One of the most famous British planes of the First World War, a Sopwith Camel, has been moved to a building at the RAF Museum in London which will house a major new exhibition about the growth of air power during the conflict.
The Camel was highly regarded, earning the nickname ‘The King of the Air Fighters.’ Designed by Thomas Sopwith, the plane took its name from the hump over the breeches of the two front machine guns.
It will be displayed at the RAF Museum’s Hendon site as part of ‘The First World War in the Air’ exhibition opening there in December 2014.
The plane’s arrival from another part of the Museum, together with its feared German adversary, a Fokker D.VII (above), is a significant moment for Head of Collections Ian Thirsk.
He told Centenary News that the Sopwith Camel was Britain’s most iconic plane of the war: “It entered service on the Western Front in 1917 and was responsible for shooting down about 1,300 German aircraft. It was probably our most successful and most effective aircraft.”
The Camel will be among 14 planes displayed in the historic Grahame-White factory, built by the British aviation pioneer, Claude Grahame-White.
It will be paired with the Fokker D.V11, both aircraft suspended from the roof, as if engaged in a ‘dogfight.’
A Centenary News article about ‘The First World War in the Air’ and how the RAF Museums at Hendon and Cosford plan to tell the stories of the men and women involved in this pioneering branch of warfare can be found here.
Source: RAF Museum
Images: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News