Sopwith Camel

Camel
Sopwith Camel
Role	Biplane fighter Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Sopwith Aviation Company
Designer	Herbert Smith[1]
First flight	22 December 1916
Introduction	June 1917
Retired	January 1920
Primary users	Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force
Number built	5,490
Developed from	Sopwith Pup

The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the best-known fighter aircraft of the Great War. In total, Camel pilots were credited with downing 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than their counterparts flying any other Allied fighter of the conflict. Towards the end of the war, the type also saw use as a ground-attack aircraft, partly because the capabilities of fighter aircraft on both sides had advanced rapidly and left the Camel somewhat outclassed.

The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized Vickers machine guns. It was difficult to fly, with 90% of its weight in the front seven feet of the aircraft, but it was highly manoeuvrable in the hands of an experienced pilot, a vital attribute in the relatively low-speed, low-altitude dogfights of the era. Its pilots joked that their fates would involve "a wooden cross, the Red Cross, or a Victoria Cross".

The main variant of the Camel was designated as the F.1. Other variants included the 2F.1 Ship's Camel, which operated from aircraft carriers; the Comic night fighter variant; and the T.F.1, a "trench fighter" armoured for attacks on heavily defended ground targets. A two-seat variant served as a trainer. The last Camels were withdrawn from RAF service in January 1920.