In the end, the Sopwith Camel was credited with the destruction of nearly 1,300 enemy aircraft (some sources go as high as 3,000) making it the most successful Allied aircraft of the war. Despite its successes as a dogfighter, the Camel - like most other 1917 aircraft fighter designs of the war - was slowly slipping out of conventional use as dedicated dogfighters against the new crop of planes. As a result, the Camel would see her last days as a ground strike platform to which it performed this role particularly well. Whereas the Germans fielded their equally effective Halberstadt CL.IV models in this role, the Camel was just as lethal on advancing enemy formations - noted in their involvement in the 1918 March German Offensive, effectively Germany's "last gasp". The Camel saw service in The Great War up through to the last days of the conflict and the signing of the Armistice. Several forms continued in some capacity in the post-war world.
Variants beyond the main F.1 production model included the 2F.1, a navalized Camel featuring folding wings of shorter span, a removable tail section for ease of storage, only a single 7.7mm Vickers synchronized machine gun but also a single 7.7mm Lewis machine gun in the upper wing. These were generally powered by a Bentley BR1 engine. A nightfighter appeared as the Sopwith Camel "Comic" with two Lewis machine guns in the upper wing and worked well in the home defense role against the German Gotha bombers. A more intriguing design alternative appeared in the proposed T.F.1 "Trench Fighter" - a dedicated ground assault model with obliquely downward facing 7.7mm machine guns firing through the cockpit floor (a more natural weapon arrangement for engaging ground targets, particularly those dug in to trenches). Some armor plating was envisioned for pilot and engine protection in this design, important attributes to consider at low altitudes where small arms fire inevitably comes into play.
Canadian Roy Brown was flying his Sopwith Camel on April 21, 1918 and was officially credited with the downing of the legendary German ace Manfred von Richthofen - the "Red Baron" himself. Despite this official credit, more recent research into the subject suggests that Richthofen was actually downed by ground-based fire with several other names being the possible cause of his ultimate demise.
Nearly 5,500 Sopwith Camel biplane fighters were produced.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.