We turn now to the premier fighter on the Western Powers
side in Battlefield 1: The Sopwith Camel.
Perhaps most famous as the mount of choice for Snoopy, and
for its fearsome reputation as being difficult to handle, the Sopwith Camel
entered combat in 1917, and Camel pilots were credited with shooting down 1,294
enemy aircraft, the most of all Allied fighter types.
Cover from mycomicshop.com |
The name “Camel” derived from the hump in front of the
cockpit where the twin Vickers machine guns were located. Over the course of
its service, the Camel was adapted also to the roles of carrier operations,
night fighter (where it was sometimes known as the Comic), ground attack, and
trainer (as a two-seat variant).
Attributed lore holds that the Le Rhone rotary engine
contributed such fearsome gyroscopic forces that Camel pilots found it faster
to make a 270 degree left turn than a 90 degree right turn. While modern tests
with authentic reproductions have disproven that bit of lore, the same tests
proved that the Camel was noticeably faster to turn left than right. Just not
three times faster.
Photo credit, AirSpaceMag |
The Camel also enjoyed a fairly relaxed sense of stability,
a characteristic now taken to maximum effect in modern fly-by-wire fighters.
While slipping and skidding across the sky made the aircraft a more difficult
gun platform than other craft such as the S.E.5A, it also benefited pilots by
making it more difficult for enemy pilots to get a bead on them.
Two original Camels are known to be in flyable condition.
One is in New Zealand, while the other is part of the Javier Arango Collection
in Paso Robles, California. A number of reproductions have also been built over
the years, to various standards of accuracy. The most historically accurate use
period correct tooling and techniques in their construction, and are powered by
original or replica rotary engines. Others, such as the replica kit offered by
Airdrome Aeroplanes, provide an authentic appearance, but utilize modern
construction and engines to provide a good looking aircraft that is both better
behaved and safer than the original.
This is part of the
occasional History for Gamers series that appears on this blog. Find
previous installments on the sidebar.
This article sourced from information available on Wikipedia, Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine, and Flying Magazine
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