Haynes Sopwith Camel 1916-20 (F.1_2F.1) Owners Workshop Manual 0857337955, 9780857337955

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SOPWITH

i r o t s e r , g n i n w o o t n i t h g insi in’s iconic First V An Brita

sing and flying

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2023 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/soowithcamel19160000cott

SOPWITH

CAMEL

1916-20 (F.1/2F.1)

x

(&

COVER

IMAGE: Sopwith Camel F1.

(Mike Badrocke)

© Jarrod Cotter 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval

system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from Haynes Publishing. First published in January 2016 Reprinted October 2019 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 85733 795 5 Library of Congress control no. 2015944294

Acknowledgements

Published by Haynes Publishing,

Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ, UK. Tel: 01963 440635 Int. tel: +44 1963 440635 Website: www.haynes.com Haynes North America Inc., 859 Lawrence Drive, Newbury Park,

California 91320, USA. Printed in Malaysia.

he author would like to thank the following for all their assistance and kindness in many various ways, who have helped with the production of this book: Gene DeMarco, Chief Pilot, The Vintage Aviator Ltd; Sir Peter Jackson, Chairman, 1914-1918 Heritage Trust; Ciara Rickie Harper, Communications Manager, Shuttleworth Collection; Julian C. Temple, Estates & Heritage Manager, Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd; Andrew Lewis, Museum Curator, Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd; Gavin Conroy; Tim Sullivan; Stuart Goldspink; David Cretchley, Chief Engineer, TVAL; Peter Bond; John S. Shaw; Frangois Prins; Derek Staha; and Nick Caudwell.

SOPWITH 1916-20 (F.1/2F.1)

Owners’ Workshop

Manual

An insight into owning, restoring, servicing and flying Britain’s iconic First World War biplane fighter Jarrod Cotter

WME

OT

(GR note [Authors =

Ne grinie wale 12

NEAR BA The the Royal Camel Flyingstory Corps —__ Taking flight 8 Royal Air Force created Zap ‘Father of the RAP’ 28 ‘Winged’ leader 29 Ground attack oul Camels at sea 31 World’s first carrier strike oo Armistice ot

(ELM [Restore tofignt

|]

A quartet of Camels Research Fuselage Fuel system Cockpit Wings Empennage Le Clerget 9Ba rotary engine Peter Bond

42 42 43 44 Ai 20) 5/7 59 63

A fierce little beast

ae 105

Service experience Letters from the Front

[RM [The owner's view Absolute authenticity Peter Jackson’s interest Gene DeMarco TVAL Camels

ti 13 slates 120

[EAM [The engineer's view Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part 1 124 Rigging Notes, Sopwith Biplane F.1 129

EM [camel anatomy Air Board Technical Notes —

100hp Monosoupape Engine Air Board Technical Notes — 110hp Clerget engine

VEER iepicts ew

86

88

Air Board Technical Notes Instructional Notes on the Vickers Gun

[|Z Appendices 1 Sopwith F.1 Camel specification Sopwith Camel test data 2 Camel production 3 Camel squadrons 4 Glossary

OPPOSITE

The Vintage Aviator Ltd’s superb Sopwith Camel

replica in New Zealand has for many years been the world’s most accurate example of a flying Camel, as it is powered by

an original Gnome rotary engine and flown in the exact same way the type was by pilots in the First World War. (Jarrod Cotter)

136 140

144 145 146 148 149

Hl153 1

[JEM [index 5 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

S60)

SS

a

The author wrote these words on 1 August 2015, the day he saw

eee oys of certain generations with a sense

this, the TVAL-built Sopwith Snipe reproduction F2367, flying. Already

B of adventure grew up reading the Biggles

impressed by the performance of the Sopwith Camel, the author was

books by Captain W.E. Johns, myself included.

staggered by the Snipe’s short take-off and immediate high rate of climb.

Many of the early books saw Biggles flying Sopwith Camels, and such stories encouraged many of the boys who read them to want to

The Snipe replaced the Camel, but had arrived on the front line in only small

numbers before the Armistice on 11 November 1918. (Jarrod Cotter)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

a g a E become fighter pilots — this even included members of ‘The Few’ who saved the UK’s freedom during the Battle of Britain. During interviews, several Battle of Britain veterans told me that reading Biggles books had first sparked their interest in pursuing a flying career, never at the time realising they would go on to play such a crucial part in British aviation heritage. Even from an early age | also read much about the exploits of the daring early military airmen of the First World War and was often left in awe of their bravery and achievements in the line of duty. | became further fascinated with the aerial conflict of the First World War after watching classic films including The Blue Max, The Great Waldo Pepper and Aces High. | built models of a Sopwith Camel and an all-red Albatros, and remember spending hours on the stairway landing playing out dogfights. Today’s air show audiences can see this aspect of the evolution of military aviation the world over. For example, in the UK the Shuttleworth Collection has a wonderful fleet of airworthy 1914-18 period machines, the most recently completed of which is a Sopwith

Camel replica. In the USA there are numerous airworthy First World War types at Old Rhinebeck. Over in New Zealand, The Vintage

Aviator Ltd (TVAL) has in the past few years made great progress with both the restoration of original aircraft and the construction of multiple perfect reproductions of types from the era powered by original engines. | was fortunate enough to be invited out to New Zealand to witness the results myself and the first reproduction Albatros D.Va, which had just flown at the time, particularly caught my eye. It had been built to exact specifications and was powered by a period engine, so is as close to seeing an original Albatros D.Va flying as can be. Add to that TVAL’s replica Sopwith Camel, which started Peter Jackson’s incredible collection off and which has been a star air show performer in

New Zealand for some years, and it all brought to life those model dogfights of my youth.

Earlier on during the evening on which wrote these words, | was also privileged to be at Old Warden to see Gene DeMarco fly one of the TVAL-built Sopwith Snipes. While the Camel appears impressively powerful for the age in which it was conceived, the Snipe entered another level with its incredible climb performance. No sooner did Gene apply the power than the Snipe lifted its tail and soon leapt into the air, then performed an extremely rapid climb. While the Snipe replaced the Camel, it was not ready in significant enough numbers to make a difference on the front line of the First World War, but witnessing this improvement on the Camel design being put through its paces was certainly a further addition to my understanding of the fighting machines of the period. As featured in this book, there is a strong connection between Biggles and the Shuttleworth Collection, making the new Camel at Old Warden a most apt addition to the ranks there. Other Camels featured in this book include those of Peter Bond and John S. Shaw, both of whom are carrying out incredible work to produce flying reproductions built to the original plans. And then, new to the ranks of the amazing TVAL collection, is an original airworthy Camel painted as B5663, which had only recently flown when this book was in its late stages of production. This aircraft subsequently became a prominent focus of the book, and Gene DeMarco’s report on flying this piece of history makes for fascinating reading. Perhaps a ‘new’ concept to some readers of this series is that of the rotary engine that powers the Camel. | have therefore included original technical information describing the workings and maintenance of this unusual powerplant where, as its name suggests, the engine itself spins around to turn the propeller. | hope the mix of material presented here

offers a worthy insight into the design and build of this iconic British aircraft, which for good reason became known as the ‘King of the Air Fighters’.

7 AUTHOR'S NOTE

se

i

ae

Marking its centenary and new role with the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, No 17 (Reserve) Squadron held a parade and flypast at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 9 February 2015. One of its F-35s was

arranged with iconic fighters from the unit’s past - a replica Sopwith Camel and a Supermarine Spitfire XIV. (Sgt Raloh

Merry/Crown Copyright)

INTRODUCTION

LEFT The war on the ground was fierce and costly in terms of lives, as the soldiers on both sides fought from heavily pounded, muddy trenches. The trenches were not dug randomly, but as part of a complex design. Each of the frontline trenches was backed up by second and

third lines, then ‘support’ and ‘reserve’ trenches, all linked by communication trenches.

(Army/Crown Copyright)

The First World War was called the ‘Great War’, which is a somewhat

misleading name

since it actually describes the vast destruction

and devastating impact the conflict left on the

world. Highlighting the mass carnage of the conflict, when the Battle of the Somme began at 07:30 on 1 July 1916 — following a brief and eerie silence as tens of thousands of men considered their fate in the next few minutes — whistles blew and the first British and French

infantrymen left their muddy trenches to meet a deadly hail of machine-gun fire. By the end of this first day the British alone had almost 20,000 men killed, over 35,000 wounded, more than 2,000 missing and hundreds more taken

LEFT

British soldiers in a trench on the Western

Front, circa 1916. The soldier nearest the camera is armed with a Lewis gun, the British Army’s most widely used machine gun during the First World War. Each Lewis gun required a team of two gunners, one to fire it and one to carry the ammunition and reload. All of the members

of

an infantry platoon would be trained in the

weapon’s use so that they could take over if the nominated gunners were killed or wounded.

(Army/Crown Copyright)

LEFT As well as the aeroplane, another new

weapon introduced in numbers during the First World War was the tank. The Mk IV tank, such

as that seen here in 1917, was an up-armoured version of the Mk I. To improve safety, its fue! was stored in a single external tank located between

the rear track horns. The Mk IV was armed with six 0.303 Lewis machine guns (the so-called ‘female’ version), while the ‘male’ had two 6-pounder guns and four Lewis guns.

(Army/Crown Copyright)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

prisoner — the total loss was almost 60,000 in

Aviation was seen as being such an important

ABOVE

just one day and the offensive was to go on until November.

aspect of modern warfare that the world’s first

infantry advance

independent air arm — the Royal Air Force (RAF)

towards Allied lines on

Above the devastation of the trenches, a new form of warfare had been rapidly evolving in the air and it was transforming military strategy. Planning for the Somme offensive was based on aerial reconnaissance photographs provided by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). ‘Winged warriors’ were now duelling in the sky, their very own field of honour where they often fought by a gentleman’s code that would seldom be repeated in modern warfare. This Chivalry in the air contrasted with the slaughter below, although war it still was and many young

— was formed on 1 April 1918.

7 August 1914. (US War

Flying in fabric-covered aircraft, being

German

Department)

shot at from the air and ground and without parachutes, the risks to these early military

aviators were high. As a result of the courage shown in the face of combat, while at the same

BELOW

British troops advance through gas and smoke during the final assault

on Passchendaele Ridge in 1917. Gas was one of several new weapons utilised in the First World War, the Germans first using it against the French during the

capture of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914. This was a small taste of things to

and inexperienced airmen were killed within

come, and as the war progressed all sides developed ever more lethal gases,

days of their arrival on the front line. During the months of the Somme offensive almost 800 aircraft were lost, taking with them the lives of hundreds of airmen. These early flyers certainly played their part in the eventual Allied victory. Humans had only been flying for 11 years by the time of the beginning of the war, and by its end aviation technology had advanced significantly. In the early part of the war very fragile aircraft, offering no protection for their crew from the effects of the elements, became offensive machines as observers began carrying revolvers and rifles to shoot at the enemy in the air, and began dropping bombs by hand over the side of the cockpit. Later in the war dedicated, fast-flying sturdy scout aircraft had

including phosgene and mustard gas. (Army/Crown Copyright)

machine guns synchronised to fire through their propeller arcs and there were huge bombers capable of carrying a hefty payload.

11 INTRODUCTION

time being in the midst of the many dangers encountered while flying the fragile aircraft of the era, it is perhaps not surprising that during the

First World War the Victoria Cross was awarded for numerous acts of valour in the air. Of them, the circumstances of the award to 2nd Lt Alan Arnett McLeod make for particularly emotive reading. At just 18 years old, this

Canadian airman was severely injured in a

dogfight with eight Fokker Dr.l triplanes, but managed to get his badly damaged aircraft on the ground and then saved the life of his observer, only to die some months later from influenza.

By 21 March 1918 the final German offensive é

This rare photograph was taken by the observer in a Royal Aircraft

Factory R.E.8 reconnaissance aircraft above clouds over the Western Front around 1917. The view is towards the front cockpit, with instrument panel dials and the Vickers machine gun mounted on the port side of the fuselage visible to the left of the pilot’s helmet. The image is from an album relating to

Lt William Charles Carter, 13 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, 1917-18. (Army/

Crown Copyright)

had resulted in a powerful advance that was pushing the Allies back. As part of the effort to

stop the advance, Allied aircraft were detailed to attack German infantry and artillery batteries.

Early on the morning of 27 March — just days before the formation of the Royal Air Force — Lt McLeod and his observer, Lt A.W. Hammond MC, of 2 Squadron, RFC, took off in their Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 to bomb enemy positions at Bray-sur-Somme, near Albert. The weather that day was bad; they lost their way in fog and were forced to land at 43 Squadron's airfield, slightly damaging the aircraft while doing so. By just after noon the F.K.8 had been repaired, and despite the continuing poor weather Lts McLeod and Hammond took off with the intention of carrying out their planned

task. On reaching the target area they found an artillery battery to attack, but as they were preparing for the bombing run a Fokker Dr.| appeared out of cloud slightly below them. Even though the enemy scout was faster and more agile than the heavily bombed-up F.K.8,

the teenage pilot skilfully manoeuvred it so that his observer could get a clear shot at their attacker. After several accurate bursts from Lt Hammond’s Lewis gun the Dr.| plunged to earth. However, another seven triplanes

LEFT Among the subjects of the striking dioramas at the Knights of the Sky exhibition in the Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka, New Zealand, is the Etrich Taube (Dove), which

highlights a very early form of aerial warfare — firing a rifle from an aircraft. (AHC)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

appeared out of the cloud and immediately set upon the F.K.8.

LEFT

Lt Alan Arnett

McLeod VC.

The German scouts literally swarmed around the RFC machine, taking turns firing at it. With further skilful flying, Lt McLeod again gave his observer a good line of fire at the attackers, two of which he hit, causing them to fall earthwards on fire. The remaining Germans continued their frantic attacks, and bullets hit the F.K.8 in the petrol tank, which caught alight. The fire quickly spread and soon the pilot’s basket seat was ablaze. Lieutenant McLeod had been wounded five times, but despite his injuries he climbed out of the fiery cockpit on to the lower left wing,

BELOW

The war-torn

Somme battlefield, typical of those over which the RFC and

then, with flames licking all around his arm, he

RNAS fought during

continued to hold the control stick, managing to maintain some directional control as he attempted to keep the flames from spreading to Lt Hammond's cockpit so that he could carry on firing at the enemy scouts. McLeod evaded the triplanes and brought the badly hit bomber in low over the German lines, then, with his right hand still on the control stick in the burning cockpit, flattened out the aircraft’s approach angle ready to alight in ‘No Man’s Land’. The young Canadian pilot got the burning aircraft down on the ground as best as he could, and having survived the ordeal proceeded to drag his severely wounded and badly burned observer free from the blazing wreckage. With the F.K.8’s bomb load still in place, this had to be done immediately. Lieutenant McLeod ignored his own injuries and pulled Lt Hammond — who had been hit six times — out of the flaming aircraft and towards a shell hole for protection from German machine-gun fire, which was by

the First World War. A

British reconnaissance aircraft captured this image in 1916. (Crown

Copyright)

then being aimed at them. The aircraft exploded, and the blast from the bombs wounded the pilot further. Despite this and with German bullets flying all around him, McLeod got himself and his observer into what protection the shell hole provided. They remained there until dusk, when it was safer

for nearby Allied infantrymen to use the cover of darkness to rescue them. They received treatment for their wounds and were then moved to a casualty clearing station; both had survived the ordeal. Alan McLeod was shipped back to ‘Blighty’ and admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in London where he remained in

13 INTRODUCTION

but he persevered until he had placed Lt Hammond in comparative safety, before falling himself from exhaustion and loss of blood.’

Shortly after the award, Alan McLeod attended an investiture at Buckingham Palace with his father, who had sailed to England from

Canada to be with his son. By the beginning of September McLeod appeared to be sufficiently on the road to recovery that he and his father could return to Canada and he could continue his recuperation at home.

At the time a highly virulent strain of Spanish influenza was widespread in Canada, however, and the young man contracted the virus. In his weakened state he also developed pneumonia ABOVE Thetwin synchronised

— acritical condition for months. Lt Hammond

lost

_a leg as a result of his injuries.

Vickers machine-gun It was later announced that the Canadian arrangement of the _ pilot had been awarded the Victoria Cross for

standard F.1 Camel represented a major leap in Allied aerial

his actions on 27 March. Lt Hammond received —a bar to his Military Cross. An extract from Lt McLeod's citation for the

— and died from these complications in Winnipeg on 6 November 1918 — just five days before the

Armistice. A moving tribute to him, written by Dr David

Christie of Westminster Church, Winnipeg, appeared in the Manitoba Free Press the day after his death:

firepower when the — VC in the London Gazette, dated 1 May 1918, type arrived onthe __ stated:

‘Alan McLeod was the finest flower of

front line in 1917.

(Jarrod Cotter)

‘Whilst flying with his observer (Lt A.W. Hammond,

MC), attacking hostile formations

by bombs and machine-gun fire, he was assailed at a height of 5,000 feet by eight enemy triplanes, which dived at him from all directions, firing from their front guns. By skilful manoeuvring he enabled his observer to fire bursts at each machine in turn, shooting three of them down out of control. By this time Lt McLeod had received five wounds, and whilst continuing the engagement a bullet penetrated his petrol tank and set the machine on fire. He then climbed out on to the left bottom plane,

controlling his machine from the side of the fuselage, and by side-slipping steeply kept the flames to one side, thus enabling the observer to continue firing until the ground was reached. The observer had been wounded six times when the machine crashed in No Man’s Land, and 2nd Lt McLeod, not withstanding his own wounds, dragged him away from the burning wreckage at great personal risk from heavy machine-gun fire from the enemy’s lines. This very gallant pilot was again wounded by a bomb whilst engaged in this act of rescue,

14 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

chivalry. The old days of knighthood are over, but for the very fairest blossoms of the spirit of knighthood the world has had to wait till the twentieth century. !t is these dauntless boys who have saved civilization. The heroism of the Crusades pales before the incredible and quiet courage of such boys who gave us a new interpretation of Calvary. | saw Alan within a few hours of his death. He faced the last enemy with the same joyous confidence with which he started on what he called the very happiest part of his life. For our children’s children names like Alan McLeod's will be written in letters of splendour in the annals of Canada.’ The Sopwith Camel has been chosen as the first Haynes Manual to look at a First World War

aircraft for numerous reasons. To begin with it is the most iconic and highest-scoring Allied fighter of the First World War. It is credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft and was among the most successful RNAS/RFC/RAF ‘scouts’ and, owing to delays with the more advanced Sopwith Snipe, remained on front-line duty until the Armistice.

FOR BIGGLESWADE ‘BIGGLESWORTH’

AND SHUTTLEWORTH,

Generations of young boys grew up reading with excitement the escapades of pilot and adventurer ‘Biggles’ in the famous book series by author Captain W.E. Johns. The character’s full name was James Bigglesworth, who began his adventures as a teenage fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Biggles first appeared in print in the story ‘The White Fokker’, published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine in 1932. The first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels are Coming, was published the same year. The series eventually reached almost 100 volumes. W.E. Johns, who died in 1968, was himself

a First World War pilot. On 16 September 1918

READ

he was shot down in an Airco D.H.4 during a bombing raid. He survived the crash and was taken prisoner of war, and post-war remained in

the RAF until 1927. W.E. Johns was a friend of Richard Shuttleworth, and it is said that he and the town of Biggleswade, close to Old Warden, provided the inspiration for the name of the heroic character. Bigglesworth supposedly takes the ‘Biggles’ from Biggleswade, and the ‘worth’ from Shuttleworth. BELOW

Two of the author’s Biggles books: Biggles of 266 and Biggles of the

Camel Squadron. W.E. Johns wrote these stories in the early to mid-1930s, although these editions were published more than 30 years later.

15 INTRODUCTION

Chapter One

[ames © eee

ee

ee

ee

The Sopwith Camel is the most

iconic Allied fighter of the First World War and to fully appreciate its importance it is necessary to

look at the founding of the RFC and more generally at the wider circumstances of this tumultuous period of aviation history, when some visionaries were calling for the formation of an independent air arm.

very fast ri ht t ~~ her-an ideal machine for close-in

scrapping.’ Captain Norman MacMillan OBE, MC, A

from a set of handling notes he wrote jade OPPOSITE

A standard Sopwith F.1 Camel, circa 1917.

(Air Ministry)

16 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

iy

Founding the Royal Flying Corps he name David Henderson has largely slipped from memory, but he was the real founder of military aviation in Britain. Born in Scotland in 1862, Henderson studied engineering at the University of Glasgow, and on qualifying joined the Army. He passed out at Sandhurst and was gazetted into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, joining his regiment in Cape Town in August 1883. Although the main Zulu wars were over, there were several minor skirmishes and Henderson saw action the following year. He was a popular and much-liked officer who entered all aspects of regimental life, including coaching the Argylls at rowing, earning them the nickname ‘the Marine Highlanders’. Henderson was gifted artistically and organised amateur theatrical performances for which he even painted the scenery. Back in Britain in 1890, Henderson was promoted to captain and attended a Staff College course at Camberley. In 1895 he married Henrietta Caroline, daughter of Henry Robert Dundas and granddaughter of the First Baron Napier of Magdala (of Indian Mutiny fame). Following graduation from Camberley,

Henderson briefly served on the War Office staff in London before joining Lord Kitchener in the Sudan, as aide-de-camp to BrigadierGeneral Lyttelton. David Henderson was with the Army as they advanced on Khartoum and was present at the Battle of Omdurman

in

September 1898. Mentioned in Despatches, Henderson was posted back to the War Office as a Brevet Major. In 1899, as Director of Military Intelligence

under Lord Kitchener, Henderson was in Pretoria, South Africa, when the Boer War broke out. He fought at Reitfontein and Lombard’s Kop, where his unit gained much respect for their daring and courage. His group was among those trapped at Ladysmith and rather than wait for rescue he led several patrols against enemy gun positions. On one of these David Henderson was wounded in the thigh, but pressed home the attack. He recovered quickly from his injuries and was back in action within a month. Following the relief of Ladysmith,

Henderson was attached to Sir Redvers Buller’s headquarters and took part in several operations including battles at Laing’s Nek,

Belfast and Lydenburg. He was Mentioned in Despatches four times, made a Brevet

Lieutenant Colonel, and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Queen’s Medal with four clasps.

Taking flight a enderson read with interest the newspaper

reports of 1908 on Wilbur Wright’s

demonstration flights in France. He had seen the value of observation balloons in the Sudan and the Boer War, and his thoughts turned to

aircraft in a military role. The Army had a small flying facility at Larkhill, Wiltshire, but there was no governmental support. Further, the

founder of the

Committee of Imperial Defence suggested that Army experiments with aeroplanes should be discontinued and aviation left to civilian pilots. However, this changed on 28 February 1911, with the creation of the Air Battalion of the

Royal Flying Corps,

Royal Engineers, which came into existence on

RIGHT General Sir David Henderson,

photographed at the War Office in 1917. (Via

Francois Prins)

18 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

1 April.

That year, Henderson enrolled at the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company Flying School

LEFT Observation balloons were used for intelligence gathering

and artillery spotting, with an observer in a basket underneath the balloon. The balloons became targets for scout aircraft,

including the Camel, and were usually heavily defended by

anti-aircraft guns and closely patrolling

aircraft. (Army/Crown Copyright)

at Brooklands, Surrey, using the alias Henry

1913, and was determined that the RFC should

BELOW

An RFC B.E.2a flying past His

Davidson. On 17 August 1911, at the age of 49, David Henderson gained Royal Aeronautical

have the best available aircraft. Less than a year later war was declared, on 4 August 1914,

Majesty King George V and the Imperial

Club certificate No 118. At the time he was the oldest pilot in Britain. Meanwhile, the Committee of Imperial Defence expressed its concern that the few airships and aeroplanes of the Air Battalion were not enough to be an effective force in time of war. After discussions, the formation of a Flying Corps, with a Naval Wing, Military Wing and a Central Flying School, was recommended. David Henderson was co-opted on to a committee to work out the details. A report was presented on 27 February 1912, and the Royal Flying Corps, including its Military Wing and Naval Wing, were constituted by Royal Warrant on 13 April. A month later, on 13 May, the Air Battalion and its reserve were absorbed into the

and British forces mobilised. For the Channel crossing from Dover pilots were instructed to carry the following items in their aircraft: a revolver, field-glasses, a spare pair of goggles, —a roll of tools, a water-bottle containing boiled

General Staff at Salisbury Plain on the King’s birthday, 3 June 1914. (Via Francois Prins)

Military Wing of the new Corps. On 1 July 1912, David Henderson was appointed to the War Office as Director of Military Training, his remit including the Military

Wing of the Royal Flying Corps. From its formation the RFC was divided into two wings, but later, on 1 April 1914, the Naval Wing became the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the title ‘Military Wing’ was dropped. David Henderson was appointed Director General of Military Aeronautics on 1 September

19 THE CAMEL STORY

RIGHT An RFC cap

Soon after arriving in France the RFC went

badge - the RFC item

into action; the first of regular reconnaissance

formed the basis of

flights was made on 19 August. One of the reports Henderson took personally to general

the RAF cap badge.

headquarters (GHQ) was the sighting by a pilot from 4 Squadron of the large German column

that had been marching on Ninove, but had

altered course for Mons. Had GHQ not ignored the report the outcome at Mons may have been

different. Commander of the British Expeditionary Forces, Sir John French, later reported:

‘| wish particularly to bring to your Lordship’s notice the admirable work done by the Royal water and a small stove and, in a haversack,

biscuits, cold meat, a piece of chocolate and a packet of soup-making material. BELOW

The Royal

Flying Corps ‘Concentration Camp’ at Netheravon, on 29

June 1914. Aircraft lined up include Blériots, Avro 500s and

B.E.2s, plus Henri and Maurice Farmans. (Via Francois Prins)

20 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

On 13 August, General Sir David Henderson (ne had been created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, KCB, in June 1914), as Commander in the Field, took his Air Service to France. At 06:25 Lt H.D. Harvey-Kelly took off from Dover in his Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2a and set course for France — he was the first to land at 08:20, in a small field near Amiens. Altogether 41 aircraft successfully made the crossing that day.

Flying Corps under Sir David Henderson, their skill, energy and perseverance have been beyond all praise. They have furnished me with the most complete and accurate information, which has been of incalculable value in the conduct of operations. Fired at constantly by both friend and foe and not hesitating to fly in every kind of weather, they have remained undaunted throughout.’ As the war progressed, Henderson felt he would serve the Corps better in London as DGMA and handed over field command to Brigadier General Hugh Trenchard. On 19

August 1915, Sir David was back in the War Office working to improve the RFC with the latest available developments in aircraft and armaments. Following the devastating Battle of the Somme from July to December 1916, the British aircraft industry found itself at a watershed. The RFC had suffered terrible casualties during the Somme, and the aircraft of the time were inadequate to provide the support

they had been tasked for. The watershed had arisen as the private

Obviously it would then take such a company

ABOVE

manufacturing companies were not satisfied that

a considerable length of time to reach a stage

wings brevet of the

the types being built by the Royal Aircraft Factory

where it was efficiently constructing aircraft.

RFC. (Jarrod Cotter)

were as good as their own. There was a strong feeling that the Royal Aircraft Factory machines were chosen as a matter of principle over those being offered by the private companies, rather than them being chosen because they were better. The privately run companies were bound by the Excess Profits Act. The Royal Aircraft Factory would design a new type and build a prototype, and if this was considered fit for service, quantity production would be subcontracted out. The companies that received these contracts often had little or no experience of aircraft construction, but might be chosen for their experience In a relevant industry - woodworking companies for example.

Meanwhile, the aircraft manufacturing

The pilot’s

companies needed the work in order to make

money for their staff's wages as well as profit to allow their factories to expand and increase production. Since this had been the situation

for some time, the Society of British Aircraft

BELOW

LEFT Sir Hugh Trenchard was handed command

of the RFC in the

field in August 1915 and went on to become the first Chief of the Air Staff. (Crown Copyright) BELOW

Recruitment posters for the RFC advertised positions including

fabric workers and chauffeurs, the latter taken up by this young lady.

(British Official)

1

Sem

G

THE CAMEL STORY

Constructors (SBAC) had been formed in March 1915. The SBAC’s objective was to express the views of the privately owned aircraft manufacturing companies as one voice to the Treasury; inevitably, politicians and senior military commanders viewed its aims with scepticism. However, two boards of inquiry were

BELOW

Although

outgunned and outperformed by the rapid advance in new

between the Royal Aircraft Factory and the RFC,

was simply a competent flyer. Instead it was felt that a pilot should be able to fly an aircraft instinctively before he could be trained to fight in the air. Although the Sopwith Pup and Triplane were very capable aeroplanes for their time, as the Germans developed their machines there came an urgent need for a faster and better armed fighter for both the RNAS and RFC. Such was the Pup’s success that a new Sopwith design was largely based around it, but fitted with a more powerful engine and — since gun synchronisation had become more reliable by late 1916 — it became the first British fighter armed with twin Vickers machine guns.

and another investigating the workings of the Factory. While neither resulted in an immediate

modification of the system in place, several staff changes were made, including the appointment

of a Controller of Aircraft Supplies, whose job it would be to liaise with the commercial

largely based around it, but with more powerful engines and

the added clout that twin Vickers guns provided.

22 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

advances in German aircraft meant that a pilot

was no longer considered good enough if he

Sopwith Pup was so

that the Camel was

had been chosen over superior private designs, but it was clear that none of the Factory’s aircraft could compare with the likes of the Sopwith Pup and Triplane. At the same time,

commissioned, one looking at the relationship

German aircraft, the

successful in its time

Senior staff were still denying the claim that some inferior Royal Aircraft Factory designs

contractors. Other changes included the ending of each Service’s ‘favoured franchise’, which made private companies produce aircraft either for the RFC or RNAS. Also, at this time there was discussion in Parliament that an independent Air Ministry should be created, and this again caused consternation with the politicians and military chiefs of staff.

.EFT T.O.M. Sopwith, founder of the Sopwith

Aviation Company.

BELOW

Pioneer

British pilot Harry Hawker is believed to have made the very

first flight in a Sopwith Camel, on 22 December 1916.

Designated as the F.1, for ease of manufacture designer Herbert Smith settled on creating the aircraft with a flat top wing, and to compensate for that, the dihedral of the lower wing was doubled. Powered by a 110hp Clerget rotary engine, the first privateventure prototype, which had been sanctioned by T.O.M. Sopwith, took to the skies from Brooklands on 22 December 1916, flown by Harry Hawker.

BELOW

é

The Sopwith badge, featuring a Tabloid floatplane.

THE CAMEL STORY

engine with the concentration of masses

(engine, guns, fuel and pilot) in a compact area of the fuselage, led to the type dropping its nose in a starboard turn and rising in a turn to port. Without large inputs of rudder to counteract this, the aircraft could violently enter a spin. However, once pilots were experienced with its idiosyncrasies the aircraft’s manoeuvrability was unmatched by previous

British designs and most of its German contemporaries, with only the Fokker Dr.| able to rival it to some degree in this aspect of flight. Production machines began to reach the front line in early May 1917, firstly arriving on the strength of No 4 (Naval) Squadron, soon followed by Nos 8, 6, 8 and 9 (Naval)

There are

Firstly a nickname, it is widely said that the

thought to have been

Camels. This is N5, the

aircraft became the ‘Camel’ as a result of the humped fairing over the gun breeches being likened to the hump of the desert animal of

patrol with its new fighters and found a large formation of German Gotha bombers, two of

2F.1 prototype, fitted

that name. However, in one early aeronautical

which were shot down.

ABOVE

six prototype Sopwith

Squadrons. On 4 July, 4 Squadron set out on

with the standard Navy

publication it was suggested that after all

armament of a Vickers

the grumbling, inquiries and changes to the

the first RFC unit to receive Camels and, in

systems in place, this was one of the first of the new types, the development of which had given

August, Home Defence squadrons were issued with the type, which was later modified for night-fighter operations with No 44 Squadron. The flash emitted when the Camel’s twin nosemounted Vickers machine guns were fired had been causing pilots to lose their night vision, so the dedicated night-fighter version was developed with the Vickers guns replaced by two Lewis guns mounted above the top wing.

gun on the forward

fuselage and a Lewis gun on the centre line of the upper wing.

Officials the hump — and so the name Camel was felt appropriate.

During flight tests the aircraft’s superb manoeuvrability became evident, although it was noted that this was at the cost of some very tricky handling characteristics. The combination of the torque from the rotary

RIGHT Camel B7320/P of 70 Squadron, with

battle damage very evident on its port upper wing.

24 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

The same month, No 70 Squadron became

There was also a naval Camel, the 2F.1. This had a joint in its fuselage so that it could be taken apart for stowage on board a ship. It also featured a reduced wingspan and narrower track undercarriage, plus a revised armament configuration. By the end of 1917 Camels were flying operationally with nine RFC and six RNAS squadrons in France. Additionally, two RFC squadrons in Italy were equipped with Camels, and in ‘Blighty’, 44 Squadron RFC was flying night-fighter duties with the type. Around 3,450 Camels had been ordered and nine factories were tasked with building them. ABOVE

Camel

B9175/5 of 44 Squadron, at Hainault Farm. This unit was

among the squadrons that dealt with the Zeppelin threat to

Britain.

LEFT The wreckage of a Zeppelin shot

down over Kent after bombing London the

night before. (Army/ Crown Copyright)

25 THE CAMEL STORY

ABOVE A Bristol Fighter lands behind 73 Squadron Camels on the ground.

(British Official) BELOW

Australian pilot Captain A.H. Cobby DSO DFC** in the cockpit of his

Sopwith Camel. He was officially credited with the destruction of 29 enemy aircraft in combat, the highest number of any Australian airman during the First World War. Note the chequered paint scheme on the aircraft, which ABOVE A First World War recruitment poster,

indicated that its pilot was an instructor at the time. Cobby stated that this

using the Zeppelin threat against London as a

was ‘the best Camel he could find’ and he flew it regularly during his posting

good reason to join the Army. (Via Francois Prins)

to No 8 (Training) Squadron at Leighterton, Gloucestershire. (AW/V/)

26 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

LEFTY Canadian, Major

William George Barker

VC DSO* MC** with the Camel in which he shot down some of

his total of 52 enemy

aircraft. (Library & Archives Canada)

EER

Royal

Air Force created

Boer War leader and now a member of the War Cabinet, was given the task of

eanwhile, in 1917 Henderson

examining home defence arrangements

had been promoted to Lieutenant

by the two air services. Smuts relied

General and that same year the first of

heavily on Henderson, who made several

the daylight raids by German bombers on London took place, focussing attention

recommendations that he had long wished to see come into being. The General

on the capabilities of the RFC/RNAS and

reported that there should be one complete

pressure was brought on the government to act. General Jan Smuts, the famous

air service dealing with all air operations and administered by a single ministry with

LEFT Both the RFC and RNAS flew the Camel, as highlighted by the uniforms of these two officers with an F.1. (British Official)

27 THE CAMEL STORY

and they resigned from the Air Council. Thus ended Sir David’s association with the aerial force he had helped create. As one of the most

RIGHT A very early RAF recruitment poster.

senior officers in Britain he was appointed Area Commandant, British Armies in France in August, then in October he was made the Military Counsellor at the British Embassy in Paris. Sir David Henderson was created Knight

(Crown Copyright)

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 1919 New Year’s Honours List and as Military Counsellor served at the Peace

Negotiations in Paris. From Paris he left, in June 1919, for Switzerland, to organise and direct the newly formed League of Red Cross Societies in Geneva. He relished his new task and looked like remaining as Director for some time, but on 17 August 1921, just six days after his 59th birthday, he died in Geneva. His ashes are interred at Girvan in Ayrshire.

full powers. He considered the facts before

making his final report, which concluded: ‘We can only defend this island effectively against air attack by offensive measures, by attacking the enemy in his air bases on the Continent and in that way destroying his power of attacking us across the Channel ... air supremacy may in the long run become as important a factor in the defence of the Empire as sea supremacy.’

Tributes to this able man poured in: The Times of Friday, 19 August 1921 called him ‘The Maker of the RAF’ and went on to state that ‘Sir David was one of the most attractive and loveable of men, extremely quick in brain power but also with a good sense of humour.’

It ended its obituary with: ‘Sir David Henderson performed services for which this country should always be grateful to him for.’ What a pity, therefore, that Britain has largely forgotten this modest man who founded the Royal Air Force.

‘Father of the RAF’ rs ugh Trenchard is generally Known as the

Between August and October 1917 a Bill was drafted for the new ministry and in November the Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917 was placed before Parliament; it was passed unopposed and on 29 November received the Royal Assent. The Air Ministry and the Air Council came into being on 2 and 3 January 1918 respectively. Lord Rothermere was made President of the Air Council and Sir David appointed Vice-President, with Trenchard as the first Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). On 1 April

1918, the RFC and RNAS merged to become the Royal Air Force (RAF). Former RNAS units were renumbered in a 200 series, so that No 1 (Naval) Squadron became 201 Squadron, RAF. Unfortunately, neither Henderson nor Trenchard agreed with Rothermere’s policies

28 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

‘Father of the Royal Air Force’, but his life encompassed much more than that. Today there is an imposing statue of the first Marshal of the Royal Air Force outside the Ministry of Defence main building in Whitehall, London. He stands alongside other great British armed forces wartime leaders, but who was he and what did he do?

Hugh Montague Trenchard was born on 3 February 1873. He was a rather poor scholar and only just succeeded in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. At the age of 20 he was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the Second Battalion the Royal Scots Fusiliers and posted to India. On the outbreak of the Boer War, Trenchard volunteered and was posted to

South Africa. He was critically wounded on 9

October, lost a lung and was partially paralysed. Trenchard returned to Britain and on medical advice travelled to Switzerland to recuperate; boredom made him take up bobsleighing and on one run he crashed heavily, but found that his paralysis was gone and he could walk unaided. Trenchard returned to active duty and was back in South Africa in July 1901. He was involved in various operations as the Boer War drew to a close and promoted Brevet Maior in August 1902. Following the end of the Boer War, Trenchard applied for service in the West African Frontier Force and was granted the position of Deputy Commandant of the Southern Nigeria Regiment. He arrived in Nigeria in December 1903 and spent the next six years on various expeditions to the interior, patrolling, surveying and mapping the area that later came to be known as Biafra. He was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order in 1906.

‘Winged’ leader F arly in 1910, Trenchard became seriously ill and after several months returned home again. In October 1910 he was posted to Derry

to take command of the Second Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. In 1912 an old friend

from Nigeria, Captain Eustace Loraine, urged him to take up flying. Trenchard acted quickly since he was just short of 40, the maximum age for military student pilots at the Central Flying School. He was granted three months’ paid leave to train as a pilot. When Trenchard arrived at Thomas Sopwith’s flying school at Brooklands, Surrey, he told Sopwith that he only had ten days to gain his aviator’s certificate. Copeland Perry instructed Trenchard, who

succeeded in going solo on 31 July, gaining his Royal Aero Club aviator’s certificate (No 270) with a total of 64 minutes airborne. On arrival at the Central Flying School,

Upavon, Hugh Trenchard spent many hours improving his flying and after he had finished the course was Officially appointed as an instructor. However, he did no instructing but was involved in administrative duties. In September 1913, Trenchard was promoted temporary Lieutenant

Colonel and on the outbreak of the First World War replaced Lieutenant Colonel Sykes as Officer Commanding the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps. His duties included providing replacements and raising new squadrons for service in France. In August 1915, General Henderson moved

back to the War Office and handed command of the RFC in the field to Trenchard — promoted

Brigadier General — who established his headquarters at Merville. He would serve as the head of the RFC in the field until the early days of 1918 and define the RFC’s role in the support of ground forces, reconnaissance and artillery co-ordination and, later, tactical low-level bombing of enemy ground forces. Following the Gotha raids on London in the summer of 1917, the Government considered creating an air force by merging the RFC and the Royal Naval Air Service. Major General John Salmond succeeded Trenchard in France, who returned to London on the morning of 16 December and met Air Minister Lord Rothermere, who offered him the post of Chief of the Air Staff. In the 1918 Honour’s List, Hugh Trenchard was made KCB and began work as CAS on 18 January. However, it was not an easy task and he and Sir David Henderson clashed with Rothermere

LEFT A flight of Camels from 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps,

including B7406/W and B7412/Y at Pas de Calais, Bruay, on

26 March 1918. The aircraft, complete with boomerangs painted on their fuselages, have just been made ready for operations

against advancing

Germans. (AWM)

29 THE CAMEL STORY

on numerous issues; neither man could work with Rothermere and they resigned from the new Royal Air Force, which had come into being on 1 April, soon after the final great German offensive of the war had been launched.

1919. During that summer, Trenchard worked

France equipped with Camels. Trenchard’s

on completing the demobilisation of the RAF and shaping it for peacetime operations, which included cutting down its size and deciding

resignation was accepted on 10 April, and he

His letter was circulated among the Cabinet: Rothermere responded with a vindictive reply, but Lloyd George and the Cabinet questioned his competence as Air Minister. Rothermere resigned on 25 April, his place as Air Minister being taken by Sir William Weir. Weir offered Trenchard command of the yet-to-be-formed Independent Air Force, which was to conduct long-range bombing operations against Germany. Initially he refused the post, but on 8 May accepted. Sir Hugh Trenchard was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) Independent Air Force on 15 June 1918, with his headquarters in Nancy. In September 1918, Trenchard’s Independent Air Force supported the US Air Service during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, bombing German airfields,

supply depots and railway lines. When the

November Armistice came, Trenchard’s deputy, Brigadier General Courtney, succeeded him as commander of the Independent Air Force. Trenchard departed France in mid-November

and returned to Great Britain. In early 1919, Churchill was appointed

RIGHT

Five Camels

to Minchinhampton aerodrome, Gloucestershire, on

the day of the transfer

of No 6 (Training) Squadron, Australian

Flying Corps. Note the kangaroo emblems on

their fuselages. (AW)

30 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

State for Air. He was not happy with Chief of the Air Staff Major General Frederick Sykes and appointed him Controller of Civil Aviation, with Trenchard taking over as CAS from 31 March

At that time there were seven squadrons in

was asked to write a report on what led to it.

are readied for a flight

Secretary of State for War and Secretary of

upon new RAF officer ranks. Trenchard was regraded from Major General to Air ViceMarshal and then promoted Air Marshal. In giving the RAF its own identity, Trenchard laid down firm foundations, including the founding of the RAF (Cadet) College at

Cranwell, the world’s first military air academy, and the Aircraft Apprentice scheme, which provided the RAF with specialist ground crew for more than 70 years. On 1 January 1927, Trenchard was promoted from Air Chief Marshal to become the first Marshal of the Royal Air Force. The following year Trenchard felt that he had achieved all he could as CAS and that he should give way to a younger man, and left the post on 1 January 1930. He was created Baron of Wolfeton in the county of Dorset, becoming the RAF’s first peer. Trenchard was appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner in October 1931. He served until 1935 and instigated several changes as well as establishing the Hendon Police College. He retired in November 1935 and was made a

KCVO. Just after the outbreak of the Second

World War, Trenchard was offered the job of

LEFT 2nd Lt Jack

organising advanced training for RAF pilots in Canada but turned it down, saying that the role required a younger man who had up-todate knowledge of training matters. He took it upon himself to spend the spring of 1940 visiting many RAF units, including those of the Advanced Air Striking Force in France. Trenchard acted as an unofficial inspector

Henry Weingarth with a Sopwith Camel, possibly during training in Scotland in January 1918. Later promoted to lieutenant, Weingarth served as a pilot

general for the RAF, visiting deployed squadrons

with 4 Squadron,

across Europe and North Africa on moraleraising visits.

Australian Flying Corps in France and

After the Second World War, Trenchard

as an instructor at No

supported the creation of two memorials; the first

6 (Training) Squadron

was the Battle of Britain Chapel in Westminster Abbey and the second, the Anglo-American Memorial to the airmen of both nations, was erected in St Paul’s Cathedral after Trenchard’s death. Lord Trenchard died at his London home in Sloane Avenue on 10 February 1956. Following his funeral at Westminster Abbey on 21 February, his ashes were buried in the Battle of Britain Chapel he had helped create.

at Minchinhampton.

Ground attack po i oe Tr eturning to the Camel’s wartime i operations, as well as flying in its intended fighter role it was also used as a ground-attack aircraft. This would often see the Camel fitted with four Cooper bombs on a rack under its fuselage, aft of the undercarriage. Sopwith was tasked with producing a Camel

He was killed in a training accident in

Gloucestershire on 4 February 1919, aged

26. (AWM)

wing centre section, and usually retained one of the two Vickers machine guns on the nose. The 2F.1’s primary role was to attack German airships and seaplanes over the North Sea, Camels were also flown from towed lighters from mid-1918. On 11 August that year, Lt S.C. Culley took off from a lighter heading towards Heligoland Bight. Having climbed to 18,O000ft, he spotted Zeppelin L538 and went in to attack. One of his guns jammed, but Culley still managed to shoot the airship down — it was the last Zeppelin of the war to be shot down.

BELOW A 2F.1 Camel on a lighter while being towed by a destroyer.

(British Official)

specially modified for use as a ‘trench fighter’ and in February 1918 produced the T.F.1.

Standard F.1 B9278 was fitted with armour protection of its front fuselage to better protect the pilot from ground fire, and armed with two downward-firing Lewis guns between its undercarriage struts and a single Lewis gun above its wing centre section. The variant was not put into production.

Camels at sea he prototype of the navalised 2F.1 Camel first flew in March 1917; the model had a joint behind the cockpit where the rear fuselage could be detached for stowage and featured a shortened wingspan. The 2F.1 was armed with an upward-firing Lewis gun above the

31 THE CAMEL STORY

Canadian pilot Captain Roy Brown DSC*.

(RCAF)

Rittmeister (Cavalry

Captain) Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the famous ‘Red Baron’,

who scored 80 aerial victories in the First World War. He wears

the coveted Pour le Meérite, more usually

referred to as the Blue Max.

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

On 21 April 1918, Canadian Captain A.R. Brown DSC* was flying Camel B7270 when he entered into combat with an all-red Fokker Dr.| flown by Baron Manfred von Richthofen — it was perhaps the most famous dogfight of the First World War, owing to von Richthofen’s notoriety as the ‘Red Baron’. Brown attacked the Dr.| having noticed that it was about to fire on one of his comrades, and after a sustained burst the triplane went down. The Canadian was credited with the victory, although recent research has attributed the Red Baron’s death to a bullet fired from the ground during what had become a low-level combat. Brown’s combat report included: ‘Went back again and dived on pure red triplane which

was firing on Lieutenant May. | got a long burst into him and he went down vertical and was observed to crash. ...’

For the actions of that day Brown was awarded a Bar to his DSC, and the citation in the London Gazette of 21 June 1918 read:

‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On 21 April 1918, while leading a patrol of six scouts he attacked a formation of twenty hostile scouts. He personally engaged two Fokker triplanes, which he drove off;

then, seeing that one of our machines was being attacked and apparently hard pressed, he dived on the hostile scout, firing all the while, This scout, a Fokker triplane, nose

dived and crashed to the ground. Since the award of the Distinguished Service Cross, he has destroyed several other enemy aircraft and has shown great dash and enterprise in attacking enemy troops from low altitudes despite heavy anti-aircraft fire. ’

World’s first carrier strike O n 17 July 1918 seven 2F.1 Camels set out on a task that would make history. A force of Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers steamed under the Forth Bridge, heading through the Firth of Forth out to the North Sea on Operation F.7. In the middle of the convoy was a large, dazzle-painted warship. With seven 2F.1s on

its forward flight deck, HMS Furious set sail to

take the naval war to inland Germany. The task

ABOVE

of Furious’s air group was to approach the base

in Scapa Flow,

HMS Furious

of the Zeppelins that had brought aerial warfare

configured

to the civilian population of Great Britain, the

for Operation F.7.

airship hangars at the German Naval Airship

It launched seven

Service base at Tondern in Schleswig-Holstein. It was the first strike from an aircraft carrier. HMS Furious arrived in the German Bight off the Schleswig coast during the early hours of 19 July, and its Camels were prepared to launch.

2F.1 Camels against the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern.

(British Official)

1 i ll

wi

l \"

a

,

wil

LEFT Seven 2F.1

Camels aboard HMS Furious en route to the German

Bight,

from where they would make the world’s first aircraft carrier strike

on 19 July 1918.

(British Official)

33 THE CAMEL STORY

RIGHT HMS Furious with three 2F.1Camels

es ~~

ee

lined up on its forward deck. (British Official)

mio,ig soaCe

RIGHT

A Camel take-

off from HMS Furious.

(British Official)

34 hand

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

The weather was poor but the British decided

took place rising to at least 1,000ft and the

to press on with the attack. The pilots, Captains

whole of the shed being completely engulfed.’

W.D. Jackson, W.F. Dickson, B.A. Smart and T.K.

Thyne, and Lieutenants S. Dawson, N.E. Williams and W.A. Yeulett, climbed into their aircraft. Shortly after 03:00 the Camels, each armed with two SOlb bombs, started their engines and flew off the flight deck. Captain Thyne’s machine developed engine trouble shortly after take-off and he was forced to head back. At 04:32 the sound of aircraft engines in the distance disturbed the still of the early morning at Tondern, but it was not the characteristic low drone of the Zeppelins. A sentry telephoned base headquarters, warning of the approach of aircraft. They were definitely enemy machines since no German aircraft were based nearby or expected at this hour. The station had previously been assigned five Albatros D.Ills for defence, but these had been relocated to a different airfield in March. There was a handful of anti-aircraft batteries, but these were spread around the base. Pistols and rifles were all that was available for providing defensive fire at the hangars themselves. Three minutes after the incoming aircraft had been reported, the ground crews heard the roar of rotary engines diving down from above. To their surprise, they did not belong to floatplanes but landplane pursuit aircraft. With no bases in range, German personnel were confused as to where they could have come from. The first three Camels to attack belonged to Dickson, Jackson, and Williams. The target they selected was the large Toska double shed. Approaching it, they put their Camels into a dive and released their bombs at 100ft, just before pulling out of the dive at around SOft. Captain Dickson recalled:

Three of the bombs crashed through the roof of the Toska shed and exploded as they hit the Zeppelins inside, or the shed floor. Inside, the

gas cells of L54 and L60 caught fire, sending an eruption of flame along the lengths of the airships. Smoke poured out of the shed’s doors and the holes in the roof, but the airships did not explode.

As the gas cells disintegrated, the airships crashed to the hangar floor, crumpling into a tangled mess of smouldering Duralumin girders. Ten minutes after the first wave’s bombs were dropped, the Camels of the second wave arrived overhead. Their pilots targeted the small Tobias shed, which at the time housed a captive

balloon. Two bombs plummeted through the shed’s roof, exploding and destroying the balloon. The other four bombs fell near a wagon loaded with hydrogen cylinders, but all failed to explode. While the airships were destroyed, the base was spared by the failure of these ‘duds’. As the Camels flew off, the Germans tallied their losses: four men wounded and two airships and a balloon destroyed, but the Toska shed was

still intact. Out in the North Sea, the crew aboard Furious kept an anxious lookout, hoping that

the Camels would return. There was a collective sigh of relief when the first Camel approached; Dickson ditched it near Furious and was picked up by the destroyer Violent. The sense

BELOW

The wreckage

of Zeppelin L54 inside

one of the sheds at Tondern after the Camel attack.

‘| saw Captain Jackson at about 3,000ft above me and a good distance to the east of the town, coming down in a dive, with

Lieutenant Williams about half a mile astern

of him. Captain Jackson dived right onto the northernmost shed and dropped two bombs,

one a direct hit in the middle and the other slightly to the side of the shed. | then dropped

my one remaining bomb and Willams two more. Hits were observed. The shed then burst into flames and enormous conflagration

35 THE CAMEL STORY

RIGHT A 2F.1 Camel beneath the airship

R23. (AWM)

of relief aboard Furious turned to joy when Dickson reported that the mission had been a success. Smart arrived over the task force at 06:30, ditched, and was also picked up. HMS Furious and its escorts remained in the vicinity for another hour (this was judged to be the maximum endurance time for the Camels,

based upon the amount of fuel they took off with), at which point the ships turned north and proceeded back to Britain. After leaving the Tondern area, Dawson, Jackson and Williams all believed they did not have enough fuel to reach the task force. They opted to land in neutral Denmark, whose border lay just to the north of Tondern. The fate of Yeulett remains a mystery; presumably he had to make a forced-landing on the water and was lost at sea.

36 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

The aerial strike achieved more than just a tactical objective, since it forced the German

Naval Airship Division to go on the defensive for the rest of the war. No further airships

were based at Tondern for the remainder

of hostilities, its location being deemed too exposed to the front. The Marine Luftschiff Abteilung took measures to heavily defend its other bases, greatly fearing another attack. The High Seas Fleet even went so far as to: push for the conversion of the uncompleted passenger ship Ausonia into a flush-deck aircraft carrier in the late summer of 1918. Despite all of these German defensive precautions, Furious did not attack another German target in the First World War. Its flight deck configuration at the time made it an awkward ship for aircraft operations, particularly in light of the fact that the Royal

LEFT

Airship R23 in

flight with its Camel fighter hanging below

it. (AWM)

CAMEL ‘DROPPINGS’ An interesting experiment in 1918 involved a pair of 2F.1 Camels modified to be attached beneath airship R23 to explore the possibility of British airships carrying their own fighter protection. N6622 and N6814 of 212 Squadron were prepared at Felixstowe, while a horizontal surface was fitted beneath R23’s keel. The Camel was attached to this keel by a hook that engaged with its upper wing centre section. First N6622 was dropped without a pilot and with its Camel’s controls locked, followed by a live drop with Lt R.E. Keys DFC at N6814’s controls. He started the Camel’s engine, pulled the quick-release apparatus and dropped away successfully, before flying around the airship and landing back at Pulham.

Navy’s first flush-deck aircraft, HMS Argus, was being prepared for service.

LEFT Lieutenant

R.E. Keys DFC of 212 Squadron made the

first live Camel drop from R23 in N6814.

(AWM)

BELOW

A Camel night-fighter of 112 Squadron, at Throwley, Kent, in the

war’s later stages. Note that the aircraft has the standard fit of Vickers guns, although most night-fighters were modified with twin Lewis guns above the

rmistice t the time of the Armistice on

wing, after muzzle flash from the twin Vickers caused pilots to lose their night vision.

11 November

1918, Camels were in service with many front-line RAF squadrons in France, as well as with UK Home Defence squadrons. They also served in Italy, Greece and Russia. The type

also equipped two United States Air Service squadrons in France.

Pilots flying Camels downed around 1,300 enemy aircraft, but the type’s continued use by the post-war RAF was limited after the arrival

of the Sopwith Snipe, although it continued to fly with the air arms of other countries well into

the 1920s.

THE CAMEL STORY

JE A Camel from 201 Squadron, RAF, which formed at Fienvillers from 1

Squadron, RNAS. The unit flew the Camel

until February 1919, when it received Snipes.

troops inspecting a British Camel, E4389,

that crashed near Canadian lines in 1918 and ended up on its nose. When the crash happened, the ground was in enemy hands, but the pilot jumped

from his seat, ran for the Canadian lines and survived, having

escaped German fire.

(AWM)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

ABOVE

Camels

with 32 Squadron at

Humieres, near St Pol, on 6 April 1918.

(British Official)

LEFT Camels with the US 148th Aero

Squadron at Petite Sythe, France, on 6

August 1918. Two US squadrons flew the Camel, the 17th and 148th.

(US National Archives)

39 THE CAMEL STORY

Chapter Two

‘I’m building an operational Camel, full-size and from original, though

unfortunately incomplete, plans.

| am incorporating serviceable original parts when | can find and afford them and it is safe to do so.’ John S. Shaw

ee @ eee

Building

ee

a Sopwith Camel to

absolutely authentic specification

from original plans is a very complex, costly and massively

time-consuming job. But there are several people whose enthusiasm and desire for authenticity has

driven them to do this, including John S. Shaw and Peter Bond, whose fabulous ongoing projects are detailed here.

OPPOSITE

Gene DeMarco at the controls of The Vintage

Aviator Ltd’s Camel replica. DeMarco is probably the world’s most experienced pilot of First World War aircraft types. The aircraft is painted as B3889, flown by New Zealander Captain Clive Collett, the first pilot to score a victory while flying a Camel. The aircraft has an original Gnome rotary engine and was photographed at the fabulous biennial Classic Fighters show at Omaka,

Blenheim, on New Zealand’s South Island.

(Gavin Conroy)

40 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

| x.

ATIONCook

ABOVE

All the

machined fuselage woodwork ready for assembly, with the jig visible in the

background.

(John S. Shaw)

While this book was in production numerous

Sopwith Camels were being built to original plans. In the UK D1851/G-BZSC, begun at the Northern Aeroplane Workshops in West Yorkshire, was being completed by

the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden in Bedfordshire, while Peter Bond was building another in the outbuildings of his home in Norfolk. In New Zealand, an original Camel, painted to represent B5668, had been rebuilt by The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) at its Wellington workshops and had already flown from TVAL’s facility at Hood Aerodrome, Masterton. Meanwhile, John S. Shaw was building four reproductions in France. John’s time is spent between the central region of France where the woodwork and assembly is taking place and Cornwall, England, where the pattern work, casting, metal machining and research is performed. The first of John’s Camels is nearing completion and boasts an original Le Clerget 9B rotary engine as its powerplant. Here he outlines some of the many complex tasks required to construct a Sopwith Camel to the exact specification that it would have been made to in 1917.

A quartet of Camels

and it is safe to do so. In addition to providing details, these words were written in the hope that | can inspire someone to part with the missing plans or search an old barn to unearth original First World War-vintage aviation parts for me! | am ever the optimist. ... I’m building four airframes because it has enabled me to trade: one for an original 1917 Clerget 9b engine, a second to alleviate my metalwork costs, and a third for our engineer. It also makes it more worthwhile to build jigs for the various tasks. All are being built on the French vintage register under the supervision of Patrick Siegwald of Classique Aero Service. My background is in carpentry and joinery, coupled with many vintage glider restorations and a Tiger Moth rebuild, means that | want to be ‘hands on’ with the wood and fabric work. However, | have learned and used rather more skills than anticipated — sometimes because | like to learn new things, and other times because | can’t get what | want in terms of authenticity unless | make it myself. We all have to compromise to a degree today, but | would like to do as little compromising as possible, and will go a long way to use the materials, parts and methods of 1917. What was obvious to the skilled man in 1917 is not so to one today. Machines may have improved, but the way of working is so different that it takes a lot of research and some experimentation to get it right. It is hard to find people to do quality work or share quality information because it takes passion and patience as well as the necessary skill.

Research y original Sopwith drawings came from a 35mm film of the Sopwith Schedule,

which | re-photographed and digitised on the computer. | also purchased Replicraft drawings that appear to have been redrawn from the Sopwith originals.

| have other original documentation and useful reference sources including Windsock Datafiles,

love building aeroplanes and flying them; some people advance as the years go by, but not me. |’m building an operational Camel, full-size and from original, though unfortunately incomplete plans. I’m incorporating serviceable Original parts when | can find and afford them

42 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

magazines from WW

Aero, Cross & Cockade,

WW1 Aero Historians and various books on the Camel, or warfare in the First World War. Cross-referencing against museum

aircraft is not necessarily useful, as many are reproductions and not always built to

1917-18 specifications. The Brussels and

Krakow museums have been particularly helpful and both have authentic Sopwith Camels. Northern Aeroplane Workshops, which was in

the process of building the Sopwith Camel for the Shuttleworth Collection before it moved to Old Warden, was also very helpful for discussion and problem solving. You also meet a lot of time-wasters, but I’ve been lucky with one or two real enthusiasts who have been very helpful. | hunt out old photographs, but care is needed, as many modifications were made to the machine in the field. Some of these modifications became ‘approved’, such as the centre section Clear view panel, while others were just expedient, including the spade grip re-covered with rope when the rubber had worn off. Research is essential, but inevitably you have to make a start if you want to fly. We started with the plans and good wood in plank form. | recommend starting with the fuselage, as everything fits around this.

Fuselage here are a lot of pieces to make for the

fuselage, in wood and metal, with subtle differences in size, shape and angles. Weight was a real issue in the early flying days because

of a lack of engine power, so there is a lot

of routing out on the woodwork. Of course, the shape in the wood only shows at the last

ABOVE A fuselage

lightning effort! There were masses of templates to make for this work. The longerons are particularly nerve-wracking. We made a special bending tool for the tension wires and other tools for bending the fitted wire and to make the ferrules. The ferrules are hard work on the hands and fingers, so it is best to make a few each day and try to get in front of the assembly task. Once everything is prepared, sanded and varnished, we move on to assembly. | built a jig for this that allowed me to build left and right

wired-up.

side formed and being (John S. Shaw)

LEFT With both sides of the fuselage

formed it is time to join them, using horizontal members, and then square up the

complete assembly. Many turnbuckles and wires are incorporated

into the structure and they must be adjusted

to the correct tension.

(John S. Shaw)

43 RESTORE TO FLIGHT

LEFT With the fuselage squared up the front fairings can be fitted, as here on the forward

starboard side of F-AZZC. (John S. Shaw)

sides, complete with bracing wires. | then used

the same jig with different fixing points to put the two sides together and fit the crosspieces and their bracing wires. The front plate and sternpost are then added and everything squared up carefully in the flying attitude. These two metal pieces are both critical and complex pieces to make, and suppliers have struggled to get them right, causing headaches and delays. After everything is tensioned you can fit the top formers and turtle deck to the rear of the

pilot. Again, the formers required the making of jigs to get the right fit.

Fuel system ext comes the fun of fitting out. A specialist N in the UK made the three tanks. There is one oil tank, a gravity fuel tank and the main fuel tank. Although | have an original oil tank, I’m not using it because I’m concerned about potential porosity in the short or long term. The tanks are fitted with metal straps with a protective cork lining. | have done some of the pipework and made my own sight gauge from original drawings. |’ve also fitted an original needle valve and Tampier throttle control, although | still need a fuel filter and three-way fuel valve. The fuel system requires pressurisation of 1.5 to 2psi, which is provided by a hand air Dump during starting procedures (and in

emergency) and by a wind-driven Rotherham

pump when the engine is running. | am lucky enough to have an original Rotherham pump and an original hand pump, both of which are being reproduced with my newly developed

metalworking skills.

LEFT A large number of metal fittings are manufactured for the wings and fuselage. Many

are very complex, requiring laser cutting, forming,

folding, welding and protecting. CAD drawings have been found necessary as well as jigs and, in some cases, special tooling has been created. (Peter Bond)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

ABOVE A set of reproduction Camel tanks made in tinned steel by Grant

Garner of G&M Aerotanks. From left to right they are the gravity tank, main fuel tank and oil tank. (John S. Shaw)

ABOVE A finely

BELOW

machined set of tank

main fuel tank in place.

The seat and

filler caps. (Peter Bond)

(John S. Shaw)

45 RESTORE TO FLIGHT

ABOVE

The throttle

fuel assembly fitted

out. John S. Shaw)

RIGHT Assembled and unassembled hand air pumps. These were copied from an

original loaned for the purpose.

(John S. Shaw)

46 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Pattern parts for the carburettor air admittance

T-assembly. (John S. Shaw)

3ELOW

An air

admittance T-pattern

casting in place below the dashboard in the cockpit, forming

the centre of the carburettor inlet.

(John S. Shaw) SLOW

Subsequent T-pattern castings for the

centre of the carburettor inlet. (John S. Shaw)

he seat was fashioned from cane using the original plans and is fitted to the fuselage with seat bearers. The construction of the seat was a new skill for me and | was fortunate to find someone sufficiently interested to teach me how to do it. | am exploring different options ®1G"iT John Shaw had drawings for a seat but needed to develop the skills to interpret the plans and weave the component. The plans called for ‘wicker’, but John found cane was more regularly used. He contacted Hilary Burns, who helped John and his team interpret the plans and taught them sufficient techniques to start them off on seat construction. After a day working on Hilary’s

kitchen table (as illustrated), the restoration team were on their own! They bought high-quality thick

cane and then built a jig to bend it into shape. Finer cane was purchased for the weaving. (John S. Shaw)

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

‘gos

ABOVE

With the seat frame shaped, the process

of weaving the cane began. (John S. Shaw) ®IGMT

Progress is made on the seat bottom.

(John S. Shaw) SLOW

The seat back is carefully woven.

(John S. Shaw) RIGHT A completed seat awaits the leather-

covered padding and a cushion. (John S. Shaw)

f ib

Vis *

| [ Zz

Ais?

es

—

a

pitt

pat ee

= eo

A

eo

a

a

ee ge |

= a

ee

ie gk ee

ee

ae ee

FRIGHT Two finished seats for John Shaw’s Camel projects.

(John S. Shaw)

a

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

al

a=

ra ne:

aisair Peis ~

i.

for straps and may decide to veer from full authenticity for the sake of safety. The instrument panel is basswood. | laminated three thin layers in a sort of plywood

to avoid. warping. Many of the instruments require packers so that they stand proud of the board, which was necessary due to the guns obstructing the pilot’s vision. You have to make the packers to fit the instruments and the board before making the decking, so planning and collecting in advance is a requirement. My instrument panel houses an original Hughes 5/17 compass, an original Casella 40-160mph air speed indicator Mark IV, an original Short and Mason O-16,000ft altimeter Mark V, and ABOVE

A

|

disassembled Hughes 5/17 compass under examination.

(Peter Bond)

LEFT The dashboard being fitted out with instruments.

(John S. Shaw)

LEFT Checking the instrument fit.

(John S. Shaw)

49 RESTORE TO FLIGHT

RIGHT A Camel ‘mag switch’, relatively easily sourced from

car boot sales in the form of Victorian-era brass and Bakelite domestic light switches.

(John S. Shaw)

RIGHT An Mk V watch. (Peter Bond)

FAR RIGHT A Mk V watch in a newly manufactured watch holder, ready

to be fitted to the dashboard.

(John S. Shaw)

RIGHT A set of magazines and ammunition chutes.

(John S. Shaw)

20 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

an original inclinometer. The pulsometer is a reproduction with original glass, and the

magneto switches are straight out of house electrics of the time! | was able to amass quite

a few of these switches, as they can still be found occasionally at car boot sales.

| am currently searching for an original watch holder, a Jones valve with gauge, and an original tachometer, preferably 600-2,200rpm, although | could live with one to 2,600rom. Given that the Camel was tail heavy, it is useful to have guns of the correct weight to provide counter balance. | have a pair of non-

ABOVE

The components required to construct a rudder bar to original specifications. (Peter Bond)

BELOW A finished rudder bar in place and fitted with stirrups for the pilot’s feet. (John S. Shaw)

RIGHT The sight gauge, fitted and open. Made from original plans, the sight gauge measures the contents of the pressure fuel tank. (John S. Shaw)

oT RESTORE TO FLIGHT

. WIRD SCREEN, ne nce score * Se ctr

ane

er mE

amie Se eerehe NSE

ota l

vb~

(eed ES ty te ee eoptnelyOd:

i

ABOVE The windscreen pattern

and drawing. (John S. Shaw)

RIGHT Wooden patterns and the

drawings used to form the correct shape of the spade grip.

(John S. Shaw)

52 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

functioning Vickers guns that are not original but made to the plans and look as though they incorporate original parts — they are complemented by an original Aldis sight and other gun sights from original plans. The decking is a complicated job and required the building of a full-size plug. The original was

two pieces of in ply joined in the middle of the cockpit opening. Since | don’t have the right

machines, | had to make mine using four pieces of “sin ply, joined in the same way as the original,

laminated together over the plug. | found | needed to learn about foundry work to get the parts | wanted. | started with a

windscreen, followed by the spade grip and gun

ABOVE

triggers, all of which were sand-cast. | made patterns, which often needed to be both inside and outside, and left- and right-handed. The air admittance T alone required four or five core pattern attempts and a very patient foundry man to get right. To achieve a smoother finish on the brass, a lost wax casting method was used, which offered more learning opportunities. The original spade grips were covered with a textured rubber, and since none could be found, | created my own using patterns and moulds. | have started on fitting the controls and have learned the art of wire splicing.

this is a metal spade grip produced in the casting box. (John S. Shaw)

ABOVE

LEST Photographed with the patterns used to create the mould,

Aluminium castings for the spade grip straight out of the casting

box and yet to be fine-machined. (John S. Shaw)

The nose cowling has been spun and pressed out. Later, we will need to cut and finish it to fit around the engine and propeller

boss. Work has started on the firewall and lower side shields. We borrowed an original propeller and had new ones made by an expert who uses the original First World War techniques to laminate, shape, balance, stamp and finish.

LEFT

Now machined,

the aluminium casting for the spade grip

has been covered in a honeycomb-patterned

rubber just as the

Original item would have been. When the rubber wore out,

spade grips were generally re-covered

in the field with thick string. Here the dashboard has yet to be fitted out, but note

the wooden packers fitted to prevent instruments being obscured by the butts

of the Vickers guns.

(John S. Shaw)

93 RESTORE TO FLIGHT

AW

IVE Spliced control cables fitted to the control column. John Shaw

prepared a test splice and found that a 15cwt cable parted at 1 ton, with no effect on the splice itself. (/ohn S. Shaw)

SFT

Planed spar blanks ready to be worked on for Camel F-AZZC.

(John S. Shaw) SELOW

5A

ww

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

A wing section rib being formed. (Peter Bond)

’ A set of wing ribs on top of the coinciding drawings. Many of the ribs are handed left or right, making an already

ork on the wings is similar to the fuselage

complicated array of ribs even more so. Weight was a serious issue

— jigs, scalloping, hand woodwork, metal

in 1917, and in creating an authentic rib there is a great deal of work

parts and a major assembly line — all trued

involved in scalloping out and cutting holes to lighten the component.

up with piano wire and turnbuckles. Special

(Peter Bond)

spindle moulder cutters were needed for the ten spars. The two upper and two lower wings are very similar, but the centre section is different.

f A wing seen partway through construction. (Peter Bond)

We have managed to get AP 121 trailing edge tubing specially made — it required special rollers. The curving, especially around the centre section cutout, needs another jig.

A completed pair of Camel wings awaiting their fabric covering.

Note that the wingtips and trailing edges are in metal. (Peter Bond)

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

One of the sturdy cabane struts nears completion.

(John S. Shaw)

ABOVE

The centre

section fairing is turned and shaped on

a lathe. John S. Shaw)

VE RIGHT The centre section fairing in place; it forms a

joining point for four bracing wires.

(John S. Shaw)

RIGHT

Test fitting

the top wing centre section on the four struts. (John S. Shaw)

yarn k& % 2 fe

A ad

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

+

AME

Empennage he empennage is of metal construction, except for the wooded horizontal stabiliser. Again, jigs are used. The skid was one of those instances where the original Sopwith drawings and Replicraft plans varied. We had no original Sopwith plans for the metal fittings, so we have had to interpolate from drawings and photographs. A great deal of research went into the undercarriage, wheels and axles to try to achieve maximum authenticity, since the wheels and tyres are no longer manufactured. We had AP 155 tube specially rolled for the undercarriage legs. Work is in progress on the rest and we estimate that three months will be needed to finish this part. = The undercarriage frame being constructed.

(Peter Bond)

TY A wheel awaits covering.

(John S. Shaw) / A formed wheel without tyre. (John S. Shaw)

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

LEFT Some 70% of the Camel empennage is in metal, as indicated here by the metal fin and rudder frames. (Peter Bond)

| will be covering the Camel in linen and have chosen the colour scheme of a particular

Sopwith-manufactured aircraft that was based in France during the First World War: B6413, posted to 66 Squadron. Anyone keen to contact me or the specialists associated with the project, or to simply keep

an eye on progress, can do so via my website: www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk

W The tailplane assembly features wooden

ribs, while the elevator frames are in

metal. (Peter Bond)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

RIGHT Société Clerget-Blin et Cie built 130hp Le Clerget 9B rotary engine number 3637 was built in 1917. It was held in stores at Toussus Le Noble airfield, west of Paris, during the

First World War. After the war it was sent to a French aviation training unit at Aéroport

Pau Pyrénées, where it remained in its crate. Purchased in 1937 with only 22 hours’ factory running time, the engine was moved to CernyLa Ferté Alais, where it was hidden from the

Germans during the Second World War. It

remained in storage until John Shaw acquired it. Here it is in the condition in which he received it. (John S. Shaw)

BELOW

The removed false nose plate

from the Le Clerget engine carries a data plate bearing the number 3637.

(John S. Shaw)

W Various engine parts after disassembly, including pistons,

connecting rods, the big end and rocker arms. Of the nine piston and rod assemblies, one is a master, as seen here connected to the big end, and the

eight auxiliary rods are connected with pins. (John S. Shaw)

Le Clerget 9Ba rotary engine he engine that John sourced for his Camel reproduction is an original Le Clerget 130hp rotary, number 3637, manufactured in 1917 by Société Clerget-Blin et Cie and held in stores at Toussus Le Noble airfield, west of Paris, during the First World War. After the war, the engine was sent to a French aviation training unit at Aéroport Pau Pyrénées where it remained in its crate. It was purchased in 1937 with only 2%

hours’ factory running time on it and moved to RIGHT The nine cylinder heads are cleaned. (John

S. Shaw)

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

OVE Eighteen rocker arms, two

per cylinder, after meticulous restoration.

(John S. Shaw)

ABOVE

RIGHT The

restored Le Clerget is hoisted into place for a test fitting on John

Shaw’s Camel.

(John S. Shaw)

RIGHT A trial engine

fitting on 21 May 2014. (John S. Shaw)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Cerny-La Ferté Alais where it was hidden from the Germans during the Second World War. It remained in storage until John acquired it. He has since stripped it down, cleaned it and reassembled it ready for bench testing. It was test fitted to the fuselage in May 2014.

SELOW

LEFT

The engine

cowlings and underside cover in

place. (John S. Shaw)

Experts able to use original techniques

to make the First World War propellers are rare,

but here a new-build Camel propeller is in the first stage of being laminated. Note that eight layers of wood are being joined, requiring several clamps to hold them in place while the glue sets.

(John S. Shaw)

FAR LEFT With the eight layers firmly joined, the propeller is ready for the shaping

process. (John S. Shaw) LEFT A plane is

used to create the propeller blade shape,

although it will require a perfectly smooth

finish. (John S. Shaw)

61 RESTORE TO FLIGHT

Once the

propeller has been

finely shaped, it needs

to be balanced.

(John S. Shaw)

Markings on an original mahogany

Camel propeller. They include Sopwith F.1 (Camel), ‘130 H.P. Clerget’, ‘AD 644’

(drawing number), ‘R.H.’ (right hand), ‘D 2590’ (diameter) and ‘P 2560’ (pitch). John S.

Shaw)

‘ Accurate markings were stamped on to the side

of the hub to make the replica propeller look fully authentic.

(John S. Shaw) The

propeller bolts were specially made by E.C.

Pitcher Ltd in the UK. One set comprises eight nuts and bolts.

(John S. Shaw)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

RIGHT

Items fitted to the fuselage here include

the undercarriage, engine and cowlings, Vickers guns, seat and fuel tank. (John S. Shaw)

eter Bond is a member of the Great War Display Team, with which he flies a Fokker Dr.| triplane that he built himself. Peter’s full-time job is as an airline pilot and he has previously displayed the Pilatus P2. He also rides vintage motorcycles and flies a Pitts Special. Peter is currently building a reproduction Sopwith Camel, again to original drawings, at his workshop in Norfolk. This is now approximately 70% complete and features prominently in the photographs in this chapter. He completed his Fokker Dr.! in 2010 and it represents 556/17, as flown by Lt Ludwig ‘Lutz’ Beckmann of Jasta 6 in March 1918, while the unit was based at Lechelle. Beckmann scored eight victories over Allied aircraft in the First World War, six of which were Camels. Comparing the Dr.|, which features metal tube construction, with building his Sopwith Camel, Peter commented that the Fokker triplane was comparative ‘child’s play’! RIGHT

Following its successful classification

inspection, John Shaw stands proudly alongside

the newly registered F-AZZC. (John S. Shaw) LOW

Finishing touches for John Shaw’s

Camel project included a data plate and engine resynchronisation reminder plate for the engineers. (John S. Shaw)

MACHINE ° ENGINE .

TYPE § Nd B 6413. aaa yiN 3637 |

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

With fuselage fitting out complete, the structure is ready to receive its fabric covering.

30VE Original Camel ‘B5663’ is masked in the TVAL workshops ready for its markings to be applied. (TVAL)

The Vintage Aviator Ltd rebuilt this original Camel in its Wellington workshops and it now flies in New

Zealand. (TVAL)

Gas

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

BELOW

With its markings applied, B5663 has its forward solid

panels fitted. (TVAL)

'E Now almost finished, B5663 has its wartime black and

white striped scheme applied. Here the white is masked. (TVAL)

>

= All finished! The complete, original and airworthy

Camel following its first flight at Masterton, in February 2015.

(TVAL) OW

Gene DeMarco flies TVAL’s Camel replica. (Gavin Conroy)

mm

RESTORE TO FLIGHT

Chapter Three

= The forward 7ft of a Sopwith Camel contains 90% of the aircraft’s total weight and much of this is evident in this view of B5663 during its rebuild in New Zealand. (TVAL)

CAMEL ANATOMY

HH

aifol irHh ou IL

at i Ss

68 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

OPPOSITE

PAGE

AND ABOVE Original F.1 Camel

B5663. (TVAL)

LEFT This headon view of B5663 shows the circular cowling around the

rotary engine and the undercarriage structure. (TVAL)

69 CAMEL ANATOMY

Sopwith F.! Camel. (Mike Badrocke) 1 Welded steel tube elevator structure 2 Starboard tailplane 3 Tailplane rib structure 4 Elevator control horn

5 Rudder control horn 6 Steerable tail skid 7 Tailskid elastic cord shock absorber 8 Tailplane bracing cables above and below 9 Rudder 10 Sternpost 11 Port fabric-covered elevator 12 Port fabric-covered tailplane 13 Fuselage dorsal

34 Wing spar/fuselage root joints 35 Undercarriage rear strut attachment

36 Hand-operated fuel pressure pump 37 Seat and main fuel tank bearer

38 39 40 41

Pilot’s seat Main fuel tank Tank filler Auxiliary fuel tank and filler

63 Centre-section bracing wires 64 Twin synchronised Vickers 0.303in machine guns 65 Gunsight 66 Ammunition feed chute 67 Gun cocking handle 68 Instrument board 69 Gun mounting struts

70 Ammunition magazine 71 Carburettor air intake 72 Fuselage aluminium side panel support frame

73 74 75 76

Control column Pilot’s footboards Rudder pedal bar Diagonal engine bearer strut 77 Cartridge case

78 Forward fuselage access panel

79 Engine oil tank 80 Oil filler 81 Engine bay aluminium backplate/ firewal1 82 Aluminium engine cowling 83 130hp Clerget ninecylinder rotary engine

ejection chute

42 Padded cockpit coaming 43 Wind-driven fuel pressurising pump 44 Plywood top decking above fuel tank bay

fairing, fabric

supported by

SF= © UR

stringers 14 Upper longeron 15 Vertical spacers

16 Diagonal wire bracing 17 Tailplane control cables 18 Upper wing panel spindled spars 19 Inter-spar compression strut

20 Fuselage lower longeron 21 Aileron control horn 22 Starboard upper aileron 23 Aileron

45 Upper wing panel spar root joints 46 Centre-section rib structure

47 Trailing edge cut-out 48 Central upward vision aperture 49 Port wing panel root joints

50 Upper wing panel rib structure

interconnecting cable 24 Starboard lower aileron

51 Compression struts 52 Port upper fabriccovered aileron 53 Aileron control horn

25 Wing tip edge member and support

54 Wing panel fabric covering

struts

26 Aileron operating cable 27 Inter-plane struts 28 Diagonal wire bracing 29 Trailing edge ribs 30 Starboard lower wing panel rib structure

55 Aileron balance cable 56 Cable pulley inspection aperture 57 Port inter-plane struts

58 Diagonal wire bracing 59 Port lower aileron

31 Leading edge riblets

60 Double flying wires 61 Port fabric-covered

32 Wing panel internal wire bracing

lower wing panel 62 Centre-section

33 Pitot head

70 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

cabane struts

84 Bolted propeller hub 85 Two-bladed fixed pitch laminated wooden propeller

86 Port mainwheel 87 Bungee elastic cord shock absorber 88 Pivoted half axle

90 Main undercarriage V-struts, wood faired

steel tubes

91 Starboard mainwheel 92 Wheel disc fabric covering 93 Tyre inflation valve

suspension

89 Horizontal spreader

CAMEL ANATOMY

ABOVE

B5663’s

forward starboard fuselage reveals the ammunition chute and

circular air admittance

aperture. (TVAL)

RIGHT

Here the pilot’s

footrest on the lower part of the fuselage is also visible. (TVAL)

wep oy i |

4 Brn

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

{

1

|

}

|

{

The Camel was designed as a replacement for the Sopwith Pup and Triplane which, both

having only a single Vickers machine gun, by the summer of 1916 were outgunned over the front by the twin-gunned Albatros D.| and D.|l. Carrying another gun required more power and consequently a Pup was trial fitted with a 110hp Clerget in August 1916; it served only to prove that the airframe was not strong enough for engines of more than 100hp.

|

|

| {

}j

|

Known early on in its development as the ‘Big Pup’, apart from being a rotary-engined

biplane, there was no family resemblance between the Camel and Pup. Of conventional construction for its time, the Camel featured a shorter, deeper fuselage than the Pup, with the engine, cockpit and guns all placed within the first 7ft of the fighter’s length. This amounted to 90% of the aircraft’s weight and coupled with the strong gyroscopic effect of the Camel’s more powerful rotary engine,

gave the type considerable manoeuvrability.

All that, plus the fact that for the first time

= The Camel features a standard Sopwith tail fin. (Jarrod Cotter)

on an operational, British-designed fighter armament comprised two 0.303in Vickers

E

machine guns mounted directly in front of the

Camel replica. (Jarrod Cotter)

‘Y¥ The securing plate at the front of the Shuttleworth Collection’s

pilot, firing forward through the propeller disc

with efficient synchronisation gear, allowed the RFC and RNAS to take the fight back to the enemy. A fairing over the gun breeches, intended to protect the guns from freezing at altitude, created a ‘hump’ that may have led to the name Camel. A serious problem encountered with the initial design by March 1917 was that since both guns had a right-hand feed, should the gun on the right jam in combat it was virtually impossible to clear because it was covered by the symmetrical fairing. In June 1917 Camel B2301 was modified by removing a section of the right-hand side of the fairing to allow access to the gun’s breech. This proved successful, and on 28 July was implemented as a standard modification for all Camels

operating in France. At the suggestion of Fred Sigrist, Sopwith works manager, the Camel’s top wing featured no dihedral, simplifying production, 5° dihedral being added to the lower wing panels by way of compensation.

CAMEL ANATOMY

on EFT

John Shaw’s F-AZZC just prior to its

Direction Générale de |’Aviation Civile (DGAC, the French CAA) inspection. (John S. Shaw)

W Some of the large number of metal

fittings required to secure the wooden framework of the wings and fuselage. Producing these items today requires modern laser

cutting, forming, folding, welding and protection techniques. (Peter Bond)

Py

YT

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

=

This view

highlights the routing out required on the

Camel’s woodwork. (Peter Bond)

* These brackets join the forward fuselage spars to

the side framework.

(Jarrod Cotter)

One of the many turnbuckle assemblies used to square up and brace the fuselage

structure —- they are adjusted to set the bracing wire at the correct tension. (Jarrod

Cotter)

r=

The uncovered

tail of Peter Bond’s Camel clearly shows

the tailskid fitting. (Jarrod Cotter)

CAMEL ANATOMY

ABOVE

The uncovered

fuselage of Peter Bond’s Camel replica, seen from the cockpit

area. (Jarrod Cotter)

RIGHT A look inside the Shuttleworth Collection’s replica

highlights the complex bracing structure of

the Camel’s fuselage. (Jarrod Cotter)

7

2

a a

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

The underside of the port wing, showing how the

aileron control wire is attached to the aileron by a metal bracket.

(Jarrod Cotter) LEFT The area where the aileron control wire exits the inside of the wing

covering is strengthened with a leather patch.

(Jarrod Cotter) t Here the bracing wires attached to the tail fin and port tailplane are shown,

along with the elevator control wire attachment.

(Jarrod Cotter) The elevator control wires exit the

fuselage covering through a metal fairlead.

(Jarrod Cotter) The rudder control wire attachment — note that the rudder has twin control wires.

(Jarrod Cotter)

LEFT The starboard elevator control

attachment. (Jarrod Cotter) * The longerons on Peter Bond’s Camel are in beech, but the wood was not available in sufficient lengths, so two pieces

of wood needed to be firmly spliced together for each unit. The technique is wholly accurate and

included on original Sopwith drawings for the Camel. (Jarrod Cotter)

CAMEL ANATOMY

The number of instruments and their placement was not consistent

across different Camels. For example, those

fitted with a

Gnome engine did not have a throttle and were

at full power while the ignition was on. Instead, they were ‘throttled’

with a selector switch that cut

the ignition from a varying number of

cylinders to reduce

power for landing. There was also a control columnmounted blip

switch that turned

the ignition off and on and could be used intermittently to reduce and increase power during

manoeuvres. This photograph shows

the authentic cockpit of the

Shuttleworth Collection’s Camel

replica.

Aldis gunsight

Air speed indicator

Altimeter

Control column

Petrol regulating

Vickers 0.303in

Pulsator

Mk V watch

Machine-gun firing

control

machine guns

Leading magneto

Air pressure gauge

buttons

Three-way switch

Machine-gun padding

switch

Air admittance pipes

Spade grip with string

Flying control wires

Tachometer

Trailing magneto

covering

Hand air pump

Hughes 5/17

switch

Rudder bar

Blip switch

Main petrol tap

compass

Inclinometer

Fuel sight gauge

Throttle lever

Pilot’s seat

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

» Air admittance T-pipe

LEFT Wing ribs for Peter Bond’s Camel before assembly. (Jarrod Cotter) ABOVE

A control cable pulley inside

a Camel

wing and behind a transparent sight panel. (Jarrod Cotter)

ABOVE

LEFT The left-hand side of the Camel’s

cockpit. To the left of the pilot’s seat are the three-way valve, throttle and fine fuel mixture

levers. (Jarrod Cotter)

ABOVE

The throttle and fine fuel mixture levers.

(Jarrod Cotter)

GRAVITY HR

LEFT The three-way valve is placed immediately adjacent to the left of the pilot’s

seat. (John S. Shaw)

19 CAMEL ANATOMY

TOP LEFT The blip switch is positioned

centrally on the top bar of the Camel’s spade grip, with the machine-gun buttons inside the triangular frame. The string covering, used in the field to replace the original rubber, is reproduced on the Shuttleworth Collection’s

replica Camel. (Jarrod Cotter) ABOVE

The right-hand side of the Camel’s

cockpit showing the hand air pump positioned immediately to the right of the pilot’s seat. (Jarrod Cotter)

CENTRE

LEFT The pilot uses the hand air pump

to pressurise the fuel before starting the engine, since the Rotherham pump only begins to work

once its propeller is driven by the airflow as the

Camel builds up speed. (Jarrod Cotter) CENTRE

RIGHT The pilot’s seat in Shuttleworth’s

Camel replica, D1851. Note that the aircraft has

been fitted with

a modern harness. (Jarrod Cotter)

LEFT The selector switch associated with the Gnome engine is immediately to the left of the spade grip in this Camel cockpit, in the position where the watch was usually placed.

(Jarrod Cotter)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Side -vnerred ove~ Nuts =——Mm

Tk is

i—

* An original Sopwith drawing

showing the Camel’s dashboard layout. (Sopwith) An original Sopwith drawing detailing the control cable fairleads, mounted

in two sets, one

each side, on the fuselage back spar. (Sopwith) An original Sopwith drawing showing the mounting of the Camel’s wing struts. (Sopwith)

An original Sopwith drawing showing the

Camel’s top centre wing section. (Sopwith)

CAMEL ANATOMY

Original Sopwith plans for the Camel’s top, top centre and lower wing sections, including the aileron positions. (Sopwith)

An original Sopwith drawing showing details of the steel king post of

the diagonal struts on a 2F.1 Camel. (Sopwith) f The bottom plane front spar outer clip.

esti

Profile and plan drawings of the Camel’s fuselage. (Sopwith)

/ The metal components

of the tailplane

attachment fitting. (Sopwith)

thon

STARBOARO

PiTDNe

SECRET of Userea

e

SOBWITH-AVIATI NCO a = ap PE 6a TPT VPT 2S

nnd —-7oe

SOPWITH

CAMEL MANUAL

Original Sopwith drawing showing the placement of fittings on the Camel’s rudder. (Sopwith) Original Sopwith drawing detailing the solid decking around the Camel’s cockpit. (Sopwith) Original Sopwith drawing showing the undercarriage. (Sopwith) tere

Bewees Ge 6 Fins

apa

yar rs

* Original Sopwith drawing showing the Camel’s forward fuselage structure and machine-gun fit.

(Sopwith)

CAMEL ANATOMY

RIGHT The Camel’s plywood decking and panels meet the fabric covering just aft of the

cockpit. (Jarrod Cotter)

FAR RIGHT Part of the joint between the top and side fuselage fabric covering of the Shuttleworth Collection’s Camel. (Jarrod Cotter) RIGHT The Rotherham

pump delivers fuel from the main tank to the gravity

tank to supply the engine. On early Camels it was fitted to the rear right cabane strut, as here on Shuttleworth’s D1851. Later it was fitted to the

undercarriage where it caused less structural stress, but pilots preferred the cabane strut fitting because they could see that the pump was working and

be reassured that fuel was flowing. The propeller turns in the airflow, driving the pump to deliver a pressure of 1.5 to 2.5psi. (Jarrod Cotter)

RIGHT The Camel’s undercarriage bracing.

(Jarrod Cotter)

BELOW A serious problem encountered early on was that since both the Camel’s guns had a right-

BELOW The Camel

hand feed, should the gun on the right jam in

was the first British

combat it was virtually impossible for the pilot to

fighter to feature twin

clear because it was covered by the symmetrical

synchronised guns on

fairing. Later a section was removed from the

its forward fuselage.

(Jarrod Cotter) as Ch

84 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

fairing’s right-hand side, allowing access to the

gun’s breech. (Jarrod Cotter)

ABOVE

LEFT The

muzzle of a Vickers 0.303in machine gun fitted toa Camel. (Jarrod Cotter) ABOVE

The gun

placement and the Camel’s ‘hump’ fairing. (Jarrod Cotter)

LEFT The Camel could be fitted with four Cooper bombs

on a rack just aft of the undercarriage. (Jarrod Cotter)

LEFT The prong protruding between the blades of each bomb’s five-bladed fan stopped it

spinning in the airflow and prevented the weapons from being armed. The pilot released the bombs by pulling a lever

attached to a Bowden cable. As they dropped

clear the fan began to spin, arming them.

(Jarrod Cotter)

85 CAMEL ANATOMY

Air Board Technical Notes - 100hp Monosoupape engine General description This engine is of the rotary air-cooled type with nine cylinders, 110mm by 150mm, developing 100hp at 1,200rom. As the name of the engine implies, it has only one valve per cylinder, and this is situated in the cylinder head. It is fitted

with a double thrust ball race, which enables it

to accommodate the nine cylinders, each of which is gripped lightly by the two parts of the crankcase and is prevented from turning by a small key. It is not directly supported on the crankshaft, but carries on its faces plates or covers, Known respectively as the cambox and the thrust box. The thrust box contains the main ball race and a self-aligning double thrust race. The cambox contains the planet gears and campack, which actuates the exhaust valves, and one ball race. The nose piece, which carries the propeller boss is mounted on the cambox.

to be used either as a pusher or as a tractor. The engine works on the Otto or four-stroke

Cylinders

cycle, two revolutions of the engine giving one

The cylinders are numbered 1 to 9

cycle (four strokes) in each cylinder. Chief points

consecutively in a clockwise direction as seen from the propeller end of the engine. The order

of difference from other rotary engines are: (1) Absence of carburettor (2) No inlet valves (8) Inlet ports in cylinder walls (4) Non-explosive mixture in the crankcase The engine revolves in the anti-clockwise direction as seen from the propeller end of the

engine. As in the case of all rotary engines, it is made chiefly of steel for strength and lightness. The angle through which the engine turns between any 2 consecutive explosions is 80°. Approx oil consumption = 2 gallons per hour Approx petrol consumption = 10 gallons per hour Approx weight of engine = S00lb, ie 3lb per hp

Crankshaft The crankshaft is made of chrome nickel steel. It is hollow and in two parts, a long end and a short end. As in all single line rotary engines, it has one throw, is stationary and serves the following purposes:

(1) It provides a means of attaching the

engine to the aeroplane (2) It conveys oil to the working parts (3) It conveys petrol to the crankcase (4) It provides, in the crankpin, the fixed point against which the force of the explosion exerts itself in turning the engine

Crankcase The crankcase is made of two steel stampings bolted together by steel bolts and centred by dowel pins. It has nine apertures disposed symmetrically around its periphery

86 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Of firing is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 2; 4-6, 3. They are made of nickel steel and each has an exhaust valve in the head and a series of ports around the base. The key referred to above is sited in-between two shoulders, which are turned around the base of the cylinder. These together act as a means of fixing the cylinder in the crankcase.

Pistons The pistons are of cast iron with slightly concave heads. A portion of the trailing edge is Cut away to allow the piston in the adjoining cylinder to clear. Each piston is fitted with an obturator ring in a groove around its top. A packing ring is fitted behind the obturator ring and in the same groove. A wipe ring, which is made of cast iron, is fitted in a groove situated just below the obturator ring. The piston is fastened to its connecting rod by means of a steel gudgeon pin fixed in lugs on the underside of the head by means of a tapered set screw. Piston clearance = 0.2mm Wipe ring gap = 0.5mm

Obturator ring gap = 1mm Packing ring gap = 2 to 4mm

Connecting rods The connecting rods are made of special alloy Steel. There is one master connecting rod, to which the eight auxiliary connecting rods are attached by means of gudgeon pins. All the rods are of H-section and the auxiliary rods are bushed at both ends with phosphor

bronze bushes. The master connecting rod big end runs on two ball bearings. The small end is bushed with phosphor bronze. In some cylinders a light steel pipe is fitted to each connecting rod and this conveys oil from the big end to the gudgeon pin.

Valves

are fitted on the inner face of the cover of the cambox. It must be remembered that the engine is running at twice the speed of the campack, so that the rollers at the

bottoms of the tappet rods are overtaking the campack the whole time. This causes the tappet rods to be lifted as they pass over the cams and to thereby open the valves.

The single valve in the cylinder head performs the following functions:

The clearance between the rocker arm and

(a) It acts as an exhaust valve. By so doing its

tappet roller is at the bottom of the cam,

temperature is raised (b) It admits into the cylinder a quantity of air

sufficient for the combustion charge entering later through the ports at the base of the cylinder. During this portion of the cycle it is

the bottom of the slot valve stem, when the

should be as follows:

Engine cold = 0.6mm In later-type engines the rocker arm engages the valve stem by means of a roller which bears

against the end of the stem.

cooled and the valve is mounted in a steel cage that also carries the fulcrum pin, and is

Cycle of operations

mechanically operated by means of a hollow

Starting with any cylinder on BDC and the

steel tappet rod and steel rocker arm. The valve stem ends in a cast iron bush at the centre of the cage, which is held in position by means of a locking ring screwed into the cylinder head. The valve is made heavier than is necessary for mechanical strength and is of such weight as to balance the centrifugal action of the tappet rod, which would otherwise try to keep the valve open. The valve spring consists of a looped wire, the looped end of which engages the fulcrum pin and the mid-length part of which is coiled around the fulcrum of the rocker arm. The free ends of the looped wire are underneath a cross pin passing through the valve stem. In later-type engines the valve spring is made spiral and circles the valve stem, taking its bearing against the valve stem and a detachable collar on the valve stem. The valves are operated by the campack, which consists of nine cams keyed with a bronze bushed sleeve rotating on the small end of the crankshaft. The cams operate the tappet rods, which work the overhead rocker arms. Each tappet rod is formed of a tappet and a rod jointed together. The tappet works in a pocket in the cambox, and at its inner end is a roller that rotates against the cam. The tappet rod extends from the tappet to the rocker arm of the exhaust valve, and is

exhaust valve open, the cylinder moves

adjustable. The campack is driven at half the engine speed by planet gears, which

outward, drawing in pure air through the open exhaust valve and it is 45° before BDC at which point the exhaust valve closes. The cylinder then moves forward creating a partial vacuum until it is 20° before BDC. At this point the ports at the base of the cylinder are uncovered by the piston and rich petro! vapour enters

from the crankcase, mixing with the air already there and forming an explosive charge. At 45° past BDC the ports are again covered by the piston and the cylinder moves around to TDC on compression. Ignition occurs 20° before TDC and the cylinder moves forward on the power stroke until it is 9O° past TDC, when the exhaust valve opens and remains open throughout the remainder of the cycle. Admission of pure air

O° to 135°}

Partial vacuum

Com tOnOoon,

Admission of rich gas

155° to 200°} = two revolutions

Compression

200° to 360°} O° to 90°} 90° to 360°}

Power stroke Exhaust stroke

Valve timing Set any cylinder, for example No 4, at the exhaust closing position, ie 60° before BDC. To then position set No 4 cylinder vertically

upright. Set the tappet rod clearance, and turn the campack anti-clockwise until the cam is just about to lift the tappet rod. Then mesh

> CAMEL ANATOMY

the planet gears. Set the remaining tappet rod clearances and the valve closing positions for each cylinder, ie 60° before BDC. These instructions refer to a cold engine.

Ignition timing Set any cylinder, for example No 5, in ignition

position, ie 20° before TDC on the compression stroke. To get this position, set No 5 cylinder vertically downwards. Turn the magneto so that the points are just breaking and mesh the magneto driving gear. Wire the distributor to the plugs. The timing of the engine is then completed.

Shuttleworth’s

Camel has a 130hp Clerget rotary engine.

(Jarrod Cotter)

passes by a high-tension wire to an insulation

brush holder fitted on the backplate. A sensitive spring-loaded carbon brush in the brush holder is

The magneto is mounted on the facing

in contact with the distributor, which is mounted on the outside of the thrust box. The current is then taken from the distributor to the sparking plugs through thin brass connectors. The distributor revolves with the engine, and its function is to ensure that the current generated by the magneto

backplate remote from the engine. Its driving

reacts the cylinders in proper sequence.

Magneto SLOW

keyed to the thrust box casing. The gear ratio is 4:9, ie the magneto makes nine revolutions to four of the engine, and as the magneto gives two sparks per revolution there will be nine revolutions of the engine during which period each cylinder will have completed one cycle. Current is conveyed from the magneto in the following manner: From the magneto the current

spindle projects through the backplate and

Carries a small spindle driven by a large wheel

Air

Board Technical Notes

- 110hp Clerget engine General description This engine is of the rotary air-cooled type, with nine cylinders, 120mm by 160mm, rated at 110hp, but capable of developing 130hp at 1,200rpm. It is fitted with a double thrust ball race, which enables it to be used either as a

pusher or as a tractor. The engine works on the ‘Otto’, or four-stroke cycle, two revolutions of the engine giving one cycle (four strokes) in each cylinder. Its chief points of difference from other rotary engines are: (1) The pistons are of aluminium alloy (2) The connecting rods are of tubular section (3) The inlet and exhaust cams are mechanically operated by means of separate cams, tappets and rocker arms

The direction of rotation is anti-clockwise as seen from the propeller end of the engine.

Like all other rotary engines it is made chiefly of steel, for strength and lightness. The angle through which the engine turns between any

two consecutive explosions is 80°. Approx oil consumption = 2 gallons per hour

Approx petrol consumption = 10 gallons per hour Approx weight of engine = 365lb, ie 3.3lb per rated hp

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

turning by a key. It is not supported directly

ABOVE

on the crankshaft, but carries on its faces

sectioned Bentley

on all single-line rotary engines, has one throw.

plates, or covers, known respectively as the

B.R.2 rotary engine

It consists of two main parts, the long end

cam gear case, and the thrust box, or rear drum. The thrust box contains the main engine

cylinder (circa 1917/18)

ball race (some manufacturers of this engine fit a self-aligning race, but a plain radial race

tappets open and

is more usual), the double thrust race, and

the top of the cylinder.

a second radial ball race. The cam gear box contains a large radial ball race at the end next to the crankweb, a smaller race at the end

(Jarrod Cotter)

of the extension, and two races for the inlet

workings of a nine-

and exhaust cams. These latter are mounted

cylinder Le Rhéne

eccentrically on the crankshaft extension. The

rotary engine. It is

The forged steel crankshaft is hollow and, as

and the short end, which are connected by a

telescopic joint at the crankpin. An extension keyed to the short end carries the cam gear and the cam gear ball races. The crankshaft is stationary and serves the following purposes: (1) It provides a means of attaching the engine to the aeroplane It conveys the oil to the working parts GS The carburettor is mounted on the rear end of the hollow crankshaft, which acts as an induction pipe (4) It provides, in the crankpin, the fixed point against which the force of the explosion exerts itself in turning the engine.

LEFT A

reveals how the close the apertures at

ABOVE

The internal

nose-piece, which carries the propeller boss,

interesting to note that

is bolted to the front of the cam gear box, and holds in position a centring plate that forms

a complete engine

a housing for the small ball race previously

(Jarrod Cotter)

comprises 1,156 parts.

referred to.

The crankcase is made of two steel stampings bolted together by steel bolts and centred by dowel pins. It has nine apertures disposed symmetrically around its periphery to accommodate the nine cylinders, each

of which is gripped tightly between the two parts of the crankcase and is prevented from

The cylinders are of nickel steel, machined

from the solid. The walls have a thickness of 38mm. They are numbered

1 to 9 consecutively,

in a clockwise direction as seen from the propeller end of the engine. The order of firing is 1, 3, 5,,7, 9, 2, 4, 6, 8. The head of

89 CAMEL ANATOMY

each cylinder is bored and screwed to take

the inlet and exhaust valve seatings, and bosses are provided into which the rocker

arm fulcrum posts are screwed. An external shoulder near the bottom of the cylinder fits in a corresponding groove in the crankcase, and this together with the key previously referred

to, are the means of fixing the cylinder in the crankcase. The bottoms of the cylinders are cut away at the opposite sides where they would otherwise foul the connecting rods.

The pistons are of aluminium alloy with flatconcave heads. A portion of the skirt is cut away at the trailing edge to allow the piston in

the neighbouring cylinder to clear at the bottom of the stroke. Each piston carries a crosshead : The base of

as in the case of the Gnome engine. The piston head is bored to take the crosshead, which is

the rocker arms of a

flanged at the top so that the piston is gripped

130hp Clerget rotary.

between this flange and a castellated nut which is screwed up from underneath and locked by

(Jarrod Cotter)

a small screw. The crosshead is attached to the connecting rod by a hollow steel gudgeon pin. “iT The spark plug arrangement of one of

the Clerget’s cylinders.

(Jarrod Cotter)

A small square-sided flange, at the end of the gudgeon pin, lies between two shoulders on the side of the crosshead, and so prevents the pin from turning. It is prevented from sliding in the crosshead by means of the flange and a copper washer at the opposite end. This washer lies

under the head of a bolt, screwed into the end of the gudgeon pin, and engages with a

recess in the crosshead lug. It is turned up at either side when in position, and so locks the bolt. The pistons are fitted with three cast iron

rings and two obturator rings. The obturator rings are carried in the same groove, one inside the other, with their gaps separated by 45° to 60°, ie about 2 inches. The gaps in the piston rings should be set about 120° apart, ie equally Spaced around the piston. Piston clearance =

Piston ring gap = Obturator ring gap =

0.4mm at top, 0.8mm

at bottom 0.5mm to 0.75mm

0.8mm

All the connecting rods are tubular in section. There is one master rod and eight auxiliary rods. The master rod big end runs on two ball races

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

mounted at the other end of the crankpin, and Carries eight wrist pins, by means of which it is connected to the auxiliary rods. The master rod is bushed at its small end, and the auxiliary rods

at both.ends, with phosphor bronze.

Valves The inlet and exhaust valves in the cylinder heads are mechanically operated by means of light steel tappet rods and overhead rocker arms, which are mounted on the fulcrum

tappets at the heads of the cylinders. There

through the mixture. The exhaust valve opens at 68° before BDC and remains open through the

ABOVE

are two tappet heads and rocker arms to each cylinder, one for the inlet valve and one for

remainder of the cycle.

engine rocker arms.

the exhaust valve. The inlet valve is carried in

Admission of explosive mixture

a guide that is two-piece, with a steel pocket

Compression Power

communicating with the induction pipe. The lower part of this pocket screws into the

cylinder head and forms the valve seating. The inlet valve seating is flat, but the exhaust valve has a coned seating which opens to the atmosphere direct. The exhaust valve stem slides in a steel guide, bushed with cast iron,

which is supported at the centre of the valve seating by three radial arms. The valve springs are of the spiral type, and that of the exhaust valve is protected from the action of the hot gases by a cone shaped deflector, which is formed in one piece with the guide and seating. The inlet and exhaust cam plates are driven at 9/8 times the engine speed by separate internally toothed wheels mounted inside and keyed to the cam gear case. The cam plates overtake the engine once in eight

Exhaust

-5° to 238° 238° to 360° OF i WAZ’

= Vohn S. Shaw)

NZ? i SEO? 5°

Valve timing The exact timing of the valves is determined by adjusting the length of the tappet rods, but before this adjustment is made the cam gears must be correctly set as follows: After inserting the fixed inlet toothed ring in the cam gear case, take the short end crankshaft

extension with inlet cam, toothed wheel and ball race attached and set one of the cams at the extreme throw of the eccentric. Place the whole in position in the cam gear case, meshing

the teet so that this cam is under No 7 inlet tappet, which will thus be held in its extreme outward position. Insert the fixed exhaust tooth

ring and, after setting one of the exhaust cams

revolutions, and each cam plate is cut in the

at the extreme throw of the eccentric, place

form of four separate cams, so that in eight

the eccentric in position on the crankshaft

revolutions each tappet will be lifted four times,

extension, meshing the teeth so that this cam

ie once in two revolutions.

The tops of a

pair of unfitted rotary

is under No 4 exhaust tappet which will thus

be held in its extreme outward position. After

Cycle of operations

erection has been completed the adjustment of

In this engine there is 10° ‘overlap’, ie the inlet

the tappet rods is made as follows:

valve is set to open 10° before the exhaust valve closes. Starting with any cylinder on TDC, with both valves open, the cylinder moves forward until it is 5° past TDC, at which point the exhaust valve closes. The inlet valve remains open until the cylinder has reached a point 58° past BDC, where it closes, and compression

commences. At 25° before TDC ignition takes place, and the cylinder moves on to the working stroke passing TDC while the flame is spreading

Exhaust valve setting Set any cylinder, for example No 1, in exhaust opening position, ie 68° before BCD on the power stroke, and adjust the length of the tappet rod until the exhaust valve is

just opening. Repeat for cylinders 3, 5, 7, 9, 2, 4, 6, 8. NOTE — No 1 cylinder is 68° before BDC when the centre line of No 6 is 2° above horizontal.

91 CAMEL ANATOMY

gear. Repeat with the second magneto. It is essential that the two magnetos be absolutely

RIGHT The Camel’s underside, showing

synchronised, ie that the two breaks occur

how the engine is

at exactly the same instant. A fine vernier adjustment is provided for this purpose. NOTE — No 1 cylinder is 25° before TDC when

exposed to allow exhaust gases to be released below

No 5 is downwards with its centre line 5° to the

the aeroplane.

left of vertical.

(Jarrod Cotter)

Magnetos The magnetos are mounted on the central support and driven by a large wheel on the

back end of the thrust box. Each magneto

pinion has 28 teeth and the driving wheel 63 teeth, so that the magneto armature makes

nine revolutions to four of the engine. As the magnetos are of the rotating armature type, they give two sparks per revolution, so that there will be nine sparks in two revolutions of Inlet valve setting

the engine during which each cylinder will have

Set any cylinder, for example No 1, tn inlet valve closing position, ie 58° past BDC on

completed one cycle. The high tension current from both magnetos is taken to the distributor, which is mounted on the thrust box. The distributor has two rings with nine contacts on each. One ring of contacts receives high tension current from the first magneto, and the other ring of contacts receives high tension current from the second magneto. Each corresponding pair of contacts on the two rings is connected to one cylinder, each contact of the pair to a separate plug in the cylinder. The arrangement is adjusted so that each cylinder has two simultaneous sparks at the time of ignition, which hastens the combustion of the charge.

compression stroke, and adjust the length of the tappet rod so that the inlet valve is just closing.

Repeat for cylinders 3, 5, 7, 9, 2, 4, 6, 8. NOTE — No 1 cylinder is 56° after BDC when the centre line of No 7 is 2° to the right of vertical. Ignition timing Set any cylinder, for example No 1, in ignition position ie 25° before TDC. Turn the magneto in normal running direction until the contact points are just breaking and mesh the magneto driving

Carburation The carburettor used on this engine is of the horizontal jet type. It is mounted on the end

of the hollow crankshaft through which the explosive mixture passes to the crankcase,

and thence through the induction pipes to the

cylinders. The body is cylindrical in shape and practically forms an extension to the crankshaft. A drain is provided to carry away surplus petrol. There are two horizontal air intakes, at the

sides of the body, which are joined by rubber connecting pieces to extensions leading to RIGHT The port magneto and oil pump on F-AZZC.

(John S. Shaw)

92 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

the outside of the fuselage. The amount of air entering is controlled by a cylindrical throttle, which is operated by a lever mounted on the

throttle barrel. The jet, which is co-axial with and

projects into the crankshaft, slides in the small bridge piece at the back of the throttle cylinder and is fed with petrol through a radial inlet ee near the rear end. For any given position of the throttle, the jet opening is controlled by a fine adjustment lever, at the rear of the carburettor. Movement of this lever advances or withdraws

Part of engine

Lubricated by

Ball races, gears, cams and tappets in cam gear case

Restricted opening in short end crankshaft extension

Master connecting rod ball races, wrist pins, gudgeon pins and cylinder walls

Restricted opening in crankpin to wrist pins (as in Gnome engine) and inside hollow connecting rods to ; gudgeon pins

a needle inside the jet, and so closes or opens the hole through which the petrol is sprayed into

Main engine ball race and

Restricted opening at base of long

the crankshaft. The base of this needle extends

thrust box ball races

end crankweb

hrough a stuffing box, at the rear of the jet, and its longitudinal movement is brought about by a thread, at its base, which engages with a female a+hread in the large bridge piece at the rear of fonhe carburettor. Outside the bridge piece is the fine adjustment lever, which is mounted on the needle in such a manner that it can be set at the required angle in respect to the needle. The jet is prevented from turning by two keys in the small bridge piece, through which it slides under the action of a thread on the jet, which engages with a female thread at the centre of the rear end of the throttle barrel. This thread is of the same pitch as that at the base of the needle. Equal movement of both levers therefore affects the air Supply only, and movement of the fine adjustment lever affects the jet opening only, but movement of the throttle lever alone affects both and gives a jet opening bearing a relation to the throttle opening which depends upon the position of the fine adjustment lever. o

pulsations per minute is a measure of the engine

speed, which may be calculated as follows: RPM of engine = Pulsations per minute x 14.3

Oil pump The oil pump is similar to that used in the Gnome

and Monosoupape engines but it has one pump plunger and one valve piston only. It is driven by

the large wheel on the back end of the thrust box and is fitted with an oil strainer and an adjustment for varying the lift of the pump plunger and so

regulating the delivery of oil.

Air pump The air pump, which maintains the pressure in

the petrol tank, is driven from the same wheel as the oil pump and magnetos through a triple thread worm and wheel. There are no suction valves as the inlet is through the sides of the pump barrel and a delivery valve is on the outer cover. The pump 's single-acting with one crank.

Lubrication

Ratio is nine revolutions of the pump crank to

The pump delivers oil to an inclined nipple,

16 of the engine. Discharge, 770 cubic inches of

which is mounted in the boss of the central

free air per minute, which is sufficient to displace

support so that it is opposite a hole in the

ten times the petrol consumed, by air at 4lb

crankshaft. A branch also leads to the pulsator

pressure per square inch above atmosphere.

glass. The hole in the crankshaft terminates in a copper pipe through which the oil flows, inside the crankshaft, to the long end crankweb. This crankweb, the crankpin, and the short end crankweb, are drilled to form an oil lead, which terminates in the hollow short end of the shaft and from which oil lead branches are taken to lubricate the various parts of the engine (as shown in the table above).

Hand-starting gear Hand-starting gear is arranged on the lefthand rear side of the central support. A hollow spindle projects through a bearing in a casing secured on the central support and carries at its

inner end a skew pinion which can be engaged with teeth around the rim of the distributor by

sliding the spindle in its bearing. A spiral spring in the spindle forces the pinion out of gear

Pulsator

when the engine starts. The disengagement is

The pulsator glass is mounted where it can be easily seen by the pilot. It shows whether the oil pump is working properly and the number of

assisted by the shape of the teeth. At its outer

end the spindle carries a crank handle which ts turned anti-clockwise to start the engine.

Chapter Four

a

()RE

ilots wereseid to bear one

of threex Osses: the Victoria Cross, the red cross, or a wooden cross!’ Gene DeMarco,

The Vintage Aviator Ltd’s Chief Pilot Gene DeMarco at work in Camel replica B8339 over Masterton, North Island,

New Zealand. (Gavin Conroy)

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Chief Pilot, The Vintage Aviator

LEFT Camel pilots trained on the Avro 504K, which got them used to the characteristics of a rotary engine. (Jarrod Cotter)

Avro 504. The notes would therefore have

proved invaluable to new Camel pilots.

Preliminary ground instruction The instructor must impress upon his pupil that

the Camel is not a difficult machine a first solo on. He should point out feature of the aircraft — its sensitive and emphasise the need for careful

to make the main elevator — handling of

the fore and aft control. The familiar it might should

A fierce little beast

BELOW

A Central

Flying School pupil about to fly a

training sortie in the

gravity feed to the carburettor; both feeds are

Archives)

inside for pressure and pushed outwards for

notes to help pilots master the idiosyncrasies

then controlled by the same fine adjustment

of the type. Because of its handling

lever, which regulates the rate of flow.

characteristics, and particularly those of the

The pupil should sit in the aircraft and familiarise himself with the position of the nose above the horizon. This is the position for a taildown landing. He should accustom his eyes to

Clerget-engined examples, those who mastered

best of pilots. Captain MacMillan commented:

solo. (No 3 Squadron

tank. This lever works on a horizontal quadrant on the left of the pilot’s seat. It is pulled to the

the Camel were often regarded as among the

first flight in a Camel

the petrol supply from pressure tank to gravity

Sopwith Camel trainer, Captain Norman MacMillan OBE MC AFC wrote a set of handling

rear of a two-seat

pilots made their

with the rotary engine, but in the Camel be of a different type. The instructor point out the control lever that changes

efore the introduction of the two-seat

Camel. Before this development new

pupil coming from Avros is already

‘The Camel was a fierce little beast.’ His Original notes follow. They were written in

1917 when there were no dual-control Camels available and all pupils had to make their first flight on type solo, having passed out on the

the appearance of the wings; this will overcome

the sensation of their smallness on the first solo. The pupil should settle himself comfortably in the cockpit and fasten the safety belt tightly.

The belt should come across the abdomen and not restrict the free movement of the legs. It must be tight.

Taxying and taking off Before giving ‘Contact’ (to the propeller swinger) see that the lever is ‘on’ for the pressure tank and check the reading on the pressure gauge. If necessary hand pump until the pressure ceases to rise further. Do not take

off on the gravity feed. The Camel is particularly easy to taxi. The stick should be central unless taxying cross-wind,

when opposite aileron and stick slightly forward help to steady the machine. Always taxi slowly. The Camel’s tailskid fitting is weak. Do not allow the mechanics to swing the machine

96 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

be

round by hanging on to the wing struts while

speeds later. When comfortably off the ground,

ABOVE A two-seat

you open out the engine to obtain propeller

throttle the engine down to, say, 1,050rom.

Camel at the Central

thrust. This practice strains the tailskid fitting and a heavy landing afterwards will almost certainly produce a broken skid and a damaged sternpost. It is far better to lift the tail round. When into wind and ready to take off, push the stick fully forward against the air intake pipes. This will raise the tail quickly and make the take-off easy. Open up the engine gradually, following the movement of the throttle lever with that of the fine adjustment. Do not look at the engine controls. Look ahead at a fixed point on the horizon and keep the nose of the machine straight. Much absurd nonsense has been discussed among pupils about the Camel swinging. A little right rudder is all that is needed to keep the machine straight, very slightly more than on the Avro. As the tail rises into flying position allow the stick to come back slowly. You will find that when the machine reaches flying position she leaves the ground. Don’t pull the Camel off. She takes off naturally.

Forward pressure on the stick is perfectly

Flying School. (British

simple to understand. The Camel is essentially

Official)

a fighting scout. Therefore one of the qualities necessary is good climb. If the machine is rigged to give the most efficient climb ‘hands

BELOW

off’ near the ground she requires holding up at altitudes. She is therefore rigged to climb too fast off the ground; that is, if the pilot allows her to. But higher up in the thinner air the need to hold her down decreases until, at some particular height (varying with the individual rigging), the machine may be flown ‘hands off’. Pressure on the stick to hold her down varies, at any height, with engine rom.

Trainees

in the corner of instruction room No

4 at the RFC training facility in Toronto,

Canada. The officer

is giving a lesson on some of the attacking manoeuvres an aircraft could perform. (Library and Archives Canada)

The first solo The first impression the pupil will receive is that of the forward pressure required on the stick to

prevent the machine from climbing too steeply. On his first solo it is advisable that the pupil should climb at about 7Omph IAS (Indicated Air Speed). We will consider the best climbing

97 THE PILOT’S VIEW

Before attempting anything it is advisable that the pupil should climb to a safe height, say 3,000ft. There he should go through by himself the elementary part of his Avro dual training. But remember that the Camel is a light scout. Its controls are lighter and their response is quicker than the Avro’s; and the elevator is very sensitive. Do not move the rudder or stick about excessively, as is sometimes done in an Avro. First learn to fly the machine level and straight. Then try gentle turns; bank and rudder together, stick across towards opposite elbow and rudder back almost but not quite central. It is surprisingly like an Avro and the familiar feel of this will give the pupil confidence. But remember that required movement of the Camel’s stick is less than the Avro’s. Do not exaggerate the movement. Rudder and lateral controls are not sensitive. A little opposite rudder should be used when coming out of the turn. Then shut the engine off, at the same time easing the stick forward very slightly. The machine will assume a gliding angle, but it is necessary to hold the Camel into the glide. Do not glide too fast. An angle giving 6GOmph IAS is right for straight glides. Try the controls. They are not so effective as with the engine on; just

as in the Avro. Again avoid roughness with the fore and aft control. Gentle turns on the glide are also very similar to the Avro’s. The operation of controls is the same.

Speed should be increased to about 7Omph for gentle gliding turns, particularly when near the

If you err make sure it is on the safe side — more, not less. Glide down steadily until about 5ft up then flatten out gradually until the machine is in level flying position some 6in to 12in above the grass. At the instant that she feels soggy, bring the stick right back with a fairly rapid movement. The machine will sit down in a perfect three-point landing. Many pupils find a Camel easier to land than an Avro. It is not absolutely necessary to have the stick right back to make a tail-down landing on the Camel; but she seems to sit down steadier if the stick is back. Always have the engine ready. With the Clerget engine, when gliding down, pull the fine adjustment back and leave the throttle lever where It is. This cools the engine most efficiently. Don’t switch off or your plugs may oil up. When about 50-1 00ft up push open the fine adjustment until the engine ‘titters’. Be careful not to give too much petrol. Do not buzz the engine after the first titter if you can possibly avoid it. Then switch off and make the landing. The engine will respond the moment you switch on.

ground. At first tt may be found difficult to retain a constant steady speed in the gentle gliding tum. This is merely a matter of practice in feeling for the

bounces slightly, push the stick quickly forward

correct positions of the stick and rudder.

then immediately pull it back. This will correct

If the wheels touch too soon and the machine

the bounce and she will sit down properly.

tendency of the nose to swing to the left will be noticed. Correct this with a little right rudder. If the pupil gets these things right on his first solo he will have done quite well. He may attempt the vertical turn if he wishes, but it is often better to leave that until the second flight on the Camel. It is enough if he feels

If you have been high, always fly round the aerodrome under 1,O0Oft for about 5 minutes to accustom your eyes to the nearness of the ground again and to the changed visual angle of the horizon.

comfortable and at home by the time he glides down to land.

To perfect the vertical turn on the Camel requires a considerable amount of practice.

Landing The Camel is an easy machine to land. Many pupils come in too fast and so make the landing

98

slower on the first landing approach. Remember that a pitot IAS reading is not always accurate.

With the Le Rhdéne engine, come in throttled well down. Switch off just as the landing is about to be made.

When the engine is opened out again the

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

much more difficult. If the pupil masters the glide as described above he should know the correct angle of the nose below the horizon. At, say, 500ft, he can check his IAS. It should be approximately 6O0mph. But do not come in

Vertical turns with engine power

To turn to the left with engine, apply left bank and rudder together. When almost enough bank has been obtained, bring the stick back and across in an elliptical movement. While the stick

is coming over the bank will increase slightly,

Steep turns without engine

because it is not held off until the stick is on the other side. The elliptical movement should bring the stick back about 2in behind normal position. It then.goes forward again and almost full opposite bank is necessary. The stick position in the turn should be a fraction forward of the normal flying position. If the stick is too far back it will produce a very fast initial turning moment after which the Camel will be apt to stall. About

Bank and rudder together. When almost enough bank is obtained bring the stick slightly back and over to the opposite side. It is necessary to hold off the bank while in the turn. A little bottom rudder is required to keep the nose in position. At first it will be found

extremely hard to prevent excessive speed from

building up on the steep gliding turn. To acquire Skill is a matter of practice in finding the correct

half left rudder is required to counteract the

position of the stick. Left and right turns are

rotary engine’s gyroscopic attempt to pull the

similar, owing to the absence of the gyroscopic

nose of the Camel above the horizon. To come

reaction which affects and differentiates left and

out of the turn, stick slowly forward, full right, and a little right rudder to stop swinging. Notice

right turns with engine power. To come out of the turns push the stick slightly forward with full

that the stick movement is different from that in

opposite aileron, and a little opposite rudder to

the Avro and that more left rudder is required.

prevent swing. Then centralise controls.

The vertical turn to the right with engine is quite different. To begin it, apply bank and slight rignt rudder together. When at about 45°, to counteract gyroscopic reaction of the rotary engine, right rudder is changed over progressively to left rudder. When sufficient bank has been obtained, bring the stick slightly to rearward of normal flying position and almost central laterally. It will be found unnecessary to hold off the bank to the extent that is required in the left turn. About three-quarter left rudder is required to hold the nose from dropping below the horizon. The nose can be brought up again from three or four feet below the horizon with left rudder. But if the nose goes too far down and the speed becomes excessive, bring the Camel out of the turn and start again. The best way to bring her out and prevent a spin resulting from stalling, or a nose down engine-on spin, is to push the stick slightly forward and apply right rudder. The fault made in letting the nose go too far down is usually that of bringing the stick too far back in the turn, but sometimes that of insufficient top rudder. The speed of the turn can be increased by feeling the stick back slightly and applying more left rudder, as required, up to maximum. To come out of the turn, stick over to the left and slightly forward, with a little

opposite rudder to check swing. This turn is quite different from anything that the pupil has

experienced in the Avro. Note that the Camel turns almost twice as fast to the right as to the left.

Climbing turns These may be divided into two classes: (1) the Climbing Turn and (2) the Turning Climb. To the left, give left bank and rudder, stick slightly back and across. The stick should be a little further back and a little less left rudder should be used than for the vertical turn with engine. To the right, bank and rudder to about 30°, feel the stick slightly back from normal flying position, then centralise the rudder. Control the nose with the rudder when near the top of the turn. To come out, stick well forward, opposite aileron, and a little opposite rudder. Always come out with sufficient soeed. Remember that

in a zoom or a Climbing turn the true speed slows a trifle sooner than the IAS.

Diving To dive the Camel it is fatal to push the stick forward. The result of this movement is to throw the pilot out and forward on to the guns or cowling, and he may even lose control for some time. The best dive is begun from a right climbing turn. When the nose of the machine is well above the horizon apply full right bank and right rudder. This sweeps the nose down. Then shut off the engine on the fine adjustment, centralise the rudder, and keep the machine in the dive with the stick forward as required. In this manoeuvre there is no feeling of falling out. The machine does not go over the vertical, as sometimes happens with the half roll or stall

99 THE PILOT’S VIEW

turn dive. When this method is used for target diving practice the Camel is under control the whole time and the nose can be directed at will. Do not pull quickly out of the dive. Allow the stick to come back slowly. The strain of pulling out suddenly is very heavy and is unfair to the structure. Soeeds of 200mph can be attained with safety. Avoid opening out the engine too quickly after a dive. The best way to prevent over-

rewing the engine is to regain the engine

It is much easier to roll to the right than to the left on the Camel. The method is the same. The Camel rolls much faster than the Avro. Full

rolling may be practised by the pupil on the glide. The first control movement for the half roll is the same as for the full roll. As the Camel turns upside down centralise the rudder and hold the stick straight back until she dives out, then move the stick forward and opposite slowly as the dive flattens. Finally centralise the stick.

throttled down and gradually open up as the speed falls off.

Looping The Camel loops in a very large circle. She

Stalling

cannot be pulled over quickly without stalling on

At low altitudes the Camel stalls at about 38mph. She dives out of the stall, but regains flying speed in about 100—200ft, depending

top of the loop. The easiest way to loop is at a speed of

upon the severity of the stall and the pilot’s ability to regain control quickly.

about 110mph. Ease the stick back very slightly,

as though for a zoom. Keep the nose straight with left rudder. When just beyond the vertical you may feel a desire to bring the stick further

Spinning

back. Check it. Hold the stick steady and the

The Camel spins fairly quickly. The easiest

Camel will fly right over the loop. At the finish of the loop the stick should be brought back further to come out quicker. If the Camel stalls on her back on top of the loop she may begin an outward spin. This derives from the inversion of the controls — stick back and left rudder. The inverted spin gives the pilot the feeling of being thrown out of the cockpit, whereas in the normal spin he is pressed into it. To come out of the inverted spin change to right rudder and bring the stick fully back and to the right. This brings the Camel into an ordinary right hand spin, from which she can be brought out as described under ‘Spinning’. If the Camel stalls on her back at any time this is the quickest method of getting her out again.

way to commence a spin, both for pilot and

machine, is to go in off a climbing turn by bringing the stick back slowly as the nose tends

to drop. In the spin, unlike the Avro, the Camel has a constant dropping speed provided the Stick Is fully back. To spin to the right, stick full back to the right, and about half right rudder. To come out stick very slightly forward of neutral and centralise rudder. The Camel comes out of a right spin in less than half a turn. Then allow time to gather flying speed. To spin to the left, stick full back to the left and about half left rudder. Come out in the same manner as for a right spin. The Camel is a little more sluggish in coming out of a left spin.

Rolling and half-rolling

Fighting the Camel

The best average rolling speed is about 75mph.

The Camel’s best fighting quality is her very fast right turn. This makes her an ideal machine for close-in scrapping.

It varies slightly with rigging differences.

Bring the stick back and to the right with a rapid movement, at the same time applying about three-quarters right rudder. Hold the controls there. The Camel rolls right over. The engine should be shut off as the initial movement of controls is made. When almost straight again, centralise controls and open out the engine.

100 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

She can be made to execute a very fast semi-flat spin turn, which is very useful. She can also perform a good upward and outward skid turn.

These qualities of soeedy manoeuvre make her more than able to hold her own with faster flying and quicker climbing stationary-engined

machines, provided the fighting is close in. The first quality in fighting the Camel is ability to hold this unstable fore-and-aft mount steady and to shoot straight on good, quick sighting. For this, thorough knowledge of the machine and of her excellent fighting qualities is required. The keen pilot desires to know his machine. He should study it. There is a very excellent chapter on the rigging of the Camel in the Air Board Technical Notes. Every Camel pupil should study this and strive always to get the best results from his aircraft. Keep it in good tune and it will repay you a thousandfold. The Clerget and Le Rhéne Camels’ best climbing speed off the ground is about 6Omph. As height increases the IAS should be reduced very gradually. The Camel can be sideslipped into a field on forced-landings. The best method is a forward sideslip with about 45° bank. It will be found difficult to prevent excessive forward speed on this sideslio without considerable practice. The pupil should ensure that he has mastered this in

the air (for example, by making sideslip forced-

landings on a cloud top) before attempting to make a sideslip landing. The Camel’s undercarriage is not resistant to excessive drift when landing.

Service experience s the war progressed and pilots learned

more about the qualities of the Camel,

Flying and Fighting the Sopwith Camel Always wear a belt or harness when flying the

Sopwith Camel, as there is a tendency to leave the seat when diving vertically. Do not turn to the right under 1,OO0Oft until you know the machine thoroughly, as the nose

has a tendency to go down and lead you into a spin. In a vertically banked turn to the right, use left or top rudder to keep the nose up, and do not pull the stick in so far as on a left turn. Ina

similar turn to the left you require a good deal of left or bottom rudder to keep the nose down.

When landing it is best to bring the machine down in calm weather at about 7Omph, gradually reducing speed as you near the ground. In windy or gusty weather it is better to

land faster than this.

Do not ‘buzz’ your engine whilst doing S bends near the ground. If you put your engine on whilst doing a right hand turn you are liable to sideslip and nose-dive to earth, or to stall on a left hand turn. Learn when coming down from a height, to get over the aerodrome at about 1,OO0Oft, and then land in the aerodrome without the help of your engine. It is the only way to learn to make forced landings successful. lf you must ‘buzz’ your engine when coming into the aerodrome, it is best to cut down throttle and fine adjustment to under 1,000 revs

before doing so. Do not forget to run your engine from

the following notes were written in the field by

your gravity tank from time to time. This is

various officers.

invaluable if your pressure tank is holed by

LEFT The officers of ‘A’ Flight,

4 Squadron,

Australian Flying Corps, some wearing full flying gear, with a line-up of Camels at their aerodrome near Clairmarais, on

16 June 1918. From left to right they are: Lt J. Browne, Lt C. Burton, Lt Scobie, Lt

R. Smallwood, Capt Arthur Cobby, Capt Roy King, Lt R. McRae, and Lt A. Lockley.

(AWM)

101 THE PILOT’S VIEW

RIGHT An official portrait of Lieutenant Colonel William George Barker VC DSO* MC**. His interim RAF uniform dates the photo to the period April 1918

to August 1919. ‘Billy’ Barker was a Canadian and among the best-known Camel pilots. He is officially credited with one captured, two (and seven

shared) balloons destroyed, 33 (and two shared) aircraft destroyed, and five aircraft ‘out of control’ - the highest ‘destroyed’ ratio for any RAF, RFC or

RNAS pilot during the conflict. (Library and Archives Canada)

RIGHT William George Barker was awarded the Victoria

Cross for his actions in a Sopwith Snipe

on 27 October 1918. While serving back in London at RAF HQ,

Barker persuaded his superiors that he

needed to get up-todate with the latest

combat techniques in France and was granted a ten-day roving commission. For this he chose one of the newly developed Snipes as his personal machine and attached himself to the Camel-equipped 201 Squadron, RAF, whose commanding officer, Major Cyril Leman, was an old friend. Barker’s VC was awarded after

he was attacked by 15 Fokker D.VIIs while flying alone. Despite twice fainting from three wounds, Barker continued the fight, downing four enemy aircraft and driving off the remainder before crash-landing behind Allied lines. The

Overseas Military Forces of Canada later recognised Barker as ‘holding the record for fighting decorations’ awarded in the First World War. (AFNZ)

102 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

BELOW

Major William Barker of No 28 Squadron,

flying a Camel on the Italian Front, circa 1917.

(Army/Crown Copyright)

‘Archie’ [anti-aircraft fire], or the pressure falls for some other cause.

In a strong wind, do not attempt to taxi in until you have men on both wingtips. Learn to manoeuvre with a purpose — that of bringing your guns to bear on the hostile

machine without him being able to fire at you. Practise the following: A quick change to an entirely opposite direction by vertically banked or climbing turns.

This is useful in diving onto an EA [enemy aircraft], especially a two-seater approaching in an opposite direction, but remember to start your turn some 50/100 yards in front of the machine you intend to attack, or you will find yourself too far behind on completing the turn. Also used to throw an EA off your tail. Vertical Dives Learn to shoot whilst diving as steeply as possible. You can practise this both on the range and by taking a sight through the Aldis on any ground object, and diving as steeply as possible on to it. It is best to do this by shutting the throttle completely until the dive is finished. A vertical dive is most likely to surprise the EA you are attacking and offers him a poor target. A Camel may be dived vertically quite safely for thousands of feet, if it is not pulled out roughly.

full rudder. Take off rudder when upside down,

ABOVE

and you will come butter-side up in normal

Camel pilot Captain

Sopwith

flying position. The war value of this manoeuvre

MacGregor of

is not great, but it might be used to impress an EA when attacking and to offer a poor target.

3 Squadron is pictured trying out the cockpit of a captured Fokker

A Loop

D.VIl in 1918. It was a

This is a difficult manoeuvre to perform well

type he would

on a Camel. Different pilots advise different

have encountered in

methods. One way is to put your nose down to

aerial combat on many occasions.

(3 Squadron Archives)

A Spin To do this, shut off the engine and put the machine in a bank, kick on bottom rudder and

pull in the stick. To come out of the spin push the stick forward and take off the rudder. This manoeuvre is useful in losing height quickly, to attack a machine much below you, or in throwing off an EA diving on your tail. In the latter case do not go into a spin unless other

methods such as a Stall turn fail, as a spin always means loss of height, and is not as quick a way of getting down as a vertical dive.

A Roll To do this, get the machine going about 70/80mph preferably, with, or without the engine. Pull back the stick sharply towards the right elbow, in case of a roll to the right, which

the top of a loop.

is the easier, and almost simultaneously kick on

(British Official)

LEFT A Camel at

103 THE PILOT’S VIEW

about 90/100mph and then pull the stick back slightly and a little to the left, at the same time kicking on some left rudder. A Camel loops more easily with the engine off. A loop, or even a semi-loop, is useful in throwing an EA off your tail and getting on to his.

Formation Flying on Sopwith Camel (As practised on Active Service.)

Engines will be run punctually at half-an-hour before the formation is due at the lines, stopped

BELOW

A 208

Squadron F.1 Camel after coming to grief following a dogfight in France in May 1918.

(British Official)

and any minor adjustments made. Twenty minutes before machines are due at the lines all engines will be restarted and machines will get off as quickly as possible after the leader. Be punctual. The leader will circle round the aerodrome at from 2,000ft to 5,000ft according to the height of the clouds until all machines are in their correct positions. The ground signal K will be put out or a red Very Light fired directly all machines are safely off the ground. The leader will understand from this signal that he may leave for the lines directly all machines are in formation. The ground signal W will indicate that he must continue to circle round the aerodrome. Try and leave the ground as soon as possible after your leader, also to pick up the formation without delay. Watch to see whether he is making right or left hand circuits and cut_

across to a point a mile or more ahead of him

immediately on leaving the ground. If you are overshooting on an inside turn, throttle down or shut off your engine, and dive and climb continuously in a vertical plane. Do

not S turn in a horizontal plane. Follow your leader. If he should dive on hostile machines endeavour to follow him down as closely as possible, so as not to lose

formation. It is criminal to break formation in order to attack odd Huns. Act when your leader acts, but not before. Before a fight there are only two reasons which justify you in leaving the formation, (a) a failing engine, (b) both guns jammed. lf your engine drops revs whilst you are in the formation and some distance over the lines it is much safer to fly under the formation even if you are several thousand feet below them, than to straggle behind on the same level. Experience has shown that the best formation on Camels is the open V, all machines being very nearly on the same level.

Notes on Low Flying and Shooting 1 Try your gravity tank and learn to switch over instantly from pressure to gravity. Gravity tank

lasts about 34 hour or 75 miles, in a dead calm 2 Fly over the barrage at 2,000 to 3,000ft and then dive down to 1,500 to 1,000ft, or fly

round the barrage if its limits are defined 3 At 1,000ft you will probably be safer at a mile or more east of the barrage than nearer to our lines, as you are then away from the trench machine-gun zone, and too low for Archie to hit you 4 Fly as fast as possible and change your

course frequently so as to make it difficult for machine-guns to range on you 5 When a good target is seen, dive down steeply to SOOft or lower and fire, and then turn quickly away

6 Do not attack the same body of troops twice unless they are obviously demoralised by

your fire, but search for another target where they are not prepared for you. It takes time to bring a ground machine-gun into action 7 When returning, it is better to climb well east of the lines and cross trenches over the barrage, or fly fast and low round it

104 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

8 Remember that the evidence of German prisoners shows nothing is more demoralising to the troops than attack by aeroplane. If you can give timely notice of a counter attack after demoralising them by machine-gun fire, you will be doing more than battalions of infantry could hope to achieve 9 Suitable objects to attack are: Infantry and bodies of troops on roads and in the open: railways; transport, horsed or motor; guns on roads or retiring from emplacements; staff cars; machine-guns; balloon winches; ammunition dumps; barges on canals; and the odd Hun 10Learn to find your way about low down

LEFT

An RFC

captain’s tunic. (Jarrod

Cotter)

BELOW A pair of original RFC pilot’s gloves. (Jarrod Cotter)

BOTTOM A pair of original RFC pilot’s

A.S.W. Dore

wings, with medal

Major,

ribbons for the DSO**,

Commanding No 40 Training Squadron Royai Flying Corps

MC and the Imperial

Russian Order of St George. (Jarrod Cotter)

rders for

Forced-Landing

If you have a forced-landing, the following particulars will be telephoned immediately to the squadron office, if possible personally to the commanding officer or recording officer. Failing that, the telephone operator will take them down: 1. Where are you exactly? 2. What is wrong with your machine and what spares do you need? . Where are you phoning from? . Can you take off all right? At what time did you land? . When will you be able to start? Aw OA (a) Where did you leave the formation? (b) Did you see any EA? (c) Have you anything special to report? W.S. Douglas Major, Commanding No 84 Squadron

Royal Flying Corps In the field, 19 October 1917

Letters from the Front (™ econd Lieutenant Guy Mainwaring Knocker Sv regularly sent letters home detailing his experiences flying Camels in France with 65 Squadron. These were published in The Diary

bic,

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3& cy 5

and Letters of a World War | Fighter Pilot

105 THE PILOT’S VIEW

fellows fell out with dud engines, leaving six of us, we then went over the lines again. Then we saw some Allbatrii below us and five above and some more knocking about. Jack [Gilmour] and | dived on the ones below, the others stayed up and above. | saw Jack get on the tail of an Albatros, the Hun then made for me nose-on firing, so | pressed my thumb pieces and fired straight into him. His nose dropped and he fell over sideways and started to go down in a spin slowly at first and then faster and faster. | didn’t see him crash but | have claimed him as ‘out of control’. Jack and another fellow confirmed this. | think | slew him all right. Then | turned away and suddenly heard poppop-pop-crack-crack very close behind me. |

pulled my old bus into a right-hand climbing turn when suddenly — smack! — something hit my elbow! Ha, | thought! I’m wounded. Exit me! So ABOVE

Aircrew of 22

Squadron hand over their papers before flying a sortie during the First World War,

(Pen & Sword, 2008), written by his grandson Christopher M. Burgess. His regular mount was Camel F.1 B2419, which he nicknamed ‘Pooh-Bah’. The following two letters outline the demise of that Camel.

in accordance with the notice ‘Empty your pockets before

going on patrol’. This precaution was taken to prevent

information reaching the enemy in the event

of a forced landing. In the background are some of the unit’s Bristol Fighters on

the flight line at Serny

aerodrome on 17 June 1918. (British Official) RIGHT

From

September 1917 No 3 Squadron

became a fighter unit equipped with Camels. Here some of the squadron’s Camel pilots inspect a captured

Fokker D.VII. (No 3 Squadron Archives)

106 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

3 February 1918 Another thriller! Today 12 of us went out on

OP [offensive patrol]. We went well over the lines and found about 13 or 14 Huns below us. These were followed and they all dived away from us as hard as they could. Then a lot of our

| changed my climbing turn into an ‘Immelman’ and went down in a nearly vertical dive engine full out! Gee, | was going some! Presently | flattened out a bit and looking round saw that confounded Hun still on my tail firing like heck! They all went above me though. Then | saw a Camel dive on the Hun and he left off from following me! That was Jack who had seen me go down pursued by the Hun and had followed him; he shot him down ‘out of control’ and pretty well saved my skin. | came home and found that a bullet had passed right through the elbow of my Sidcot

LEFT A 32 Squadron Camel returns to Humieres Aerodrome,

near St Pol, circa 1918.

(British Official)

suit without cutting my tunic, a near thing, what! | also found that another bullet had cut through a longeron in my fuselage and broken a spar in my left bottom plane and another had missed my petrol tank by about 2 inches. Why my old bus didn’t fall to bits in that dive | don’t know! The total of that scrap was four Huns — Jack got two, one smoking and one out of control. Bill got one and | got the other. Bill had an end-

one; | expect | shall have the rigging altered to suit my own particular style of flying. | don’t suppose it will loop as well as Pooh-Bah. | had looped her so often that | simply had to say ‘Loop’ and she looped herself.

| was up on Reserve Patrol this morning but we only saw seven Albatrii well east of the road and they didn’t worry us so we had no scrap.

| was not on the OP but there were no Huns

on shot and got five bullets in his engine, he

about anyway. | went over to lunch at No 32

managed to crawl home with his engine firing

and saw Northwood. Flying back | did a simply

on about four cylinders. We lost nobody — thank

priceless climbing turn off the ground.

God. So once again only three of us did any scrapping against pretty good odds and two of

the three were in ‘C’ Flight — Vive ‘C’ Flight! Bon enough! Awfully glad | have got another Hun. Am very fit and happy. Thanks for your two letters — hope you are awfully fit. Must catch

the post.

4 February 1918 My bus has been ‘written off as it was pretty

LEFT An emotive

well shot up yesterday and it has done 160

monument made from

hours. Today Jack put a couple of revolver

two aircraft propellers

bullets into the other longerons to make sure of it, ‘Murder Most Foul’ | call it — it is a good thing though as it was getting old and now | am getting a brand new one. | am awfully sorry to lose Pooh-Bah though — it has done me jolly well and had been in a good many merry scraps — in fact it was a good old pal of mine. RIP anyway. | shall take some time to get used to my new

in St Nicholas’s church, Piddington, Oxfordshire, to Lt Richard Stone, a 201

Squadron Camel pilot killed in action in France on 9 August

1918. (Motacilla)

107 THE PILOT’S VIEW

STARTING THE CAMEL victories while serving with 9 Squadron, RNAS, and 201 and 208 Squadrons, RAF, wrote these notes on starting the Camel: Upon settling into the cockpit, the pilot ensured that both magneto switches were off (1) and that the petrol fine-adjustment lever was closed (2) before turning the petrol tap on to main tank. Turn on the cock below the air

pump (3 and 4) and hand pump up to 1¥lb/in?; at this pressure the relief valve should blow off. Open the petrol

£208

A pilot about to start his Camel ready for a patrol in

1918. (British Official)

fine-adjustment by pushing the short lever for about onehalf of its travel (5). Answer the mechanic’s call of ‘Switches Off’, ‘Petrol On’, ‘Suck in’. While the propeller is being pulled round, move the long lever on the quadrant controlling the barrel throttlevalve a little way forward (6) until a sucking, gurgling noise is heard as the petrol is drawn through the barrel throttle in the hollow crankshaft into the rotating crankcase. The mixture passes through the crankcase and up the induction pipes to the overhead inlet valves. While the propeller is being turned round, the oil pump will be drawing pure castor oil from the oil tank and forcing it into the crankshaft bearings, timing gears, master and slave big-ends and cylinder walls; all of which are being scoured by the petrol vapour, the castor oil being insoluble in petrol. After several turns of the engine the propeller is turned back to a position about 10 o’clock (7), then the mechanic

shouts ‘Contact’. The pilot puts both switches ON (8), pulls the petrol fine-adjustment lever nearly right back, the throttle half open (9), and replies ‘Contact’. The mechanic pulls the propeller down smartly; and in turn has his arm or belt pulled hard by the rigger to get him clear of the propeller as the engine fires (10).

i

THE PILOT’S VIEW

‘Air show audiences love seeing these aircraft fly. They bring such joy, entertainment and education. I’m loving presenting new aircraft to audiences as

much as presenting new movies. ’ Sir Peter Jackson,

film producer and driving force behind The Vintage Aviator Ltd

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Chapter Five

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Class of engine where flights of short duration

period of military

|

aviation, the Technical Notes were remarkably

eds

only are contemplated so that the advantages

authoritative. (Air Board)

of low weight of engine per horsepower will

and is passed through the bearings, etc, over

not be counterbalanced by the relatively large

and over again. Under such circumstances its lubrication properties are gradually destroyed,

BELOW A mechanic

the oil becoming gummy and acid. In stationary

attends to a Camel’s

|

engines mineral oils are generally used, but a mixture of a large proportion of castor oil,

rotary engine. (British Official)

|

amount of fuel and oil to be carried.

The rotary engine is also regarded as being less reliable than the stationary, and engines of the type require more frequent overhauling. The average rotary engine must be taken down after

|

— with a small proportion of mineral oil, Known

about 40 hours running whilst most stationary

as Wakefield’s Castrol, is also in use, and pure

engines can be relied upon to run some 100 hours without overhaul. From this point of view,

castor oil is recommended in certain cases. The castor oils in general use are

however, and in the rotary engine in particular,

Pharmaceutical Castor Oil and Treated Castor

a very great deal depends upon the design

Oil. Castor oil deposits solid fats at low

|

|

of the engine and upon the materials and workmanship employed in its manufacture, as

well as upon the skill of the fitters responsible for its overhaul and adjustment. Three out of the four principal rotary engines have steel cylinders

without liners, and the pistons are fitted with obturator rings which, in the hands of careless or unskilled mechanics, would prove a source of perpetual trouble.

Lubrication — The importance of efficient lubrication in aero engines cannot be overestimated and none but suitable oil of the very best quality should be used. In engines of the rotary type, a heavy vegetable oil, such as castor oil, is generally used. Under the conditions of use, oils of this type do not mix with petrol of which a certain amount is always present in the crankcase of a rotary engine. Pure castor oil forms an extremely good lubricant but is not the best for use in stationary engines where the oil is in circulation

137 THE ENGINEER’S VIEW

temperatures and should not be stored in

Rolls-Royce — Epicyclic reduction gear is fitted

cold places. When castor oil is used, the

so that propeller rotation is the same as the engine. Also, Rolls Engines are built for either

engine oil filter should be examined to detect this deposit. The mineral oils in general use are known as Vacuum ‘A’ and Vacuum ‘BB’ and mixtures of these are also used. In general, oils are prepared in summer and winter qualities. Petrol — Petrol tanks should be kept scrupulously clean, and on no account should water be allowed to enter. Petrol of

low sg [specific gravity] ensures easy starting, complete combustion and saving in weight, but the supply of petrol of a lighter sg than about .720 is restricted. Fuel and Oil Consumption — The approximate average petrol consumption for engines of the rotary class is 0.095 gallons per hour per horsepower, and the consumption of lubricating oil is about 0.135 pints per hour per horsepower, or some 18% of the petrol consumption. In the case of stationary engines, the corresponding figures are 0.08 gallons for petrol and 0.04 pints for oil. The oil consumption being some 6% of the fuel consumption. In both classes of engine some of the lubricating oil is actually consumed in the engine, but in the rotary engine the bulk is ejected from the exhaust valves. In a stationary engine a certain amount is blown through the breathers, etc, but the bulk is returned to the sump in gradually diminishing quantities. The oil in the sump, having passed repeatedly through the engine, eventually becomes unsuitable for use and must be drained off and replaced by fresh oil. Direction of Rotation — |n practically all engines used by the RFC, the direction of rotation is counted clockwise as seen from the propeller end. In rotary engines and in all stationary engines where the propeller is direct driven, the direction of rotation of the propeller will of course be the same as that of the engine, but in most stationary engines fitted with speed reduction gear, the propeller turns in the opposite sense to the engine shaft. The principal exceptions to this rule are as follows: Radial Engines — Rotation usually clockwise as seen from the propeller end

138 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

direction of rotation Magneto Speeds -— The revolving-armature type magneto gives two sparks and the revolving-shield type four sparks per revolution. In the four-stroke engine a spark occurs in each cylinder every second revolution of the engine, so that a four-cylinder engine requires two sparks and an eight-cylinder engine four sparks per revolution. It follows therefore that a revolving armature magneto for use with a four-cylinder engine must be driven at the same speed as the engine. Also, a revolving shield magneto driven at engine speed is suitable for use with an eight-cylinder engine. In all other cases the magneto must be driven at a speed bearing a relation to the engine spec indicated by the following formula: RPM of magneto = RPM of engine x number of cylinders fired by magneto 2 X Sparks per revolution of magneto

Order of Firing — \n aero engines where, from considerations of weight, a flywheel is

undesirable, evenness of torque or turning moment is a primary consideration. To obtain the most even turning moment the angle through which the crank, or the engine, moves between any two consecutive explosions must be the same. This angle is found by dividing the number of degrees moved through in any one cycle (two revs) by the number of cylinders as follows:

@ Angle between any two consecutive impulses = 720°/Nc

M Where 720° = number of degrees in one cycle (two revs) and Nc = number of cylinders. Rotary Engines — |n a nine-cylinder rotary

engine, for example, the angle moved through between any two consecutive impulses or explosions will be 720/9 = 80°. In such an engine the cylinders are spaced at angles of 40° so that every other cylinder is

fired as it passes the ignition point and with the usual system of numbering, the order of firing

will be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 2, 4, 6, 8. Rotary engines having an even number of cylinders cannot be arranged to give an even turning moment and such engines are not built, excluding the 18-cylinder ‘two line’ or double rotaries, which,

cooled engines, see that the water circulating system is in order, and contains the proper

quantity of water. It is usual to allow about 2% for expansion of water when hot.

When an engine has been standing, its

from this point of view, are to be classed as

cylinders will be filled with air or inert gas, and,

two separate engines. In a rotary engine with eight cylinders, for example, the correct angle

in order to start up, this must be replaced by an explosive charge. In stationary engines this

between impulses would be: 720/8 = 90° and the cylinder spacing 45°.

is done by turning the engine, with air intakes closed, and petrol on, when a rich mixture will

The order of firing, 1, 3, 5, 7, intervals, but a further 90° would again, leaving only the possibility of 45° to No 8, or of 185° to No which is permissible.

gives 90° bring in No 1 of a step 2, neither of

be drawn into the cylinders and the inert gas expelled. In rotary engines this method alone

is not practicable, owing to the large volume of the crankcase through which the mixture passes on its way to the cylinders. In engines of this class, therefore, it is usual before starting to

Engine running notes

‘dope’ or ‘prime’ the cylinders by injecting petrol

Preliminary — Skill in engine running is mainly

through the exhaust valves. Some stationary

a matter of experience, but a very great deal

engines, eg the Rolls, are also fitted with a

depends upon simple deduction and logical reasoning.

induction pipes, and so facilitates starting up.

Every engine trouble is the result of one or more defined causes and as a rule is accompanied by symptoms from which the cause may be deduced. In any case a clue is obtained from the manner in which the engine fails. For example, sudden stoppage, unaccompanied by the obvious symptoms of internal breakage or ‘seizing up’, can only be due to complete failure of fuel supply, or ignition system, and in such a case it would be against the dictates of common sense to open up the engine, or even to inspect the sparking plugs.* In the hands of a capable mechanic an engine in good condition should start with certainty and ease. When the engine is running, symptoms should be detected, and recognised, before any trouble fully develops, and in case of failure resulting from the more common causes, the fault should be located immediately, or at the most, after a brief inspection of the engine.

Starting Up — Before starting an engine, turn it over once or twice, note that the valves are not sticking, and that the compressicn is normal.

See that there is a sufficient supply of petrol and oil for the run, and that the oil is of the right

quality and consistency. In winter it may be necessary to warm up the oil, or, in the case of castor oil, to thin it down with methylated

spirit, which may be added in a proportion not exceeding half a pint to the gallon. In water-

priming pump, which sprays petrol into the

Existing engines are started up by one or the other of the following methods: 1 Prop swinging (rotary and low-powered stationary engines) 2 Hand driven starting magneto

(Beardmore, Green, etc) 3 Mechanical hand starting gear (Clerget) 4 A combination of (2) and (8), (Rolls,

Hispano, Salmson) 5 Compressed air (Sunbeam, 220HP Renault). Prop Swinging — The usual procedure is as follows: The mechanic, before approaching the propeller, calls out ‘Switch off. Petrol on. Air closed. Suck in.’ The pilot turns the switch knob downwards, turns on the petrol, adjusts the throttle, closes the extra air intakes and repeats the words of the mechanic. The mechanic, then gripping the propeller by each blade in turn, pulls the engine over, in its normal running direction, until the cylinders are charged. He then stands clear and calls out

‘Contact’. The pilot turns the switch knob upwards and calls out ‘Contact’. The mechanic then grips the propeller blade and making sure that he has a sound footing, pulls the engine sharply over compression and stands clear.

139 THE ENGINEER'S VIEW

Hand Driven Starting Magneto — The procedure is as above but after the word

‘Contact’ the mechanic remains standing clear while the pilot starts the engine by vigorously cranking the starting magneto. (The starting

magneto should not be left ‘on’ when the engine is running.) Mechanical Hand Starting Gear — The cylinders are charged by turning the engine with the hand gear. While the engine is being turned over as fast as possible by this means, the switch is put ‘on’ and the starting handle is thrown out of gear. Mechanical Hand Starting Gear with Starting Magneto — In this case the starting magneto is usually geared to the starting handle and is switched ‘on’ when the cylinders have been charged as above.

Compressed Air — Air under high pressure is supplied to a small starting motor or directly to

each of the engine cylinders in turn through a distributing valve driven by the camshaft. The

air cock is opened and the engine is driven by compressed air until the cylinders are charged, when the switch is put ‘on’ and the cock closed. Failure to Start — This may be due to: 1 Initial impulse lacking in vigour 2 Incorrect adjustment of throttle 3 Incorrect mixture 4 Engine out of order. To start an engine it must be swung over compression at reasonable speed. A mechanic exhausted by unsuccessful attempts to start a stubborn engine will be unable to produce sufficient energy into the swing and should make way for a ‘fresh’ man or take a short rest while looking over the engine to make sure that everything is in order. Most engines will start best with a particular adjustment of the throttle, which should be carefully noted. Where the carburettor has a slow running adjustment it is usual to start with the throttle quite closed. In other cases the throttle is set partly open, usually about % to Y% but never fully open. An explosive mixture contains approximately 18 volumes of air to 1 of petrol vapour and if the petrol vapour is present in a much greater or lesser proportion the mixture will be too strong or too weak and will explode with greatly reduced force or not at all.

140 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

The vaporisation of petrol is assisted by heat and when starting a cold in winter, the spirit will be vaporised. This results in a considerable excess of

engine, particularly only partially weak mixture unless petrol is provided for

by flooding the carburettors, or ‘doping’ the cylinders or induction pipes. In warm weather

and especially when starting with the engine hot, it is easy to get too strong a mixture into the cylinders. When an engine fails to start for this reason, it should be turned over in the anti-normal direction through two or more revolutions in order that the mixture may be weakened by the addition of air drawn in

through the exhaust valves. In looking over an engine that fails to start

ascertain that the ignition system is in working order and that the plugs are clean, sound and correctly coupled to the distributor. See that there is no loss of compression through leaky valves, plugs, etc, and look for possible air leaks

in the induction pipe joints. As a final measure the timing should be checked.

Instructional Notes on the Vickers Gun Issued by the Air Council

Care and cleaning IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECT Careful attention should be given to this branch of the instruction, in order that the gun may fulfil to the utmost of its power any task demanded of it from a mechanical point of view, and in order to obtain the maximum results when care is applied.

GENERAL POINTS The instructor should explain the necessity of the following: a Guns should be examined daily after

cleaning b Avoid damage to gun through careless handling c

Never play with the crank handle unless

the lock is in the gun. The reason for this is that the interrupted flange of the connecting rod dents the bottom plate d Never keep the lock spring compressed unnecessarily

€ See that the milled head brushes are kept secure

f See that all points taught in Stripping and Examination of Gun are observed g The browning on the barrel and gun must be preserved, as it is a protection against rust.

WEAR IN BORE Wear in the bore of machine-guns is due to three causes: a_ The friction of the bullet b The heat generated when ammunition is fired

c_ The friction of the pull-through gauze when the bore is being cleaned Undue wear is caused by improper and unnecessary use of the pull-through gauze, to prevent which it is most important that instructions for cleaning be adhered to.

HIGH POLISH OF INTERIOR OF NEW BARREL The interior of a new barrel carries a high polish, and this is a safeguard against rust and metallic fouling, but it must be recognised that as the bore becomes worn this polish will diminish. Efforts to restore it with wire gauze on the pull through result in unnecessary wear. But though

the polish may diminish, it must be understood that the lands should be bright and free from

clean, but it can only be detected in the centre of the bore by use of the gauge plug. It is a cause of inaccuracy and, if the gun shoots badly for no apparent reason,

its presence should be looked for as a

possible explanation.

REMOVAL OF FOULING Fouling may be removed by the following means: a_ Internal Fouling - This may be removed satisfactorily by the use of boiling water. If for any reason this method cannot be used, the barrel will ‘sweat’, and a hard black crust of fouling will appear in the bore. This will turn to red rust if not removed, and the barrel will then require repeated cleaning with flannelette and with gauze, for a time that will vary according to climatic conditions and the state of the bore b Superficial Fouling — This is readily removed when warm by the use of a

|

cleaning-rod and flannelette, but if it is

|

allowed to remain long in the barrel it will

|

become hard, and will have a corrosive

|

effect equal to that produced by internal

fouling c Metallic Fouling — This is removed by the use of the double-pull-through, or by

/

Kynoch’s Nickel Solvent.

stain of rust or fouling.

DAILY CLEANING KINDS OF FOULING In order that the instructions for cleaning may be understood, it is essential that the causes of fouling in barrels should be briefly explained. Fouling may be said to be of three kinds: a_ Internal — caused by the forcing of the products of combustion into the pores of the metal b Superficial - caused by the deposit in the bore of the solid products of the charge and of the cap composition c Metallic (nickelling) - caused by a portion of the cupro-nickel envelope of the bullet being left on the bore. It appears as a whitish streak on the lands, or as a roughness on the edge of the grooves. If deposited near the muzzle or the breech, it is visible to the eye when the bore is

The outside of the gun should be cleaned daily, all parts of the mechanism being wiped with an oily rag. The bore will always be left oily. To clean the mechanism, a mixture of equal parts of oil, lubricating, GS, and paraffin

should be used. If any parts are clogged with dried oil, spirits of turpentine should be used to remove it. After each part is cleaned, it

should be thoroughly dried and slightly oiled. The lubricating oil used in warm weather should be a mixture of equal parts of GS and P.924, while in cold weather P.924 alone

should be used. Hanging the lock and moving the recoiling portions by working the crank handle affords a ready means of oiling the recoiling portions and the bearing parts of the barrel, ie just in front of the trunnion block (which can be got at by

141 THE ENGINEER'S VIEW

it should be thoroughly removed, for paraffin,

The object of the gauze is mainly to scour out the grooves, and it should therefore fit the bore tightly. When it fails to do this it should be partially unrolled and packed with paper or

though an efficient agent for removing rust,

flannelette, to increase its bulk.

does not prevent its formation.

Grit must be removed from the gauze and pull-through before use, and the gauze should

WEEKLY CLEANING

be thoroughly oiled. Cleaning with gauze entails wear of the bore. Gauze should therefore not be pulled through the barrel more often than is laid down here without sufficient cause. The surest way of

removing the feed block), and, at the muzzle end, in front of the packing gland. When paraffin has been used, all traces of

The gun should be thoroughly overhauled and cleaned each week. The oil should be removed from the bore, and replaced by fresh oil. In cases where the bore has once become rusty, it should be wiped out with flannelette, and then

preventing the necessity of the continued use

cleaned with the gauze on the pull-through.

of gauze is to keep the bore well oiled, so as to prevent rust. A barrel which has become

HOW TO USE THE CLEANING ROD @ Remove outer casing of muzzle attachment and muzzle cup.

@ Raise rear cover. @ Lift out lock and rest it on rear cover, or remove it if considered necessary.

@ Insert a piece of oily flannelette in the eyelet of the cleaning rod. i See that flannelette surrounds the cleaning rod. W@ Insert cleaning rod from muzzle, and fix the movable bush. @ Work rod forwards and backwards centrally with axis of bore. @ If rod is difficult to withdraw, no cross strain

must be applied, otherwise rod will snap.

@ Remove oily flannelette, and replace it by dry flannelette 4 inches by 2.

142

one which has been kept in good condition. It will therefore require more attention, and more frequent cleaning with gauze. Similarly, a barrel in which erosion has commenced will require

more care than one of which the surface has not been attacked for, the corroded portion being rough, moisture is more likely to collect on it and form rust. It is also more difficult to remove rust thoroughly from a rough surface than from a smooth one.

HOW TO USE THE DOUBLE PULLTHROUGH Place gunmetal protector on muzzle to keep

cord central. Fix the barrel in a vice, or have

@ Finally, leave bore slightly oiled.

it held firmly by one man, while two others, helping with their free hands to keep the barrel

NB — Flannelette used for cleaning purposes

steady, pull the cord backwards and forwards

need not be thrown away; if washed, it is again

until the fouling or rust is loosened. When the

quite serviceable.

gauze is worn out, it should be replaced by one

HOW TO PUT ON A GAUZE It is necessary, in the case of a rusty barrel, to use the gauze in weekly cleaning. Wire gauze in pieces 2% inches by 1% inches is supplied, and should be used for the removal of hard fouling or of rust. In attaching the gauze to the pull-through, turn the shorter sides towards the upper, so that the longer sides take the form of an ‘S’. Open the loop of the pull-through, and put one side of it in each loop of the ‘S’. Then coil each half of the gauze tightly round the portion of

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

rusty will always be more liable to rust than

of the spare pieces which are issued with each double pull-through.

Note — With the Perivale barrel holder, only two men are needed. When signs of wear appear, a new cord should be taken into use, to avoid the risk

of the pull-through breaking in the bore. If a breakage does occur, the barrel must be taken at once to the armourer. No attempt should be made by the gunner to remove the obstruction.

the cord over which it is placed, till the two rolls

CLEANING WITH BOILING WATER An effective means of cleaning the bore,

thus formed meet.

whether firing has taken place or not, is

found in the use of boiling water. Before this

is used, superficial fouling and grease should be removed. About 5 or 6 pints should be poured through the bore from the breech, a funnel-being used for the purpose. Before this is done, the barrel should be removed from the gun. The bore should then be thoroughly dried and oiled. Not only does the boiling water remove the fouling, but the expansion of the metal, due to the heat of the water,

6 See that the gun is accurately fixed upon

its mounting 7 Examine ammunition chutes and box, to see that they are correctly fitted 8 See that the link-belts are correctly prepared, and placed correctly in the ammunition box

9 See that the sights are properly harmonised 10

loosens any rust there may be, and makes it easily removable.

BARRELS: PACKING FOR STORE When guns are returned to store, packed for transmission, or stowed away in any place where they cannot be readily examined, the barrels and unpainted parts should be coated with ‘Composition, preserving, arms’. The mixture is to be made hot, and a piece of flannel dipped in it, with which the exterior parts will be dabbed. To coat the inside of the barrels draw a bunch of lamp cotton, well saturated with the mixture, through from both ends. The lamp cotton is to be attached to a piece of twisted Copper wire.

Make sure that the loading-handle is correctly fitted, and not hindering the

11

movement of the crank handle See that the Foroto spring and rear cover

12

spring are properly fixed Check tools and spare parts

13

See that the first round is engaged in front of the bottom pawls 14 Test the fitting and timing of the gear 15 If facilities allow, fire short bursts on the range. NOTE — Since the gun is only air-cooled, it must only be fired in short bursts on the ground, time being allowed for cooling between the bursts. During Flight Fire occasional short bursts to prevent the working parts from becoming clogged by

Points to be observed before, during and after flight (or range practices)

congealed oll. The gun should be unloaded before landing.

Before flight (or range practices) — Under the supervision of the gunnery officer: 1 See that the barrel is clean and dry 2 Oil frictional parts lightly with P.924 in winter, and a mixture of GS and P.924 in summer 3 Weigh the recoiling portions for method, see section on Repairs and Adjustments.

After flight (or range practices) - Under the

The gun must be in a horizontal position,

and the recoiling portions should not weigh more than 2lb 4 Weigh the fusee spring for method, see

section on Repairs and Adjustments. The tension of the fusee spring should be such as to obtain the maximum fire efficiency of the gun, viz, 600 rounds per minute. This tension should, however, not exceed 12lb 5 Inspect the muzzle attachment. The disc should be clean and bright. The .0S washer should be in position, and the muzzle cup clean and screwed on tightly

supervision of the gunnery officer:

1 Unload 2 If possible, remove recoiling portions and take them to the armoury, where they should be thoroughly cleaned and then re-oiled 3 Clean the non-recoiling portions, removing clogged oil by means of petrol or spirits of turpentine. Then re-oll 4 Refill the ammunition box. All unused ammunition must be re-tested 5 Examine chutes, to see that they are not

damaged or displaced 6 Examine sights to see that they are not damaged 7 Enquire of pilot if stoppages have occurred, or if any defects have been

apparent in the action of the gun. Such defects should be noted and remedied immediately.

THE ENGINEER'S VIEW

Dimensions:

Wingspan 28ft; length 18ft Qin; height 8ft 6in

All-up weight:

1,453lb

Powerplant:

One nine-cylinder rotary of either 180hp Clerget, 150hp Bentley B.R.1, 110hp or 180hp Le Rhdéne, 100hp or 150hp Gnome Monosoupape type

BELOW

A United

States Army Air Service Camel. (US National Archives)

AA SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Performance (figures for 130hp Clerget):

Maximum speed 117mph at sea level, 113mph at 10,000ft; climb to

Armament:

Two synchronised 0.303in Vickers machine guns on top of forward fuselage with Sopwith-Kauper mechanical or Constantinesco hydraulic interrupter gear. Many also carried up to four 25lb Cooper bombs under the fuselage. Home defence fighters were fitted with twin 0.303in Lewis guns on Foster mounts above the top wing centre section

10,000ft 10 minutes 35 seconds; service ceiling 19,000ft

LEFT ‘Comic’ was the nickname for the

Camel modified for night-fighting duties. Its nose-mounted twin Vickers machine guns have been replaced with a pair of Lewis guns fitted to Foster mounts above the top centre wing section.

The cockpits of the Comic Camels were moved slightly aft from the standard position to allow for reloading

the Lewis guns and a non-standard headrest

was fitted. (British Official)

Sopwith Camel test data he first batch of RNAS Camels, delivered to France in June 1917 with the unimproved early A.R.1 engine, appear to have had little better performance than

the early RFC Camels, since although this Admiralty version appears to have been somewhat faster than the Ruston, Proctor (RP)-built Clerget and the Le Rhone Camels (111.5mph at 10,000ft, as against 104.5mph for the Clerget Camel, and 108.5mph for the Le Rhdéne Camel), it was slower than both the standard Clerget Camel (113mph at 10,O000ft) and the Sopwith-built Le Rnéne Camel (111.5mph at 15,000ft). Although the modified ‘intermediate’ A.R.1/ B.R.1 Camel (with the 2mm holes drilled in the induction pipes) improved on this (110mph at 15,000ft), and was better than the early R&P Clerget and Le Rhéne Camels, it was still not as fast as the Le Rnéne Camel or the Clerget (113.5mph at 15,000ft). The final version of the B.R.1 (high-compression) Camel (with a level speed of 114mph at 15,000ft) was slightly

faster than the Le Rhoéne Camel and roughly equivalent to the Clerget Camel. In climb performance both the early RNAS A.R.1 Camel (5 minutes 30 seconds to 6,500ft/9 minutes 50 seconds to 10,000ft/ 20 minutes to 15,000ft) and the ‘intermediate’ A.R.1/B.R.1 Camel (6 minutes 30 seconds/ 9 minutes 25 seconds/18 minutes) were better than either the R&P Clerget Camel (6 minutes 40 seconds/11 minutes 45 seconds/23 minutes 15 seconds) or the standard Clerget Camel (6 minutes/10 minutes 35 seconds/20 minutes 40 seconds), but both were slower than either the RFC’s Le Rhéne Camel (5 minutes 15 seconds/9 minutes/17 minutes 20 seconds) or Le Rhéne Camel (5 minutes 10 seconds/ 9 minutes 10 seconds/16 minutes 50 seconds). The Clerget Camel was faster still (6 minutes/ 8 minutes 30 seconds/15 minutes 45 seconds), although the final high-compression B.R.1 Camel was just marginally faster (4 minutes

35 seconds/8 minutes 20 seconds/15 minutes 55 seconds) than the Clerget Camel.

145 APPENDIX 1

Camel production Prototypes: F.1/1, F.1/2 and F.1/3 unnumbered,

plus two Admiralty prototypes N517 and N518; 2F.1 prototype NS.

F.1 (approximately 5,500 built) Sopwith Aviation Co Ltd, Kingston upon Thames,

Surrey (600): N63830-N6379, B3571-B3950, B6201-B6450 and F8496-F8595. Boulton & Paul Ltd, Norwich (1,625): B5151-B5250, B9131-B9330, C1601—C1700, C3281-C3380, D6401-D6700, D9131—D9530, F1301-F1550, F1883-F1957, F6301-F6500, F8646-F8695 and H2646-H2745. British Caudron Co, Cricklewood, London (100): C6701-—C6800. Clayton & Shuttleworth Ltd, Lincoln (600): B5651-B5750, B7181-B7280, D38326-D3425, D9581-D9680, E4374-E4423, F38096-F3145 and F4974-F5073 (some of the latter batch are believed to have been cancelled). Hooper & Co Ltd, London (875): B5401-B5450, C1551-C1600, F2083-F2182, H734—-H833 (night-fighters) and H7343-H7412 (some of the latter batch are believed to have been cancelled). Marsh, Jones & Cribb Ltd, Leeds (175): C8301-—C8400 and F5174-F5248. Nieuport & General Aircraft Co Ltd, Cricklewood, London (300): C1—C200, F3196-F3245 and F3918-F3967. Portholme Aerodrome Ltd, Huntingdon (250): B4601-B4650, B7131-B7180, D9531—-D9580, E5129-E5178 and F1958-F2007. Ruston, Proctor & Co. Ltd, Lincoln (1,575):

B2301-B2550, B5551—B5650, B7281-B7480, C8201-C8300, D1776-D1975, D8101-D8250, E1401-E1600, E7137-E7336, F2008-F2082 and F3968-F4067.

ABOVE

First contracted to build the RAF

B.E.2c in 1915, Ruston, Proctor & Co built more than 2,000 aircraft and in excess of 3,000

engines in purpose-built factory buildings in the Boultham area of Lincoln. The firm was the country’s largest supplier of engines and employed more than 3,000 men and women

in

aircraft production. Towards the end of 1915 it began building the Sopwith 112 Strutter and, in

1917, the iconic Camel. Rustons built a large number of the 5,500 Camels manufactured

during the war and by the time of the Armistice in November 1918 had completed almost 1,600.

The 1,000th Camel off the assembly line was

2F.1 (approximately 230 built) William Beardmore (200): N6600-N6699, N6800-N6949 and N7100-N7149. Hooper (30): N8130-N8159.

146 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

painted in an Egyptian winged sun scheme and used for publicity. It is seen here with the management and employees. (Lincolnshire Archives/Lincolnshire County Council)

REAR

Santer:

:

TSR

LEFT Hoping to

encourage women to join the Women’s

Land

Army, ‘Munitionettes’ pull a Ruston-built

Camel along Monks Road in Lincoln during 1917. (Lincolnshire Archives/Lincolnshire County Council)

4

a

APPENDIX 2

Camel squadrons RFC in France: 3, 43, 46, 54, 65, 70, 71, 73, 80, 151, 152 RNAS in France: 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13 (became 201, 208, 204, 208, 209, 210 and 213 Squadrons, respectively, on the formation of the RAF on 1 April 1918)

RAF in France: 3, 43, 46, 54).65, 70,71, 73, 80; 151, 182, 201,203, 2047 208,209, 210; 243 RAF in the UK: 37, 44, 50, 51, 61, 75, 78, 81, 89, 94, 112, 143,155, 1375 188, 182, 123, 250) 260, 214 RAF in Italy: 28, 66, 139, 225 ABOVE

A 44 Squadron Camel night-fighter during a dramatic, head-on low

pass at Hainault Farm around 1918. The squadron was one of the Home

RAF in Greece: 17, 150

Defence units. (British Official)

RAF in the Aegean: 200, 222 BELOW

Up to 50 Camels served the Belgian Aviation Militaire from 1917

until 1922. This is F.1 Sc.62 being prepared for a static show at Wilrijk in the

RAF in Russia: 47

early 1920s. (Guy Destrebecq Collection/Belgian Wings)

Other operators: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United States plus numerous others.

148 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

in ©) EE

eS

Glossary (First W orld

Se

el

War parlance)

Acceleration — The rate of change of velocity

at the wing top, the operation of which turns an

Aerodrome — The name usually applied to a

aeroplane about its longitudinal axis; causes an aeroplane to tilt sideways Airscrew (propeller) — A surface so shaped that its rotation about an axis produces a force (thrust) in the direction of its axis Air speed indicator — An instrument used for measuring air pressures or velocities. It consequently indicates whether the surface is securing the requisite reaction for flight. Usually calibrated in miles per hour, in which case it indicates the correct number of miles per hour at only one altitude. This is owing to the density of the air decreasing with increase of altitude and necessitating a greater speed through space to secure the same air pressure as would be secured by less speed at a lower altitude. It would be more correct to calibrate it in units of air pressure Albatrii — Slang for a group of Albatros scouts Altimeter — An instrument used for measuring

ground used for the practice of aviation. It really

means ‘flying machine’, but is never used in that sense today

Aerofoil — A rigid structure, of large superficial area relative to its thickness, designed to obtain, when driven through the air at an angle inclined to the direction of motion, a reaction from the air approximately at right angles to its surface. Always cambered when intended to secure a reaction in one direction only. However, in normal practice the term ‘aerofoil’ was replaced by the term ‘surface’, which, while academically incorrect since it does not indicate thickness, is a term usually used to

describe the cambered lifting surfaces, ie, the ‘planes’ or ‘wings’, and the tailplanes and the controlling aerofoils Aeronautics — The science of aerial navigation Aeroplane — A power-driven aerofoil with

stabilising and controlling surfaces Aileron — A controlling surface, usually situated

BELOW A line-up

of the formidable

Albatros scouts of an unknown Jagdstaffel (fighter squadron) at an unidentified

aerodrome. At the time the commonly used

altitude Angle of incidence — The angle at which the

for numerous Albatros

‘neutral lift line’ of a surface attacks the air

scouts was ‘Albatrii’.

British pilot slang term

149 APPENDIX 4

Angle of incidence, rigger’s — The angle the

the direction of motion when the propeller is

chord of a surface makes with a line parallel to

revolving, but the aeroplane stationary Archie — Slang for anti-aircraft fire Aspect ratio — The proportion of span to chord

the axis of the propeller Angle of incidence, maximum — The greatest angle of incidence at which, for a given power,

surface (including detrimental surface), and

of a surface Bay — The space enclosed by two struts and whatever they are fixed to

replica, B3889, flying

weight, horizontal flight can be maintained Angle of incidence, minimum — The smallest angle of incidence at which, for a given power, surface (including detrimental surface), and weight, horizontal flight can be maintained Angle of incidence, best climbing — The angle of incidence at which an aeroplane ascends most rapidly. An angle approximately halfway between the maximum and optimum angles Angle of incidence, optimum — The angle of incidence at which the lift:drift ratio is highest

with TVAL’s original

Angle, lateral dihedral — The lifting surface of

lift wires are Suspended

Bristol F.2b Fighter,

an aeroplane is said to be at a lateral dihedral

CCS - Casualty Clearing Station Centre of gravity — The centre of weight Chord — Usually taken to be a straight line between the trailing and leading edges of a surface CO — Commanding officer Control lever — A lever by means of which the controlling surfaces are operated. It usually operates the ailerons and elevator. Often called the ‘joystick’

BELOW

Seen here is

The Vintage Aviator Ltd’s Sopwith Camel

D8084. This formation clearly shows the difference between a single-bay biplane (Camel) and a two-bay biplane (Bristol F.2b), where the term ‘bay’ refers to the space

between two struts and whatever they are attached to.

(Gavin Conroy)

angle when it is inclined upward towards its wingtips Angle, longitudinal dihedral — The main surface and tail surface are said to be at a longitudinal dihedral angle when the projections of their neutral lift lines meet and produce an angle above them Angle, rigger’s longitudinal! dihedral — Ditto, but substituting ‘chords’ for ‘neutral life lines’ Angle, pitch — The angle at any given point of a propeller, at which the blade is inclined to

BEF — British Expeditionary Force

Biplane — An aeroplane of which the main

lifting surface consists of a surface, or pair of wings, mounted above another surface, or pair of wings Bracing — A system of struts and tie-wires to transfer a force from one point to another

Bus — Pilot’s slang for their own fighter. Included Camels, Nieuports, R.E.8s, SPADs and S.E.5s

Cabane -— A combination of two pylons, situated over the fuselage, and from which anti-

Dihedral — The angle between two planes Dope, to — To paint a fabric with a special fluid for the purpose of tightening and protecting it Drift (of an aeroplane as distinct from the propeller) — The horizontal component of the reaction produced by the action of driving through the air a surface inclined upwards and towards its direction of motion PLUS the horizontal component of the reaction produced by the ‘detrimental’ surface PLUS resistance due to ‘skin-friction’. Sometimes termed ‘headresistance’ *Drome — Short for aerodrome Dud - A useless day/failed action/poor weather, etc EA — Enemy aircraft Edge, leading — The front edge of a surface relative to its normal direction of motion Edge, trailing — The rear edge of a surface relative to its normal direction of motion Efficiency, engine — Brake horsepower/ indicated horsepower

malt no 4 £. L

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Efficiency, propeller — Thrust horsepower/ horsepower received from engine (= propeller drift)

Elevator — A controlling surface, usually hinged to the rear of the tailplane, the operation

of which turns an aeroplane about an axis

transverse to the direction of normal horizontal flight Empennage - See Tailplane Fin — Additional keel-surface, usually mounted at the rear of an aeroplane Flying position — A special position in which an aeroplane must be placed when rigging it or making adjustments. It varies with different types of aeroplane. Would be more correctly described as ‘rigging position’ Fuselage — That part of an aeroplane containing the pilot, and to which is fixed the tailplane

Gap (of an aeroplane) — The distance

between biplane. between Gravity,

the upper and lower surfaces of a In a triplane or multiplane, the distance a surface and the one first above it specific (sg) — Density of substance/

density of water. Thus, if the density of water is

10lb per unit volume, the same unit volume of

petrol, if weighing 7lb, would be said to have a specific gravity of 7/10, ie, 0.7 Hangar — An aeroplane shed HD — Home Defence Horsepower — One horsepower represents a force sufficient to raise 33,000Ib 1ft in a minute Inclinometer — A curved form of spirit level

used for indicating the altitude of a body relative to the horizontal Instability — An inherent tendency of a body, which, if the body is disturbed, causes it to

move into a position as far as possible away

from its first position Joystick — See Control lever King post — A bracing strut; in an aeroplane, usually passing through a surface and attached to the main spar, and from the end or ends of which wires are taken to spars, surfaces, or other parts of the construction in order to prevent distortion. When used in connection with a controlling surface, it usually performs the additional function of a lever, control cables connecting its ends with the pilot’s control lever Lift — The vertical component of the reaction produced by the action of driving through the

air a surface inclined upwards and towards its direction of motion

Loading — The weight carried by an aerofoil. Usually expressed in pounds per square foot of superficial area Longeron — The term usually applied to any long spar running lengthways in a fuselage Mags — Magnetos, which are part of electrical ignition system MB - Medical Board Monoplane — An aeroplane of which the main lifting Surface consists of one surface or one pair of wings Nacelle — That part of an aeroplane containing the engine and/or pilot and passenger, and to which the tailplane is not fixed

ABOVE

In the spring

of 1916 the Fokker

Eindecker monoplane was responsible for inflicting mounting casualties on RFC

aircrew. Britain desperately needed

better fighting machines and the

answer was the Bristol M.1 monoplane. Its performance was

superior to later types

like the S.E.5 and Sopwith Snipe, but

Napoo - Useless/no good

it found little favour

OP - Offensive patrol Pancake - To stall Pitch, propeller — The distance a propeller advances during one revolution Supposing the air to be solid Pitot tube — A form of air speed indicator consisting of a tube with open end facing the

with the War Office.

wind, which, combined with a static pressure

of suction tube, is used in conjunction with a gauge for measuring air pressures or velocities Plane — This term is often applied to a lifting surface. Such application is not quite correct, since ‘plane’ indicates a flat surface, and the lifting surfaces are always cambered Propeller — See Airscrew

Only five squadrons in the Middle East and Macedonia were partly equipped with the M.1C. This

is the Shuttleworth Collection’s Bristol

M.1C replica, C4918, seen flying at Old

Warden. (Jarrod Cotter)

151 APPENDIX 4

Stagger — The distance the upper surface is forward of the lower surface when the axis of the propeller is horizontal Stall — To give or allow an aeroplane an angle of incidence greater than the ‘maximum’ angle,

the result being a fall in the lift:drift ratio, the lift consequently becoming less than the weight of the aeroplane, which must then fall, ie, ‘stall’ or ‘pancake’ Stress — Burden or Strut — Any wooden merely the stress of Strut, interplane —

load member intended to take direct compression A strut holding the top and

bottom surfaces apart Tailplane — A horizontal stabilising surface

mounted at some distance behind the main

lifting surface Tailskid — A piece of wood or other material,

ABOVE

A Fokker Dr.I triplane out on the flight line at Hood Aerodrome

awaiting a mock dogfight with Allied fighters, including TVAL’s Sopwith Camel. (Jarrod Cotter)

Rib, ordinary — A light, curved wooden part

mounted in a fore and aft direction within a surface. The ordinary ribs give the surface its camber, carry the fabric, and transfer the lift from the fabric to the spars Roll — To turn about the longitudinal axis RP — Reconnoitre patrol Rudder — A controlling surface, usually hinged to the tail fin, the operation of which turns an

aeroplane about an axis which is vertical in

normal horizontal flight; causes an aeroplane to turn to left or right of the pilot Rudder bar — A control lever moved by the

pilot’s feet and operating the rudder

152

consisting of a barrel into each end of which is screwed an eyebolt. Wires are attached to the eyebolts and the required

degree of tension is secured by means of rotating the barrel Undercarriage — That part of an aeroplane beneath the fuselage or nacelle intended to support the aeroplane when at rest, and to absorb the shock of alighting Windscreen — A small transparent screen mounted in front of the pilot to protect his face from the air pressure

Span - The distance from wingtip to wingtip

Wing - Strictly speaking a wing is one of the surfaces of an ornithopter. The term is, however, often applied to the lifting surface of an aeroplane when such surface is divided into

Spar, main — A spar within a surface and to which all the rigs are attached, such spar being the one situated nearest to the centre of pressure. It transfers more than half the lift from the ribs to the bracing Stabiliser — A surface, such as fin or tailplane, designed to give an aeroplane inherent stability

two parts, one being the left-hand ‘wing’, and the other the right-hand ‘wing’ Wire, bracing — Any wire holding together the framework of any part of an aeroplane Wire, control — A wire connecting a controlling surface with the pilot’s control lever, wheel, or rudder bar.

Sideslip — To fall as a result of an excessive ‘bank’ or ‘roll’

SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

orientable, and fitted with shock absorbers, situated under the tail of an aeroplane in order to support it upon the ground and to absorb the shock of alighting Tea party — A dogfight or air battle Tripe — Slang for a triplane Triplane — An aeroplane of which the main lifting surface consists of three surfaces or pairs of wings mounted one above the other Turnbuckle — A form of wire tightener,

ae Air Board Rigging Notes — Sopwith Biplane F.1 Air Board Technical Notes — Engine Running Notes Air Board Technical Notes — Engine Running Faults Air Board Technical Notes — General Air Board Technical Notes — 100hp Monosoupape Air Board Technical Notes — 110hp Clerget Author unknown, Flying and Fighting the Sopwith Camel (written in the field, circa 1918) Author unknown, Rules for Aerial Firing (written in the field, circa 1918) Instructional Notes on the Vickers Gun (FS Publication 31, Air Board, 1918) Barber, Captain, RFC, How to Fly an Aeroplane — The First World War Pilot’s Manual (1917) Bowyer, Chaz, Sopwith Camel — King of Combat (Glasney Press, 1978) Burgess, Christopher M. The Diaries and Letters of a World War | Fighter Pilot (Pen & Sword, 2008) Dawe, A.S.W., Major, CO No 40 Training Squadron, RFC. Notes on Low Flying and Shooting Douglas, W.S., Major, CO 84 Squadron, RAF. Orders for Forced Landing (written in the field, 19 October 1917) Guttman, Jon, Sopwith Camel (Osprey Publishing, 2012) Halley, James J., The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (Air-Britain, 1980) Jefford MBE RAF, C.G., Wing Commander, RAF Squadrons (2nd Edition) (Airlife, 2001) Johns, W.E., Captain, Biggles of the Camel Squadron (Dean & Son Ltd, unknown dated reprint) MacMillan OBE MC AFC, Norman, Captain, Camel Handling Notes Mason, Francis K., The British Fighter Since 1972 (Putnam, 1992) Prins, Francois, Father of the RAF (2010) Prins, Francois, Founding the Royal Flying Corps (2010) Robertson, Bruce, British Military Aircraft Serials 1911-1971 (lan Allan, 1971) Venables, David, Brooklands — The Official Centenary History (Haynes, 2007) Training Manual Part 1 (Royal Flying Corps, 1914)

LEFT

Part of the

author’s reference library in his home office, seen here after

being ‘plundered’ for his most recent book projects on the Sopwith Camel and

Supermarine Spitfire. (Jarrod Cotter)

153 BIBLIOGRAPHY

SSO

ee

ee

eee

ee

Aeroplane sheds 126, 136

Bond, Peter 7, 40, 42, 63, 76-77, 79

Data plate 63

Air Board Technical Notes 123 Engine Notes 136-140 Rigging Notes 129-136 100hp Monosoupape engine 86-88 110hp Clerget engine 88-93 Airco D.H.4 15 Air Council 28 Airfields in France and Belgium Aéroport Pau Pyrénées 59 Fienvillers 38 Humieres, St Pol 39, 107 Lechelle 63 Merville 29 Nancy 30 Pas de Calais, Bruay 29 Petite Sythe 39 Rang du Fliers 127 Serny 106 Toussus Le Noble 59 Wilrijk 148 Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917 28

Boulton & Paul Ltd 146

Dawson, Lt S. 35-36

Bristol Fighter 26, 106, 115

DeMarco, Gene 7, 40, 65, 94, 111, 113-119,

British & Colonial Aeroplane Co Flying School 18 British Army Air Battalion, Royal Engineers 18-19 Larkhill flying facility 18 tanks, Mk | and Mk IV 10 British Caudron Co 146 British Expeditionary Force (BEF) 20, 150 Brooklands, Surrey 19, 23, 29 Brown DSC*, Capt A.R. ‘Roy’ 32 Browne, Lt J. 101 Brussels museum 43 Buller, Sir Redvers 18 Burgess, Christopher M. 106 Burns, Hilary 47 Burton, Lt C. 101

121-122 DGAC inspection 74 Dickson, Capt W.F. 35-36 Dore, Maj A.S.W. 105 Douglas, Maj W.S. 105 Drawings; original plans 42-43, 47, 52, 57, 77, 81-83, 111

Air Ministry 22, 28

Airships 19; R23 36-37 Zeppelins 25-26, 33, 35; L53 31; L54 35; L60 35 Albatros 7, 106-107, 120

D.| 73 D.Il 73 D.IIl 35 DAWAD WET, WZ, We Armament (See also Machine guns) 25 ammunition chutes and magazines 50, 72 Cooper bombs 31, 85 50lb bombs 35 Armistice, 11 November 1918 6, 14, 30, 37, 146

Armstrong, Lt W. 1014

Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 12-13 Australian Flying Corps (AFC) 101, 113, 128,

13 4 Squadron 29, 31, 101

5 (Training) Squadron 128 6 (Training) Squadron 30-31 Avro

500 20 504K 96-99, 114, 117, 121 Barber, Capt 123

Barker VC, DSO*, MC*, Maj William George 27, 102-108 Battle of Britain 7, 31 Battle of Omdurman 18 Battle of Saint-Mihiel 30 Battle of the Somme 10-11, 13, 21 Beckmann, Lt Ludwig ‘Lutz’ 63 Belgian Aviation Militaire 148 Biggles (James Bigglesworth) 9, 15 Biggles books 6-7, 15 Blériots 20 Blyth, Flt Sub Lt 120 Boer War 18, 27-29

154 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Caldwell, Keith ‘Grid’ 118 Camel name 24, 73 Carter, Lt William Charles 12 Cerny-La Ferté Alais, France 59, 61 Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) 28-30 Christie, Dr David 14 Churchill, Winston 30 appointed Secretary of State for Air, and for War 30 Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand 112

Classic Fighters Marlborough air show 40, 118, 120 Classique Aero Service 42 Clayton & Shuttleworth Ltd 146 Cobby DSO, DFC*™*, Capt Arthur H. 26, 101

Cockpit 47-53, 67, 73, 78-80, 83, 96, 115116, 145 blip button/switch 80, 115-116 control column (stick) 54, 96-98, 100, 103-104, 115, 133 spade grip 52-53

engine controls 97 flight controls 51, 538, 98, 133-134 fuel mixture levers 79 gun sights 52 instrument panel (dashboard) 48-49, 53, mS, Bil, WHS instruments 49-51, 78, 115, 149-152 machine gun buttons 80 pulsator 93

seat 45, 47-48, 68, 79-80, 101 windscreen 52-58, 152 Collett, Capt Clive 40, 120 Colour schemes and markings 26, 29, 58, 64-65, 120, 146 Committee of Imperial Defence 18-19 Control cables 54, 77, 79, 81, 134, 152 Controller of Aircraft Supplies 22 Courtney, Brig Gen 30 Cross & Cockade magazine 42 Culley, Lt S.C. 31 Curtis, Fit Lt W.A. 120

Dropped from airship R.23 36-37 Dundas, Henry Robert 18 Ebora Propeller Co 125 E.C. Picher Ltd 62 Empennage 57-58 elevators 58, 77, 96, 98, 115, 151

fiMSS i ieaol fixing 133 horizontal stabiliser 57 rudder 58, 77, 83, 94, 98-100, 108, 115, Nae, WSh WES se tailplane 58, 77, 82, 152

Engine parts 59-60 connecting rods 86, 90-91 crankcase 86, 89 crankshaft 86, 89 cylinders 86, 89-90 hand-starting gear 93, 140 pistons 86, 90 rocker arms 90-91 spark plugs 119 valves 87, 91 Engine operation 59-60, 125, 128, 136-140 blipping 17, 119

buzzing 98, 101 cycle of operations 87, 91 exhaust valve setting 91 failing 104 ignition timing 88, 92 inlet valve setting 92 starting 108, 116, 139 valve timing 87-88, 91 Engines, radial 136, 138

order of firing 138 Rolls-Royce 138

Engines, rotary 22, 112, 124, 137-140 Bentley A.R.1 145; B.R.1 144-145; B.R.2 89 Clerget 110hp 28, 73, 88-93, 96, 98, 101, 145; 9B 130hp 42, 59-60, 90, 144 Gnome Monosoupape 100hp/150hp 86-88, 93, 116, 144; 160hp 5, 40, 80, 93, 114-115, 119-120 Le Rhéne 110hp/180hp 89, 98, 101, 117,

127, 144-145 Engines, Vee 136-137 Etrich Taube (Dove) 12

Excess Profits Act 21 Exhaust system 91-92, 115

Fabric covering 58, 64, 67, 84, 123-125,

120, VEO

Fairing of gun breeches, 24, 73, 85 Fairey Battle 120 Films Aces High 7, 113 Lord of the Rings trilogy 112 Over the Front: the Great War in the Air The. Blue Max 7, 113 The Great Waldo Pepper 7, 114 The Hobbit 112 First carrier strike 33-36 First flights 23, 65, 114 Flight logs 126 First solo flights 96-97 Flight tests and data 24, 145 Flying techniques 94 climbing turns 99, 108 diving 99-100, 101, 103-104 fighting (See also Service experience) 100-101, 104-105 formation 104 gliding 98, 117, 119 looping 100, 103-104, 107 low flying 104-105 rolling and half-rolling 100, 103 shutting off the engine 98-99, 103 spinning 100, 108, 114 stalling 100-101, 114, 119, 152 steep turns without engine 99 sideslip 101, 152 straight and level 117 turns 117

vertical turns with engine power 98-99 Flying training 96 preliminary ground instruction 96 Fokker 115 D.VIl 102, 117 D.VIIl 117 Dr.l 12, 24, 68, 117, 119-120 scout 106 Frederick Tibbenham Ltd 125 French, Sir John 20 Fuel system 44-46, 115-116

air pump 93 carburettors 47, 92-93 consumption 138 filler caps 45

gravity tank 44-45, 96, 101, 104 hand air pumps 44, 46, 80

German Naval Airship Service, Tondern base

33, 35-36 Gilmour, Jack 106-107 Gotha bombing raids 24, 29 Great War Display Team 63 113

Ground crew 30, 116 Hammond, Lt A.W. 12-14

Handling and manoeuvrability 24, 67, 78, 96, 108, 114 ground-handling 119 Harvey-Kelly, Lt H.D. 20 Hawker, Harry 23 Henderson, Gen Sir David 18-21, 27-28 knighted as KCVO 28 Henderson (née Dundas), Henrietta Caroline 18 Henri and Maurice Farmans 20 Hooper & Co Ltd 146

Ignition system 78, 88, 92, 117, 119 magnetos 88, 92, 138, 140, 151 Independent Air Force 30 Jackson, Sir Peter 7, 110-113, 118-119 Jackson, Capt W.D. 35-36 Johns, Capt W.E. 6, 9, 15

Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge 118 Keys DFC, Lt R.E. 37 King George V 19 King, Capt Roy 101 Kitchener, Lord 18 Krakow museum 43

Fuselage 43-44, 63-64, 67, 72, 77, 82-83, Tiley, kev ako armour protection 31 bracing wires 125, 152 construction 43-44, 75-76 longerons 77, 151 metal fittings 74 plywood decking 84 spars 132, 152 truing-up 129-132 woodwork 42 G&M Aerotanks 45 Garner, Grant 45

Gas attacks 11 George, Lloyd 30 German Air Force, Jasta 6 63

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) 118 Distinguished Service Order (DSO) 18 Military Cross (MC) 14, 118 Queen’s Medal 18 Victoria Cross (VC) 12, 14, 102 Ministry of Defence building, Whitehall 28 Morane 115

Napier of Magdala, First Baron 18 New Year's Honours list 1918 29; 1919 28 New Zealand Flying School, Kohimarama 118 Nieuport & General Aircraft Co Ltd 116, 146 Nieuport 11 117, 119 1914-18 Aviation Heritage Trust 112, 118 Nose cowling 53, 61, 63, 69 115-116 Northern Aeroplane Workshops 42-43, 121

Observation balloons 18-19, 35, 102 Oil pump 92-93, 119 Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum 7, 114 Old Warden Park Estate 120-121 Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, NZ 118 Classic Fighters Marlborough air show 40, 118 Knights of the Sky exhibition 12, 118, 127

Operation F.7 33 Other operators of the Camel 148 Overseas Military Forces of Canada 102

Landing 96, 98, 101, 119 downwind and crosswind 119

forced 101, 105-106 ground loop 119 three-point 119

League of Red Cross Societies, Geneva 28 Letters from the Front 105-107 Leman, Maj Cyril 102 Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II 9 Loraine, Capt Eustace 29 Lyttelton, Brigadier-Gen 18 London Gazette 14, 32 Lubrication systems 93, 116, 135, 137 total loss oil system 116

main tank 44-45, 63, 84

oil tank 44-45 petrol 138 Rotherham pump 44, 80, 84 throttle fuel assembly 46, 79

McLeod VC, 2nd Lt Alan Arnett 12-14 McLeod, Robert J. 67 Mannock, Edward 113 Medals Blue Max (Pour le Meérite) 7, 32, 113, 118 Croix de Guerre 102; (Belgium) 118

Machine guns 83 jamming (fouling) 84, 104, 141 Lewis 0.303in 10, 12, 24, 31, 37, 144-145 synchronised 9, 11, 14, 22, 73, 84, 144 upward firing 31 Vickers 0.308in 12, 14, 22, 24, 31, 37, BSG) eh (keh, Oh WAS Instructional Notes 140-143 MacMillan OBE, MC, AFC, Capt Norman 16, 96 Maintenance of aeroplanes 123-143 care of aeroplanes 124-126 overhauling 133-134 repairs 126-129

Mainwaring, 2nd Lt Guy 105 Marine Luftschiff Abteilung 36 High Seas Fleet 36 Ausonia aircraft carrier 36 Marsh, Jones & Cribb Ltd 146

Marshalling on the ground 135 May, Lt 32 McCudden, James 113

Palen, Cole 114, 119 Passchendaele Ridge 11 Performance 67, 115, 117, 144-145

rate of climb 116, 145 speed 100-101, 117, 145 Perry, Copeland 29 Pilatus P2 63 Popular Flying magazine 15 Portholme Aerodrome Ltd 146 Pre-flight 115 machine gun inspection 143 walkaround inspection 115 Production figures 25, 115, 120, 146 Propellers 53, 61-62, 80, 112, 125, 149-151 bolts 62 pitch 150-151 swinging 139 Propeller boss 53 RAF (Cadet) College, Cranwell 30 Recruitment posters 21, 26, 28, 124 Replica Sopwith Camels 5, 7, 9, 40 et seq. authenticity 112 Replicraft plans 57 Research 42-43, 112 Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust 120 Rickenbacker, Eddie 118 Rigging 101, 107, 128, 129-136, 150

Roles bombing 33-36 fighter 31, 37, 100-107 ground attack 31, 105 night-fighter 24-25, 37, 145, 148 warship attack 31

155 INDEX

Rothermere, Air Minister Lord 28-30 Royal Aeronautical Club certificates

19, 29 Royal Aircraft Factory 21-22 B.E.2/B.E.2a 19-20, 115; B.E.2c 146 Riles 12 Sine Slese 2. Wis, vie Royal Air Force (RAF) 9, 148 Advanced Air Striking Force, France 31 formed 11-12, 27-28, 30, 148 School of Aeronautics, Oxford 131 3 Squadron 67 17 (Reserve) Squadron 9 22 Squadron 106 32 Squadron 39, 107 74 Squadron 118 84 Squadron 105 112 Squadron 37 201 Squadron 28, 38, 102, 107-108, 1382 203 Squadron 108, 127 208 Squadron 104 210 Squadron 136 212 Squadron 37

Royal Flying Corps (RFC) 11, 19, 148 Central Flying School, Upavon 19, 29,

96-97 Military Wing 19, 29 Naval Wing 19

Toronto training facility, Canada 97 Training Manual 122, 124-129 cap badge 20 founding 16, 18-19 pilot’s wings brevet 21, 105

reconnaissance flights 11, 13, 20 tradesmen 124 2 Squadron 12 38 Squadron 106 8 (Training) Squadron 26 13 Squadron 12 28 Squadron 103 40 (Training) Squadron 105 43 Squadron 12 44 Squadron 24-25, 148 66 Squadron 58 70 Squadron 24

73 Squadron 26 Royal Flying Corps/RAF airfields Benson 120 Hainault Farm 25, 148

Leighterton 26 Minchinhampton 30-31, 128

Netheravon 20 Pulham 37 Throwley 37 Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) 18, 22, 25,

27-28, 145, 148 renamed from RFC Naval Wing 1 April 1914 19

1 (Naval) Squadron 28, 38 3 (Naval) Squadron 24 4 (Naval) Squadron 24 6 (Naval) Squadron 24 8 (Naval) Squadron 24 9 (Naval) Squadron 24, 108 10 (Naval) Squadron 120 Royal Navy HMS Argus 37

HMS Furious 33-36 HMS Violent 35 Ruston, Proctor & Co Ltd 145-146

156 SOPWITH CAMEL MANUAL

Salisbury Plain 19 Salmond, Maj Gen John 29 Scapa Flow 33 Scobie, Lt 101 Service experience 101-107 Shaw, John S. 7, 40, 42, 47-48, 54, 59-61, 63, 74 Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden 7, 15,

42-48, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88 120-121 Shuttleworth, Dorothy 120 Shuttleworth, Richard Ormonde 15, 120 Siegwald, Patrick 42

injuries and illness 29 knighted as KCB 29; as KCVO 30 promoted from ACM to first Marshal of the

RAF 30 resignation from RAF 30 TVAL (The Vintage Aviator Ltd) 5-7, 40, 64, 94, 110-120, 134 Hood Aerodrome workshops, Masterton 94, 111-112, 116-117, 119-120 Omaka Airfield (See also Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre) 113

Sigrist, Fred 73

Udet, Ernst 118

Smallwood, Lt R. 101 Smart, Capt B.A. 35-36 Smith, Herbert 23 Smuts, Gen Jan 27 Society of British Aircraft Constructors (GBAC) 21-22 Sopwith Aviation Company 23 badge 23 Camel Fl 14, 16, 28,27, 69; 94, 104; 106, 114, 144, 146, 148 F.1/3 Comic 145 PE NZ4-25) Ole Oy, SO-57 9140 We. prototypes 23-24, 146 two-seat 96-97 ufo) 22, 1S), WA Snipe 6-7, 14, 37-38, 102, 112 Tabloid 23

Undercarriage 57, 63, 69, 83-84, 101 134-135, 152 bracing 84

Triplane 22, 73

1% Strutter 146 Sopwith, Thomas O.M. 23, 29 Specification 31, 144 power-to-weight ratio 115 weight distribution 67 Stone, Lt Richard 107 Storage of spare planes 129 Stores and spare parts 128-129 Supermarine Spitfire 9; XIV 9 Sykes, Lt Col 29 Sykes, Gen Frederick 30

WENSMC Si, 75 Sy WS, WIS) WSs, WS2 Tail unit - see Empennage Take-offs 97-98, 104, 116 from aircraft carriers 33-36 from lighters 31 Taxying 96, 108, 115, 119 Theatres of operation

Aegean 148 Belgium 113, 148 France: 20), 25) 87,73, icy 1450148 Greece 37, 148 Italy 25, 37, 108, 148 Middle East 113 North Sea 35 Russia 37, 148 Western Front 10, 12, 113 The Times 28

Thyne, Capt T.K. 35 Trenchard, Brig Gen Sir Hugh 20-21, 28-30 appointed CAS 30 appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner 30 created Baron of Wolfeton 30 Father of the RAF 28-29 handed command of the RFC 20-21, 29

frame 57 truing-up 132 tyres 57 wheels and axles 57, 98, 119 Uniforms and flying clothing 27, 101-102,

105-107 United States Air Force (USAF) Edwards Air Force Base 9 US Air Service 30, 144 1st Aero Squadron 118 17th Squadron 39 148th Squadron 39 von Richthofen, Rittmeister Baron Manfred (‘Red Baron’) 32

War Cabinet 27 War memorials and monuments

Anglo-American, St Paul’s Cathedral 31 Australian, Canberra 113 Battle of Britain Chapel, Westminster

Abbey 31 St Nicholas’s church, Piddington 107 War Office 18-19, 21, 29 Websites 58 Weingarth, 2nd Lt Jack Henry 31 Weir, Air Minister Sir William 30 William Beardmore 146 William, Prince 118 Williams, Lt N.E. 35-36 Windsock Datafiles 42 Windy weather 135 Wings 44, 55-56, 67, 77, 96, 1382-133, 152 ailerons 77, 96, 115, 117, 149 attaching 132 bracing wires 77, 152 centre sections 55-56, 81-82 construction 55-56 dihedral 73, 150 lower 55, 73, 82, 132 metal fittings 74 ribs 54-55, 79 spars 132, 152

struts 56, 81-82, 97, 152 truing-up 132-133 upper/top 55-56, 73, 82 Women’s Land Army 147 Workshop organisation 126-129 Wright, Wilbur 18 WWI Aero Historians 42

WWI Aero magazines 42

Yeullett, Lt W.A. 35-36

SOPWITH

CAMEL

1916-20 (F.1/2F.1) Think of the First World War and then think of an aircraft. What springs to mind will probably be the Sopwith Camel. The single-seat Camel was. one of the most successful RNAS/RFC/RAF ‘scouts’ (the period term for a fighter) of the war, but its success was largely due to delays with its more advanced sibling, the Sopwith Snipe. Although considered difficult to fly with its big and powerful rotary engine, in the hands of an experienced pilot the Camel offered unrivalled manoeuvrability. The concentrated firepower from its twin synchronised machine guns packed a serious punch and was responsible for downing 1,294 enemy aircraft. Later in the war the Camel also served as a ground-attack aircraft and it remained in front-line service until the Armistice. Author Jarrod Cotter has been given privileged access to Camel rebuilds and flying replicas in the UK, France and New Zealand to give an unprecedented look under the skin of this most iconic of fighters. He also looks at the trials and tribulations of operating First World War-vintage biplanes and uncovers what Camel pilots and engineers thought about the aircraft, and what it was ike to maintain and fly.

STARTING THE CAMEL

Illustrated with a comprehensive selection of more than 280 photographs and technical drawings, the Haynes Sopwith Camel Manual gives a unique insight into the design, construction and operation of the ‘King of the air fighters’.

£25.00 / US$39.95 / C$47.95

ISBN 978 0857337955

£25.00 RRP

Oe > 00

7 °(8085/"537955

H5795

Haynes Publishing Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ, UK Tel: 01963 440635 Int. tel: +44 1963 440635 Website: www.haynes.com

Jarrod Cotter is a freelance aviation author and former editor of Aeroplane Monthly magazine. He is co-author of the Haynes Avro Lancaster Manual, author of the Haynes P-57 Mustang and Bristol Blenheim Manuals. He lives in Lincolnshire.

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