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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0528.PDF
528 FLIGHT SOPWITH CAMEL . power was, however, greater than that of the S.E.5, because thebelt-fed Vickers gun had a higher rate of fire than the magazine- fed Lewis. Moreover, the Vickers gun did not suffer from thedisadvantage of requiring a magazine change every 97 rounds. The Camel was ordered in large numbers from several con-tractors, and deliveries began in the early summer of 1917. By the end of June, 135 Camels had been delivered to boththe R.F.C. and the R.N.A.S. By the end of July 1917, No. 70 Squadron R.F.C. and No. 6 Squadron R.N.A.S. were completelyequipped with the type, and R.N.A.S. Squadrons Nos. 8 and 9 had begun to exchange their beloved Sopwith Triplanes for F.ICamels. In the case of No. 9 (Naval) Squadron, re-equipment began on July 13th, 1917, and by August 4th the unit was anall-Camel squadron. All of these squadrons, R.N.A.S. units included, had F.I Camelswith the 130 h.p. Clerget engine. So did No. 45 Sqn., the second R.F.C. unit to receive the type: its first Camel was deliveredon July 25th, 1917, and the squadron was fully equipped with Camels by September 1st. No. 43 Sqn., R.F.C., was fully equippedwith Clerget Camels by October 3rd, 1917. Five days later, No. 28 Sqn. arrived in France equipped throughout with the type,and other Camel squadrons were soon in action. The first Camels to see action were those used by the R.N.A.S.at Dunkirk. As early as July 4th, 1917, five Camels from that station attacked 16 Gothas on their return journey from bombingHarwich. On the Western Front the Camel arrived in time to participatein the Battle of Ypres which began on July 31st, 1917. The squadrons equipped with the type performed a variety of duties,chief among which was the mounting of offensive patrols; but occasionally ground-strafing attacks were made, and onOctober 20th the Camels of R.F.C. Squadrons Nos. 28 and 70 carried out a bombing attack on the enemy aerodrome at Rumbeke.Only twenty-two 25-lb bombs were dropped, but much damage was done and the enemy lost at least five aircraft. Some seven weeks earlier two pilots of No. 70 Sqn. had flowntheir Camels at night on September 3rd in an unsuccessful attempt to attack German aircraft which bombed St. Omer. By a remark-able coincidence, three pilots of No. 44 Sqn.—Maj. G. W. Murlis- Green (20 E.A.), Capt. C. J. Q. Brand (6 E.A.), and Lt. C. C. Banks(10 E.A.)—also flew their Camels that same night in the hope of intercepting the Gothas which were attacking south-eastEngland. These flights proved that the Camel, tricky as it was, could be flown at night. During the Battle of Cambrai more ground-attack work wascarried out by the Camel units, work in which R.F.C. Squadrons Nos. 3 and 46 played a prominent part. Casualties were heavy:losses averaged 30 per cent. The enemy batteries at Flesquieres, in Lateau and Vaucelles Woods, troops and gun emplacements inBourlon Wood and Fontaine-Notre Dame—all were the targets of the low-flying Camels and D.H.5s. Early in February 1918 the establishment of fighter squadronswas increased from eighteen to twenty-four aircraft. Clerget Camels were available, and it was decided to bring she Camelsquadrons up to the new strength at once. Shortage of trained pUots delayed the realization of this plan for a short time, but byMarch 21st, 1918, seven Camel squadrons had an establishment of twenty-four machines plus one for the squadron commander.On that day the last great German offensive of the war opened. The Camel squadron of the V Brigade, No. 54, was requiredto protect the aeroplanes of the Corps squadrons; once again Nos. 3 and 46 Sqns. were detailed for ground-attack work, andtheir targets were carefully decided and allotted. Early fog hampered aerial activity during the morning of March 21st, butthe Camels of No. 46 attacked enemy batteries north of Bourlon Wood as early as 6 a.m. Gallant and hazardous as those ground-attack missions were, they were unspectacular in comparison with the dog-fighting inwhich the Camel excelled. The aircraft owed its success to its phenomenal manoeuvrability. The elevator was extremely power-ful and the ailerons sensitive, but it was the Camel's startlingly quick reaction to coarse handling that was the undoing of so manyof the pilots who attempted to fly it. At full throttle it was markedly tail-heavy, and the absence of an adjustable tailplanemade it tiring to fly. It could turn in an unusually small radius, thanks to its short fuselage and the concentration of weights, buttorque effect endowed its right-hand turn with characteristics different from those manifested when turning to the left. In theright-hand turn the Camel tended to drop its nose; conversely, the nose tended to rise in a left-hand turn. These tendencieshad to be corrected by means of the rudder, of which a g<xjd deal was necessary, so it is hardly surprising that, if any turn .eretightened too much, the Camel would quickly spin out of it. But once a Camel pilot had become accustomed to his sensitivemount and understood its idiosyncrasies he found it to be an ideal fighting aeroplane. In combat, what the Camel lackedin speed it made up for in quickness and ease of manceuvre. Thus one comes to read of actions such as that fought on March 22nd,1918, when twelve Camels of No. 73 Sqn. and twelve of No. 80 Sqn. shot down six enemy aircraft in die course of a patrol whichincluded three different combats, two of them against superior numbers. Two days later, Capt. J. L. Trollope (18 E.A.) of No. 43 Sqn.created a record by shooting down six enemy aircraft in one day. He brought down two D.F.W. two-seaters and an Albatros scoutin the morning, and his afternoon bag consisted of three enemy two-seaters. On April 12th, 1918, Capt. H. W. Woollen (35 E.A.),also of No. 43 Sqn., duplicated Trollope's achievement. He shot down three enemy machines during the morning; and in theafternoon a Pfalz, a two-seater and a Fokker fell to the guns of his Camel. Nine days later, on April 21st, the Camels of No. 209 Sqn.fought an action which, although little different in its nature from many another of that period, was an historic combat. One ofthe three Flights which had left Bertangles at about 9.30 a.m. broke away to attack two Albatros two-seaters, one of which wasshot down in flames by Lt. M. S. Taylor; the other disappeared. The two remaining Flights were led northwards towards theSomme by a Canadian pilot, Capt. A. R. Brown (13 EA). Two of the ten Camels had to return to Bertangles with minor defects.Just after 10.45 a.m. Brown saw anti-aircraft shells bursting over Hamel. He immediately led his formation in that direction and foundtwo Fokker Dr.Is attacking two R.E.8s of No. 3 (Australian Flying Corps) Squadron. But on the fringe of the fight werefifteen Fokker Dr.Is and Albatros D.Vs which turned to engage the Camels. Although outnumbered by two to one, No. 209'sCamels fought doggedly and not without success, for Lt. F. J. W. Mellersh (9 E.A.) and Lt. W. J. MacKenzie each drove downone of the enemy. One cf the embattled Camels was flown by 2nd Lt. W. R. May,who had newly joined No. 209 Sqn. and was a novice in air fighting. His orders were to avoid combat and make for home in die eventof his Flight being involved in a fight. After a brush with a Fokker, May found himself clear of the main fight. He turnedwest for Bertangles, but almost immediately became aware of an all-red Fokkcr Dr.I diving towards him. But the Fokker had been seen by Capt. Brown, who at oncedived to May's assistance. The red triplane clung closely to May's twisting, turning Camel, and the German pilot's wholeattention was obviously on his quarry. A certain Leutnant Kurt Wolff was, for once, not near at hand. Brown found himselfabove and to the right of the red triplane. One burst from his guns sufficed to shoot down the Fokker, which struck the groundnot far from Corbie. The pilot was found to be dead. Thus died Baron Manfred von Richthofen, Knight of the Clerget Camel with auxiliary mid-bay flying wires.
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