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Sopwith F1 ‘Camel’
SOPWITH F1 ‘CAMEL’
– A FEARSOME FOE
Arguably the most famous and deadliest British
aircraft of World War One, the Sopwith F1 was
designed by Herbert Smith as a replacement for his
earlier design the Sopwith Pup. The Pup was being
outclassed by German aircraft such as the Albatross
DIII and a faster, more heavily armed replacement
was required. The Pup was relatively easy to fly
with somewhat benign characteristics, however the
F1 was not. The powerful Clerget rotary engine
created powerful gyroscopic forces that coupled
with the torque made the aircraft able to turn to the
right very quickly but with a nose down tendency.
These dynamic forces plus a nose heavy weight
distribution made the aircraft manoeuvrable and a
fearsome foe – but tricky to fly.
This often ended in disaster especially for
inexperienced pilots. The F1 was the first British
aircraft to have guns that fired through the
propeller disc via a synchronising gear. These
guns were mounted forward of the cockpit with
the breeches housed in a ‘hump’. This hump gave
the F1 the unofficial nickname of ‘Camel’, which
became synonymous with the aircraft despite it
never being an official designation. Along with its
stablemate the SE5A, the Camel gave the RCF,
RNAS and emerging RAF air superiority over the
Luftstreitkräfte towards the end of the war.
VMC Instruction Booklet - Sopwith Camel JAN19.indd 3
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