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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0530.PDF
FLIGHT, 22 April 1955 (Lett) A rare photograph—now first published—of night fighter Camels of No. 44 Squadron, Le Rhone-engined, and with the cockpit moved aft. Twin Lewis guns are carried on a special double Foster mounting. (Right) Installation of 150 h.p. B.R.I engine in a Camel F.I SOPWITH CAMEL ... Russia. The British and French Governments hastened to assistItaly after the debacle at Caporetto on October 24th, 1917, and two days later it was decided to send a British detachment oftroops together with No. 28 Sqn. (Sopwith-Camels) and No. 34 (R.E.8s). No. 28 reached Milan on November i2th, and by dintof day-and-night work had its Camels in the air by the 14th. Two more Camel squadrons, Nos. 45 and 66, followed a fewdays later. No. 66 Sqn. reached Italy on November 22nd and No. 45 arrived about a month later. Normally, an escort of six Camels was provided for die R.E.8sof Nos. 34 and 42 Sqns., for enemy fighters energetically harried the two-seaters during November and December 1917. ByJanuary 1918 air superiority had passed to the Allies and the Camels began to make bombing attacks on enemy aerodromes.The first such attack, made against the aerodrome at Casarsa on February 19th, 1918, was so successful that Nos. 28 and 66Sqns. each set aside four Camels for that specific duty. The three Camel squadrons sent 35 of their machines to bomb enemy hut-ments in the Val d'Assa on May 30th; and they dropped a ton of bombs and fired 9,000 rounds into the target area. On October 4th, 1918, twenty-three Camels of Nos. 28 and66 Sqns. attacked the Austrian training aerodrome at Campo- formido. Of the ten 40-lb phosphorus and seventy-seven 20-lbbombs that were dropped, twenty-two scored direct hits. Two hangars containing ten new aeroplanes were demolished, andthree of the defending fighters were shot down. It was on the Italian front that the only Victoria Cross awardedto a Camel pilot was won. On March 30th, 1918, tfiree machines from No. 66 Sqn. flown by Capt. P. Carpenter (15 E.A.) andLts. H. Eycott-Martin and Alan Jerrard, attacked five Albatros Scouts. Jerrard shot one down in flames. The three Camels thenattacked an Austrian aerodrome, and eventually the opposition totalled nineteen enemy fighters. Each of the Camel pilots shotdown one, but Eycott-Martin was then attacked by eight of the enemy. Jerrard went to his aid, fought the enemy alone until hiscompanions had made good their escape, and shot down another Austrian machine in doing so. Finally, with his own Camelriddled by the enemy's fire and his controls shot away, he was forced to land and surrender. For his heroic fight against greatodds and his self-sacrifice he was awarded the Victoria Cross'on May 1st, 1918. On September 20di, 1918, No. 45 Sqn. left Italy and joinedthe Independent Force, R.A.F., two days later. It was intended that the Camels should escort the bombers of the IndependentForce, but Maj-Gen. Trenchard decided not to use die squadron for escort duties until it had been re-equipped widi Sopwith7F.la Snipes. The long-range Snipes were not delivered before die Armistice, however, and No. 45's activities were confined tofront-line patrols. The R.N.A.S. also used Sopwith Camels in Italy. The estab-lishment of the base at Otranto included twelve Camels. Four of diese machines escorted die D.H.4s of No. 224 Squadron inthe attack on Durazzo on October 2nd, 1918, and more Camels patrolled over the town while the bombing attacks developed. In the Aegean, F.I Camels were flown by die R.N.A.S. fromdie islands of Thasos, Imbros, Mitylene and Lemnos, and in 1918 die type was in use widi No. 221 Sqn., R.A.F. (as "D" Squadron,R.N.A.S., had become) at Stavros. No. 150 Sqn. was formed in Macedonia on April 1st, 1918, andbegan operations witii some S.E.SAs, Bristol M.lCs and Nieuport Scouts transferred from Nos. 17 and 47 Sqns. At the beginningof May a few Camels were delivered and were used by "C" Flight of die squadron, formed on May 7di, 1918. At the timeof die Armistice No. 150 had seven Sopwith Camels. A few Camels saw service in Mesopotamia, with No. 72 Sqn.Some Camels went to Russia in 1918 and were flown against the Bolsheviks by die Slavo-British Aviation Group. Amongthe Russian pilots who flew the type was Capt. Alexander Alexandrovitch Kazakov. Kazakov's victory score is said to havetotalled thirty-two enemy aircraft, several of which he shot down while flying a Camel. For his action at Siy Convent in October1918 he was awarded the D.S.O. and promoted to die rank of major in the British Army. In diose troublous times servicingand maintenance were doubtless sketchy, and on August 1st, 1919, Kazakov's Camel broke up in mid-air at 300ft aboveBereznik aerodrome and the gallant Russian was killed instantly. Six Camels were sent to Russia as reinforcements on November12th, 1918, and on January 12th, 1919, No. 221 Sqn. arrived at Petrovsk widi at least one Camel on its strength. It was flownby Maj. T. O. Andrews (24 E.A.). The Sopwith Camel had an early introduction to Home Defenceduties. On July 7th, 1917, some Camels were among die 95 British machines which took off to repulse the twenty-one Gothaswhich attacked London. The first Home Defence squadron to be equipped widi Camels was No. 44, which began to exchangeits Sopwith li-strutters for the new single-seaters in August 1917. The officer commanding diis squadron was Maj. G. W. Murlis-Green, who had had a fine record with No. 17 Squadron in Macedonia. The pioneer night flights by Murlis-Green and twoof his pilots have already been mentioned; they showed the way for future Home Defence work, for die enemy began to make nightraids on September 2nd, 1917. Maj. Murlis-Green attacked a Gotha over Goodmayes on the night of December 18di, 1917.Fhe flash of his guns temporarily blinded him and he was able to fire short bursts only. These sufficed to put one of the Gotha'sengines out of action, but Murlis-Green lost sight of his quarry, A B.R.I-powered Camel of No. 9 (Naval) Squadron, showing pilot's individual markings.
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