Editing Sopwith Camel (section)

==Operational history==

===Western front===
[[File:148th American Aero Squadron field. Making preparations for a daylight raid on German trenches and cities. The... - NARA - 530739.tif|thumb|Camels being prepared for a sortie.]]
In June 1917, the Sopwith Camel entered service with No. 4 Squadron of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]], which was stationed near [[Dunkirk]], France; this was the first squadron to operate the type.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 3">Jackson 2007, p. 3.</ref> Its first combat flight and reportedly its first victory claim were both made on 4 July 1917.<ref name = "bruce 5"/> By the end of July, the Camel also equipped No. 3 and No. 9 Naval Squadrons; and it had become operational with No. 70 Squadron of the [[Royal Flying Corps]].<ref name = "bruce 6"/> By February 1918, 13 squadrons had Camels as their primary equipment.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Camel File|last1=Sturtevant|first1=Ray|last2=Page|first2=Gordon|publisher=Air-Britain, Ltd.|year=1993|isbn=0-85130-212-2|location=UK|pages=6}}</ref> The Camel proved in service to have better manoeuvrability than the [[Albatros D.III]] and [[Albatros D.V|D.V]] and offered heavier armament and better performance than the Pup and Triplane. Together with the [[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5|S.E.5a]] and the [[SPAD S.XIII]], it helped to re-establish the Allied aerial superiority for a time. While flying a Sopwith Camel with the serial number B6313, the Canadian ace [[William George Barker|Billy Barker]] was credited with shooting down 46 aircraft. The total aircraft credited to Barker while flying B6313 is the highest attributed to a single aircraft during World War I.<ref name="Franks1">Franks 2018, p. 89.</ref>

===Home defence and night fighting===
[[File:The Battle of Passchendaele, July- November 1917 Q7784.jpg|thumb|A downed Sopwith Camel near [[Zillebeke]], [[West Flanders]], Belgium, 26 September 1917]]
An important role for the Camel was home defence. The RNAS flew Camels from [[RAF Eastchurch|Eastchurch]] and [[RAF Manston|Manston]] airfields against [[German strategic bombing during World War I|daylight raids]] by German bombers, including [[Gotha G.IV|Gothas]], from July 1917.<ref name = "bruce 9">Bruce 1965, p. 9.</ref> The public outcry against the night raids and the poor response of London's defences resulted in the RFC deciding to divert Camels that had been heading to the frontlines in France to Britain for the purposes of home defence; in July 1917, [[No. 44 Squadron RAF|44 Squadron RFC]] reformed and reequipped with the Camel to conduct the home defence mission.<ref name="Davis p96">Davis 1999, p. 96.</ref> By March 1918, the home defence squadrons had been widely equipped with the Camel and by August 1918, a total of seven home defence squadrons were operating these aircraft.<ref name="Davis p98">Davis 1999, p. 98.</ref>

When the Germans switched to performing night attacks, the Camel proved capable of being flown at night.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 3"/> Those aircraft assigned to home defence squadrons were quickly modified with navigation lights to serve as night fighters. A smaller number of Camels were more extensively changed; on these aircraft, the Vickers machine guns were replaced by over-wing [[Lewis guns]] and the cockpit was moved rearwards so the pilot could reload the guns. This modification, which became known as the "Sopwith Comic" allowed the guns to be fired without affecting the pilot's night vision and allowed the use of new, more effective incendiary ammunition that was considered unsafe to fire from synchronised Vickers guns.<ref name="Davis p97">Davis 1999, p. 97.</ref><ref name="Brucev2 p1151,3">Bruce 1968, p. 151, 153.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The ammunition in question was the RTS (Richard Thelfall and Sons) round, a combined incendiary and explosive round with a [[nitroglycerin]] and [[phosphorus]] filling. While more effective than earlier incendiary bullets such as the phosphorus-filled [[Incendiary ammunition#World War I|Buckingham bullet]], they required careful handling, and were initially banned from synchronised weapons, because of fears about the consequences of bullets striking the propeller of the fighter, and to prevent [[cooking off]] of the sensitive ammunition in the chambers of the Vickers guns, which fired from a [[closed bolt]]—a required feature for guns used in synchronized mounts—where heat could build up much quicker than in the [[open bolt]]ed Lewis gun.<ref name="Davis p97"/><ref name="flygunI p11,4">Williams and Gustin 2003, pp. 11, 14.</ref>|group=Note}}

The Camel was used to intercept and shoot down German bombers on several occasions during 1918, serving in this capacity through] to the final German bombing raid upon Britain on the night of the 20/21 May 1918.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 3 6">Jackson 2007, pp. 3-6.</ref> During this air raid, a combined force of 74 Camels and [[S.E.5]]s intercepted 28 Gothas and [[Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI]]s; three German bombers were shot down, while two more were downed by anti-aircraft fire and a further aircraft was lost to engine failure, resulting in the heaviest losses suffered by German bombers during a single night's operation over England.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 6">Jackson 2007, p. 6.</ref> In July 1918 seven Sopwith Camels destroyed two German Zeppelins by bombing their hangars in the [[Tondern raid]]; they were flown off {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} and then landed in Denmark or ditched in the sea to be picked up.

[[File:HMS Furious Tondern Raid 1918 IWM SP 1156.jpg|thumb|Navalised Camels on the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} prior to raiding the [[Tondern raid|Tondern airship hangars]]]]

The Camel night fighter was also operated by [[No. 151 Squadron RAF|151 Squadron]] to intercept German night bombers operating over the Western Front.<ref name="Davis p98-9"/> These aircraft also carried out night intruder missions against German airstrips. After five months of operations, 151 Squadron had claimed responsibility for shooting down 26 German aircraft.<ref name="Davis p98-9">Davis 1999, pp. 98–99.</ref>

===Shipboard and parasite fighter===
[[File:HMA R 23 Airship With Camel N6814.jpg|thumb|Sopwith 2F.1 Camel suspended from airship R 23 prior to a test flight]] 

The RNAS operated a number of 2F.1 Camels that were suitable for launching from platforms mounted on the turrets of major warships as well as from some of the earliest [[aircraft carrier]]s to be built, e.g. [[HMS Furious (47)|HMS ''Furious'']]. Furthermore, the Camel could be deployed from ''aircraft lighters'', which were specially modified barges; these had to be towed fast enough that a Camel could successfully take off. The aircraft lighters served as means of launching interception sorties against incoming enemy air raids from a more advantageous position than had been possible when using shore bases alone.

During the summer of 1918, a single 2F.1 Camel (''N6814'') participated in a series of trials as a [[parasite aircraft|parasite fighter]]. The aircraft used [[Airship]] ''[[No. 23r|R23]]'' as a [[mothership]].<ref>Fitzsimons, p.521.</ref>

===Ground attack===
By mid-1918, the Camel had become obsolescent as a day fighter as its climb rate, level speed and performance at altitudes over 12,000&nbsp;ft (3,650 m) were outclassed by the latest German fighters, such as the [[Fokker D.VII]]. However, it remained viable as a ground-attack and infantry support aircraft and instead was increasingly used in that capacity. The Camel inflicted high losses on German ground forces, albeit suffering from a high rate of losses itself in turn, through the dropping of 25&nbsp;lb (11&nbsp;kg) Cooper bombs and low-level strafing runs.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 7 8"/> The protracted development of the Camel's replacement, the [[Sopwith Snipe]], resulted in the Camel remaining in service in this capacity until well after the signing of the [[Armistice]].<ref name = "Jackson 2007 8"/>

During the [[German spring offensive]] of March 1918, squadrons of Camels participated in the defence of the Allied lines, harassing the advancing German Army from the skies.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 7 8">Jackson 2007, pp. 7-8.</ref> Jackson observed that "some of the most intense air operations took place" during the retreat of the [[Fifth Army (United Kingdom)|British Fifth Army]], in which the Camel provided extensive aerial support. Camels flew at multiple altitudes, some as low as {{convert|500|ft|m}} for surprise strafing attacks upon ground forces, while being covered from attack by hostile fighters by the higher altitude aircraft.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 8">Jackson 2007, p. 8.</ref> Strafing attacks formed a major component of British efforts to contain the offensive, the attacks often having the result of producing confusion and panic amongst the advancing German forces. As the March offensive waned, the Camel was able to operate within and maintain aerial superiority for the remainder of the war.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 8"/>

===Postwar service===
In the aftermath of the First World War, the Camel saw further combat action. Multiple British squadrons were deployed into Russia as a part of the [[Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War]].<ref name = "Jackson 2007 8"/> Between the Camel and the S.E.5, which were the two main types deployed to the [[Caspian Sea]] area to bomb [[Bolshevik]] bases and to provide aerial support to the [[Royal Navy]] warships present, Allied control of the Caspian region had been achieved by May 1919. Starting in March 1919, direct support was also provided for [[White Russian forces]], carrying out reconnaissance, ground attack, and escort operations.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 8 10">Jackson 2007, pp. 8-10.</ref> During the summer of 1919, Camels of [[No. 47 Squadron RAF|No. 47 Squadron]] conducted offensive operations in the vicinity of [[Tsaritsyn]], primarily against [[Urbabk airfield]]; targets including enemy aircraft, cavalry formations, and river traffic. In September 1919, 47 Squadron was relocated to [[Kotluban]], where its aircraft operations mainly focused on harassing enemy communication lines.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 10"/> During late 1919 and early 1920, the RAF detachment operated in support of General [[Vladimir May-Mayevsky]]'s [[counter-revolutionary]] volunteer army during intense fighting around [[Kharkiv]]. In March 1920, the remainder of the force was evacuated and their remaining aircraft were deliberately destroyed to avoid them falling into enemy hands.<ref name = "Jackson 2007 10">Jackson 2007, p. 10.</ref>