Prototypes worth modelling-The Sopwith Camel.

**wonwinglo** · 07-01-2006

SOPWITH CAMEL

Sopwith Camel F6394.

The Sopwith Camel was without a doubt the finest British fighter of World War 1,the aircraft was basically a development of the Sopwith Pup with a somewhat heavier and more powerful rotary engine the 130 hp Clerget Rotary piston engine,the Camel had armament,fuel,pilot and powerplant all situated within a short distance,this resulted in outstanding manoeuvrability which was coupled to the torque of the large engine,this made snap turns to starboard which were so fast that pilots used this to good advantage in the air making a total of over 3,000 its total tally of victims.The type was also used as a day or night fighter by British Home Defence units,and the Camel is considered to have played a big role in the the defeat of the German Gotha bombers.
The name Camel was not the aircrafts official one,being called the Sopwith Biplane F.1 designation for the first production versions.Other engines fitted included the Bentley,Clerget,Gnome and Le Rhone,plus the Gnome Monosoupape.The opwith 2F.1 Camel was designed expressly for shipboard use and remained in service until after World War 1,the final production figure was 5,490 aircraft,they were also used by the air forces of Belgium,Canada,Greece and the American Expeditionary force,and with the Slavo-British Aviation group operating in Russia in 1918.
Max Speed: 115 mph.
Service ceiling: 19,000 feet.
Endurance: 2 hours 30 minutes.
Empty weight: 929 lbs.
Maximimum take off weight:1,453 lbs.
Span: 28 feet.
Length: 18 feet 9 inches.
Height: 8 feet 6 inches.
Wing area: 231 square feet.
Armament: Two forward firing synchronised 0.303 inch Vickers machine-guns,plus up to four 25 lb bombs carried externally.