Sopwith Camel

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Air Vanguard 3

Authors: Jon Guttman Peter Bull

Illustrators: Harry Dempsey, Richard Chasemore, and Simon Smith

This is a 64 page book that is the third book in the Air Vanguard Series of books available from Osprey Publishing.

An icon of World War I aerial combat, the Sopwith Camel was a superb dogfighter in the hands of a pilot who could master its vicious idiosyncrasies. The first British fighter to be armed with twin machine guns, the Camel packed a considerable punch and was highly successful, notching up a considerable number of aerial victories. The Camel was a remarkable aircraft, and one that could perform in a variety of roles, including as a ground strafer, a night fighter and a carrier-based fighter. As newer, higher performance aircraft types were introduced and began to eclipse it, the dominance of the Camel declined and losses mounted. Nevertheless, Camels appeared over battlefields throughout the war and beyond, notably in the Russian Civil War.

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Design and Development
  • Technical Specifications and Variants
  • Sopwith Camel Performance Figures
  • Flying the Camel
  • Night Fighters and Comics
  • A Camel (re)built for two
  • Monoplanes
  • Trench Fighter 1
  • The Shipboard Camel
  • Operational History
  • Western Front
  • Italy
  • The East
  • Carrier Operations
  • Post-war Camels
  • Conclusion
  • Further Reading
  • Index

This book will be of interest to the historian, wargamer, and plane modeler who is looking for detailed information on this famous World War I airplane. Of particular interest will be all the drawings, full color artwork and especially the cutaway artwork at the rear of the book. This cutaway artwork shows the internal operations of the Sopwith Camel and details all of its operating parts.

This Paperback book is available from

MSRP US $18.95/ CAN 19.95