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Batch 19: aircraft page

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{{Aircraft infobox
| name = Sopwith Camel
| image = Sopwith Camel - Season Premiere Airshow 2018 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Sopwith Camel. Photo: Airwolfhound, CC BY-SA 2.0, via [[commons:File:Sopwith Camel - Season Premiere Airshow 2018 (cropped).jpg|Wikimedia Commons]]
| make = Sopwith
| type = Biplane fighter
| first_flight = 22 December 1916
| number_built = 5,490
| faa_registered = 15 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
| seats = 1
| engine = Clerget 9B, 130 hp
| range = 300 mi (F.1 Camel)
| ceiling = 19,000 ft (F.1 Camel)
| gross_weight = 1,453 lb (F.1 Camel)
| developed_from = Sopwith Pup
| category = Historic aircraft
}}

The '''Sopwith Camel''' is a British World War I biplane fighter, introduced on the Western Front in 1917, and one of the best-known fighters of that war.<ref name="wp"/> Camel pilots were credited with downing 1,294 enemy airplanes, more than any other Allied fighter. In all, 5,490 were built.<ref name="wp"/> In the U.S. there are 15 with a valid registration under Camel model names.<ref name="faa"/>

== History ==
The Camel was designed by Herbert Smith as the successor to the Sopwith Pup and first flew on December 22, 1916.<ref name="wp"/> It had a single rotary engine and two synchronized Vickers machine guns.<ref name="wp"/> It was hard to fly, with 90% of its weight in the front seven feet of the airplane, but in skilled hands it was very maneuverable, which counted for a lot in the slow, low dogfights of the time.<ref name="wp"/>

Versions included the 2F.1 Ship's Camel for aircraft carriers, the "Comic" night fighter and the armored T.F.1 "trench fighter". Late in the war it was used more for ground attack, and the RAF retired the last Camels in January 1920.<ref name="wp"/>

== Registered in the United States ==
The FAA register lists '''15''' of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.<ref name="faa"/>
<div class="aw-wide">
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! FAA model name !! Registered
|-
| SOPWITH CAMEL || 5
|-
| CAMEL || 3
|-
| SOPWITH CAMEL F1 || 2
|-
| F.1 CAMEL || 2
|-
| F1 CAMEL || 1
|-
| SOPWITH CAMEL F-1 || 1
|-
| PALENS SOPWITH CAMEL || 1
|}
</div>

== Specifications (F.1 Camel) ==
<div class="aw-wide">
{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! F.1 Camel
|-
| Crew || 1
|-
| Length || 18 ft 9 in
|-
| Wingspan || 28 ft
|-
| Height || 8 ft 6 in
|-
| Wing area || 231 sq ft
|-
| Empty weight || 930 lb
|-
| Maximum takeoff weight || 1,453 lb
|-
| Engine || Clerget 9B, 130 hp (9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine)
|-
| Propeller || fixed-pitch wooden propeller
|-
| Maximum speed || 113 mph
|-
| Stall speed || 48 mph
|-
| Range || 300 mi
|-
| Service ceiling || 19,000 ft
|-
| Rate of climb || 1,085 ft/min
|}
</div>
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.<ref name="wp"/>

{{Owner notes}}

== Photos ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Sopwith Camel at the Imperial War Museum.jpg|A Sopwith Camel 2F1 bi-plane at the Imperial War Museum in London. Photo: Max Smith, Public domain
File:Sopwith F-1 Camel USAF.jpg|DAYTON, Ohio -- Sopwith F-1 Camel at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Photo: USAF, Public domain
File:Sopwith Camel 1.jpg|Sopwith Camel at the RAF Museum, London. Photo: Oxyman, CC BY 2.5
File:AC0158CobbyCamel1918-19.jpg|Sopwith Camel. Photo: Not stated, Public domain
File:E02659CobbyCamel1918.jpg|Sopwith Camel. Photo: Not stated, Public domain
File:HMS Furious Tondern Raid 1918 IWM SP 1156.jpg|Sopwith Camel. Photo: Surgeon Oscar Parkes, Public domain
File:Sopwith Camel F.1 Right Rear.jpg|Sopwith Camel at Air Service Production Center No. Photo: Air Service, United States Army, Public domain
File:Replica Sopwith Camel (G-BZSC) (12243203404).jpg|Sopwith Camel. Photo: Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0
</gallery>
All photos are from [[commons:Main Page|Wikimedia Commons]]; click a photo for its full credit and license.

== Buying a Sopwith Camel ==
{{For sale soon}}

== Sources ==
<references>
<ref name="wp">Wikipedia, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel Sopwith Camel]", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.</ref>
<ref name="faa">Federal Aviation Administration, [https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/releasable_aircraft_download Releasable Aircraft Database], file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.</ref>
</references>

Sopwith Camel - Revision history

Admin: Batch 19: aircraft page