In 1917 the Camel superseded the popular but underpowered Sopwith
Pup. For the next year the Camel was the dominant fighter in the skies,
but by 1918 was being outclassed by newer fighters on both sides.
Nearly 5,500 were built.
The Camel was famous for it's maneuverability. Also, because of the
engine torque, it could make very sharp right turns easily, but was
sluggish in left turns. The plane was also not as forgiving as the Pup
and was hard for inexperienced pilots to control.
The Camel burns 4.4 gallons of gasoline per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis +2, Recon
Wings with Biplane option +2, three fixed wheels +0.
P&P: 97-kW aerial gasoline engine with 97-kW old prop
and 15-gallon standard fuel tank [Body].
Occ: 1 XCS Cargo: 7 Body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 2/2C | 2/2C | 2/2 | 2/2C | 2/2C |
Weaponry
2xAircraft LMG/Vickers Mk I [Body:F] (250 each)*
4x25 lb Cooper bombs [Wings:U]
* linked to fire together
Statistics
| Size: 19'x27'x9' | Payload: 0.2 tons | Lwt: 0.73 tons |
| Volume: 96 |
Maint.: 116 hours | Price: $3,000 |
HT: 7
HP: 15 [body], 50 [each wing], 2 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 115 | aAccel: 9 |
aDecel: 49 |
aMR: 9.25 | aSR: 1 |
|
| Stall: 48 mph |
Design Notes
Design aSpeed is 101 mph and stall speed is 34; the historical speeds,
as well as actual wing
area (231 sf) has been used, Design aMR was 12.25. To increase weight,
a HP gas engine was not used. Loaded weight was still increased by a 7%.
In right turns, treat aMR as 12.25. In left turns, treat it as 6.25.
Pilots with a skill of less than 15 suffer a -1 to Piloting; those with
skill under 12 suffer a -2.
The Cooper bombs do 6dx5[6d] damage.
Variants
The Camel used several different powerplants during it's career,
ranging from 75-112-kW.
The 2F.1, intended for shipboard use, replaced one of the synchronized Vickers with Lewis gun mounted on the top wing and was fitted with a 112-kW engine.
A nightfighter version (unoffically known as the "Comic") moved the
pilot further back in the fuselage and replaced the two nose Vickers
with two overwing Lewis guns. It was primarily retained in England to
deal with German Gotha bombers.
The experimental F.T.1 was designed as a ground attack plane. Two
Lewis guns were fitted in the cockpit, firing at a downward firing
angle. It also had seat armor (DR 15 U) for the pilot.