instruments.{{cite web|last1=Kozura|first1=Tom|title=Sopwith F1 Camel|url=http://www.kozaero.com/sopwith-f1-camel.html|website=Koz Aero|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web |title= FAA Registry [N6557]|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=6557|website=Federal Aviation Administration|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 under construction by John S. Shaw. It has an original Clerget 9B 130 CV engine.{{cite web|last1=Shaw|first1=John S.|title=Sopwith Camel Introduction|url=http://www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk/wordpress/sopwith-camel-f1-2/sopwith-camel-introduction|website=John S Shaw Aviation|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Shaw|first1=John S.|title=Le Clerget 9ba rotary engine|url=http://www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk/wordpress/le-clerget-9ba-rotary-engine|website=John S Shaw Aviation|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 under construction by John S. Shaw. It has a new build Gnome Monosoupape 9B-2 100 hp engine.{{cite web|last1=Shaw|first1=John S.|title=F-AZZB|url=http://www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk/wordpress/sopwith-camel-f1-2/sopwith-camel-f1-project-for-sale|website=John S Shaw Aviation|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Shaw|first1=John S.|title=Gnome|url=http://www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk/wordpress/gnome|website=John S Shaw Aviation|access-date=12 May 2017}}
• Replica – F.1 on static display at Montrose Air Station Museum in Montrose, Angus. It is painted and marked as B7320 flown by Captain John Todd of 70 Squadron Royal Flying Corps.{{cite web|title=Heritage Centre Layout|url=http://rafmontrose.org.uk/exhibits-2|website=Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre|date=21 February 2016 |publisher=Ian McIntosh Memorial Trust|access-date=12 November 2018}}
• Replica – F.1 on static display at The Museum of Flight near Seattle, Washington.{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/sopwith-camel-f1reproduction|title=Sopwith Camel F.1 Reproduction|website=The Museum of Flight|access-date=6 November 2017}}
• Assumed replica – on static display at the Australian Army Flying Museum at Oakey, Queensland. https://www.armyflyingmuseum.com.au/

File:Sopwith F.1 Camel drawing.jpg

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Quest for Performance,Loftin, LK, Jr. [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/cover.htm "Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft. NASA SP-468".] NASA. Retrieved: 22 April 2006. Profile PublicationsBruce 1965, p. 12.

|prime units?=imp

|crew=1

|length ft=18

|length in=9

|span ft=28

|span in=0

|height ft=8

|height in=6

|wing area sqft=231

|aspect ratio=4.11

|airfoil=RAF 16{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}

|empty weight lb=930

|gross weight lb=1453

|max takeoff weight lb=

|fuel capacity=

|more general=

• Zero-lift drag coefficient: C_D0.0378
• Frontal area: {{convert|8.73|sqft|m2}}

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Clerget 9B

|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine

|eng1 hp=130

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=fixed-pitch wooden propeller

|prop dia ft=

|prop dia in=

|prop dia note=

|max speed mph=113

|stall speed mph=48

|range miles=300

|combat range miles=

|ferry range miles=

|endurance=

|ceiling ft=19000

|climb rate ftmin=1085

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude=

|lift to drag=7.7

|wing loading lb/sqft=6.3

|wing loading note=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass={{cvt|0.09|hp/lb}}

|guns=2 × {{cvt|0.303|in|2}} Vickers machine guns

|avionics=

}}

Biggles flies a Sopwith Camel in the novels by W. E. Johns during Biggles's spell in 266 Squadron during the First World War. The first collection of Biggles stories, titled The Camels are Coming, was published in 1932. The first two collections of stories (broken into three books in Australia) were all true stories or events, lightly fictionalised—some of them are identifiable in official war records, e.g., the accidental discovery of a major camouflaged airfield when rescuing a downed pilot.{{cite book |last = Butts | first = D | editor1-first= T |editor1-last= Watkins |editor2-first = D | editor2-last = Jones |title=A Necessary Fantasy?: The Heroic Figure in Children's Popular Culture |publisher=Garland Publishing | chapter = Biggles – Hero of the Air |location=New York |year=2000 |pages= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3UTyDNVjYxoC&pg=PA137 137–152] |isbn=0-8153-1844-8 }}

The Sopwith Camel was featured as a flyable aircraft in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, starting with Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, released in November 1982.{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VKjwnGrhNwC&pg=PA508 | title=Into the Wild Blue Yonder with Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 | accessdate=21 November 2024 | author=Jeff Prosise | date=31 October 1988 | publisher=PC Mag | pages=508}} Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 was the last version to include the Sopwith Camel with the game.

The Camel is the "plane" of Snoopy in the Peanuts comic strip, when he imagines himself as a World War I flying ace and the nemesis of the Red Baron.Murphy and McNiece 2003, p. 87.

{{aircontent|

|related=

|similar aircraft=

• Albatros D.V
• Fokker Dr.I
• Fokker D.VI
• Fokker D.VII
• Hanriot HD.1
• Nieuport 24
• Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
• SPAD S.XIII
• Vickers F.B.19

|lists=

• List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
• List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps
• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
• List of fighter aircraft

|see also=

}}

{{Reflist|group=Note}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|40em}}

• Bowyer, Chaz. Sopwith Camel: King of Combat. Falmouth, Cornwall, UK: Glasney Press, 1978. {{ISBN|0-9502825-7-X}}.
• Bruce, J.M. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200527.html "Sopwith Camel: Historic Military Aircraft No 10: Part I."] Flight, 22 April 1955, pp. 527–532.
• Bruce, J.M. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200560.html "Sopwith Camel: Historic Military Aircraft No 10: Part II."] Flight, 29 April 1955. pp. 560–563.
• Bruce, J.M. "Aircraft Profile No. 31. The Sopwith Camel F.1" Profile Publications, 1965.
• Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War: Volume Two Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1968. {{ISBN|0-356-01473-8}}.
• Clark, Alan. Aces High: The War in the Air Over The Western Front 1914 – 1918. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973. {{ISBN|0-297-99464-6}}.
• {{cite magazine|last1=Cony|first1=Christophe|title=Une déception: les Sopwith Camel belges|magazine=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=April 1999 |issue=73 |pages=19–23 |trans-title=A Disappointment: The Belgian Sopwith Camels|language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
• Davis, Mick. Sopwith Aircraft. Ramsbury, Malborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 1999. {{ISBN|1-86126-217-5}}.
• Ellis, Ken. Wrecks & Relics, 21st edition. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-85979-134-2}}.
• Franks, Norman Images of War – Sopwith Camels Over Italy 1917-18. London: Pen and Sword, 2018. {{ISBN|1-52672-309-3}}
• {{cite magazine|last1=Gerdessen|first1=F|title=Round-Out: More Windfalls |magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=July–August 1999|issue=82|pages=79–80|issn=0143-5450}}
• Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". Air Enthusiast, No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}.
• Guttman, Jon: "Sopwith Camel (Air Vanguard; 3)". Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-78096-176-7}}.
• Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III. London: Putnam, 1988. {{ISBN|0-85177-818-6}}.
• Jackson, Robert. Infamous Aircraft – Dangerous Designs and their Vices. Barnsley, UK:Pen and Sword, 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-84415-172-1}}.
• Jackson, Robert. Britain's Greatest Aircraft. Pen and Sword, 2007. {{ISBN|1-84415-600-1}}.
• {{cite magazine|last1=Klaauw|first1=Bart van der|title=Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War |magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 1999 |issue=80 |pages=54–59 |issn=0143-5450}}
• Leinburger, Ralf. Fighter: Technology, Facts, History. London: Parragon Inc., 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-40549-575-2}}.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter. London: Putnam, 1992. {{ISBN|0 85177 852 6}}
• Murphy, Justin D. and Matthew A. McNiece. Military Aircraft, 1919-1945: An Illustrated History of their Impact. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2009. {{ISBN|1-85109-498-9}}.
• Ralph, Wayne. Barker VC: The Classic Story of a Legendary First World War Hero. London: Grub Street, 1999. {{ISBN|1-902304-31-4}}.
• Robertson, Bruce. Sopwith: The Man and His Aircraft. London: Harleyford, 1970. {{ISBN|0-900435-15-1}}.
• Sturtivant, Ray and Gordon Page. The Camel File. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1993. {{ISBN|0-85130-212-2}}.
• Thomas, Andrew. "In the Footsteps of Daedulus: Early Greek Naval Aviation". Air Enthusiast, No. 94, July–August 2001, pp. 8–9. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}
• United States Air Force Museum Guidebook. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.
• Williams, Anthony G. and Emmanuel Gustin. Flying Guns: World War I and its Aftermath 1914–32. Ramsbury, Wiltshire: Airlife, 2003. {{ISBN|1-84037-396-2}}.
• Winchester, Jim, ed. "Sopwith Camel." Biplanes, Triplanes and Seaplanes (Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. {{ISBN|1-84013-641-3}}.

{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150405033416/http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/sopwith-camel Cole Palen/Nat deFlavia reproduction Camel at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome]
• [http://www.airminded.net/camel/camel.html Camel photos and links to museums with Camels]
• [http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/Sopwith2F1Camel/ Canadian Aviation Museum Camel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926184734/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/Sopwith2F1Camel/ |date=26 September 2008 }}
• [http://wio.ru/ww1a/sopwith.htm Sopwith fighters in Russia]
• [http://www.airdromeaeroplanes.com/sopwithcamel.html Sopwith Camel Replica Kit from Airdrome Aeroplanes]

{{Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft}}

{{Authority control}}

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