Sopwith Camel

what is it?

The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the best-known fighter aircraft of the Great War. Pilots flying Camels were credited with downing 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter of the conflict.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 8.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 182 km/htop speed
• range 485 kmwithout refuelling
• size 659 kgmax take-off weight
• built 5,490made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 110 years ago, in 1916.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1916-12-22

introduced

1917

retired

1920

status

retired

number built

5,490

role

biplane fighter

makers

Sopwith Aviation Company

engines

1× Clerget 9B

crew

1

length

5.7 m

wingspan

8.5 m

height

2.6 m

max take-off weight

659 kg

top speed

182 km/h

range

485 km

ceiling

5,791 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.