Sopwith Camel

by Jon Guttman, Simon Smith (Illustrator), Harry Dempsey (Illustrator), Richard Chasemore (Illustrator), Peter Bull (Illustrator)

Overview

A British icon of World War I aerial combat, just as the Supermarine Spitfire is for World War II, the Sopwith Camel might more aptly be compared to the equally iconic (if one is Japanese) Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. A superb dogfighter in the hands of pilots who mastered its vicious idiosyncrasies, the Camel also packed a considerable punch for its day as the first British fighter with twin machine guns. It has been credited with the most aerial victories of any fighter type of the conflict, but that statistic is somewhat misleading - and further muddied by the heavy losses Camel units suffered in 1918, as higher performance types began to eclipse the plane. Nevertheless, Camels appeared on several battlefronts to the end of the war and beyond - during the Russian Civil War, for example - and performed remarkably well in a variety of other roles, including as a ground strafer, night fighter, night intruder, and carrier-based fighter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780961767
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/23/2012
Series:	Air Vanguard , #3
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Jon Guttman, a resident of Leesburg, Virginia, is currently research editor for Weider History Publications. Specializing in World War I aviation, he has written eleven titles for Osprey including the popular Aircraft of the Aces 66: Balloon-Busting Aces of World War I.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Design and development
Technical specifications and variants
Operational history
Conclusion

Select bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

“Incisive writing supplemented by superb photos, color profiles and cut-aways -- you get the true story of a great airplane. This may sound over the top, but it is nothing short of inspirational.” —Aviation History

“Selling a Sopwith Camel book to a Dawn Patrol WWI gaming audience will be easier than pawning off mittens to Eskimos, especially when it's written by veteran author Jon Guttman ... The text of 'Sopwith Camel' contains all the usual treats including a full operation history, seaborne carrier operations, a description of the development process and the various contractors who built the Camel, and much more.” —Indy Squadron Dispatch (November 2012)

“As with other books in this series, author Jon Guttman covers the aircraft's initial design and development as well as its introduction into unit service. Much of the book is dedicated to its combat record, as well it should. In this part of the publication we get the majority of pilot stories. The book is full of period photos as well as profiles and other artwork to make for a well rounded title. In line with the previous title, this one has a back page foldout that provides a cutaway of the Camel, a nice feature of this series.” —Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (November 2012)

“Although the new series is technically focused, this book is not just a dry recitation of performance figures, but a good combination of need-to-know and nice-to-know information, with plenty of human element contained within its combat descriptions and personal anecdotes. Sopwith Camel is highly recommended.” —Over the Front magazine (Summer 2013)

“[The Sopwith Camel's] history is deftly charted here, with accompanying vintage blakc and white photos throughout.” —The Midwest Book Review (February 2013)

From the Publisher