Sopwith "Camel"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for May, 1953
by Jo Kotula
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The Sopwith Camel was a British World War I single-seat fighter biplane introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It had a combination of a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. The Camel was credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter in the First World War. Intended as a replacement for the Sopwith Pup, the Camel prototype first flew on 22 December 1916, powered by a 110 hp Clerget 9Z. Known as the "Big Pup" early on in its development, the biplane design was evolutionary more than revolutionary, featuring a box-like fuselage structure, the design also used a aluminium engine cowling, plywood-covered panels around the cockpit, and fabric-covered fuselage, wings and tail. The two 30 caliber Vickers machine guns mounted directly in front of the cockpit, fired forward through the propeller disc with the fairing over the gun breeches creating a "hump" that led to the name Camel The bottom wing had dihedral but not the top, so that the gap between the wings was less at the tips than at the roots. Approximately 5,490 units were ultimately produced.

  

Photos of the Sopwith "Camel"
..no photos with a beagle are available...
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Here is a video of the Sopwith "Camel" in action:

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