The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917.

The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized 0.303 in (7.70 mm) Vickers machine guns.

It was difficult to fly, with 90% of its weight in the front two metres (seven feet) of the aircraft, but it was highly manoeuvrable in the hands of an experienced pilot, a vital attribute in the relatively low-speed, low-altitude dogfights of the era.

When it became clear the Sopwith Pup was no match for the newer German fighters such as the Albatros D.III, the Camel was developed to replace it,[2] as well as the Nieuport 17s that had been purchased from the French as an interim measure.

[2][5] On 22 December 1916, the prototype Camel was first flown by Harry Hawker at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey; it was powered by a 110-horsepower (82 kW) Clerget 9Z.

[3] For the first time on an operational British-designed fighter, two 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns were mounted directly in front of the cockpit, synchronised to fire forwards through the propeller disc[4][2] – initially this was the Sopwith firm's own synchronizer design, but after the mechanical-linkage Sopwith-Kauper units began to wear out, the more accurate and easier-to-maintain hydraulic-link Constantinesco-Colley system replaced it from November 1917 onward.

[13] With light and sensitive controls the type owed both its extreme manoeuvrability and its difficult handling to the close placement of the engine, pilot, guns and fuel tank (some 90% of the aircraft's weight) within the front seven feet (2.1 m) of the aircraft, and to the strong gyroscopic effect of the rotating mass of the cylinders common to rotary engines.

[15] Upon entering service, the Camel gained an unfortunate reputation with pilots,[16] with inexperienced ones crashing on take-off when the full fuel load pushed the aircraft's centre of gravity beyond the rearmost safe limit.

Unlike the Sopwith Triplane, the Camel lacked a variable incidence tailplane, so that the pilot had to apply constant forward pressure on the control stick to maintain a level attitude at low altitude.

Strange, who served with the central flying school, wrote: "In spite of the care we took, Camels continually spun down out of control when flew [sic] by pupils on their first solos.

At length, with the assistance of Lieut Morgan, who managed our workshops, I took the main tank out of several Camels and replaced [them] with a smaller one, which enabled us to fit in dual control."

Such conversions, and dual instruction, went some way to alleviating the previously unacceptable casualties incurred during the critical type-specific solo training stage.

Aviation author Robert Jackson notes that: "in the hands of a novice it displayed vicious characteristics that could make it a killer; but under the firm touch of a skilled pilot, who knew how to turn its vices to his own advantage, it was one of the most superb fighting machines ever built".

While flying a Sopwith Camel with the serial number B6313, the Canadian ace Billy Barker was credited with shooting down 46 aircraft.

The RNAS flew Camels from Eastchurch and Manston airfields against daylight raids by German bombers, including Gothas, from July 1917.

[27] During this air raid, a combined force of 74 Camels and S.E.5s intercepted 28 Gothas and Zeppelin-Staaken R.VIs; three German bombers were shot down, while two more were downed by anti-aircraft fire and a further aircraft was lost to engine failure, resulting in the heaviest losses suffered by German bombers during a single night's operation over England.

[28] In July 1918 seven Sopwith Camels destroyed two German Zeppelins by bombing their hangars in the Tondern Raid; they were flown off HMS Furious and then landed in Denmark or ditched in the sea to be picked up.

[29] The RNAS operated a number of 2F.1 Camels that were suitable for launching from platforms mounted on the turrets of major warships as well as from some of the earliest aircraft carriers to be built, e.g. HMS Furious.

The aircraft lighters served as means of launching interception sorties against incoming enemy air raids from a more advantageous position than had been possible when using shore bases alone.

[31] Jackson observed that "some of the most intense air operations took place" during the retreat of the British Fifth Army, in which the Camel provided extensive aerial support.

Starting in March 1919, direct support was also provided for White Russian forces, carrying out reconnaissance, ground attack, and escort operations.

47 Squadron conducted offensive operations in the vicinity of Tsaritsyn, primarily against Urbabk airfield; targets including enemy aircraft, cavalry formations, and river traffic.

[34] During late 1919 and early 1920, the RAF detachment operated in support of General Vladimir May-Mayevsky's counter-revolutionary volunteer army during intense fighting around Kharkiv.

The Camel is the "plane" of Snoopy in the Peanuts comic strip, when he imagines himself as a World War I flying ace and the nemesis of the Red Baron.