Sopwith 1F.1 Camel

Perhaps the most famous British fighter aircraft of the 'Great War', the Sopwith Camel became a household name during, and after the war. Almost five and a half thousand Camels were produced from 1917 until the end of the war.

Back To Aircraft List »

An agile and highly maneuverable aircraft, the Camel accounted for more aerial victories than any other Allied aircraft during World War One. A total of almost 1300 enemy aircraft were downed by Camels, compared with the 413 pilots who died in combat while flying the type.Unfortunately, the Camel also had a tendency to kill inexperienced pilots, and a further 385 were killed in non-combat related incidents while flying the type.

Arther Cobby, an Australian who flew Camels with the Australian Flying Corps, and achieved a score of 29 victories while flying the type, had this to say:

"A great number of trainee pilots had been killed learning to fly this machine, as its tricks took some learning, although they were simple to overcome. Owing to its very small wingspan, its purposely unstable characteristics, and the gyroscopic effect of a rotating engine, it flipped into a spin very easily at low speeds. Consequently, in landing and taking off, a tremendous number of fatal accidents occurred, and a general feeling of dislike for the machine was prevalent. It really had people frightened."

 

This original British built Camel was imported into the USA in 1920 by Clarence Chamberlin who used it as a company 'hack' for some years. In 1931 it was sold to the Jarrett Museum of WW1 History in Atlantic City, and it was shortly after this that the true identity of the aircraft was lost when the maker's plate was stolen.

In 1950 well known warbirds pioneer Frank Tallman bought the aircraft and restored it to flying condition as N6254. After performing some film work as part of Tallman's collection the aircraft spent time in the US Marine Corps Museum in Virginia, and more recently in the Aerospace Education Centre in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA). The static aircraft was purchased and then restored to flying condition once again by The Vintage Aviator Ltd, making it the fifth original First World War aircraft of the collection to be restored to fully airworthy condition.

The aircraft is now dressed in the colour scheme of B5663 in which Flight Lt Curtis scored his 11th victory (out of an eventual total of 13) in late 1917. Subsequently (23 January 1918) the aircraft was being flown by Flt Sub-Lt Blyth when it collided with an Albatros scout -- both aircraft fell to the ground out of control and both pilots were killed. The German pilot was credited with the 'victory', and while the two aircraft were reported to have fallen together it appears that they separated close to the ground as the Camel landed relatively intact.

---

More Videos:

More Photos:

Share This Page :

---

Please consider subscribing to HMTV, or buy us a drink to support our historical (story and film) preservation endeavours.