Sopwith F.1 Camel (BR.

1)
1/72 Scale Plastic Model Kit

82171
item No.
Highly maneuverable, but tricky to fly. This is short description of Sopwith Camel, one of the most
popular WWI fighters. It was effective in hands of skilled pilots, but dangerous to unexperienced ones.
The Sopwith Camel was a solution to the requirements for a faster 10 hours of running time. The solution was to install less powerful
and more maneuverable fighter than what was available to Royal but more reliable Le Rhône 9J 110 hp. Later, the Clerget 9Bf 140 hp
Flying Corps and Royal Navy Air Services during 1916. The Sopwith were also used and the Camels supplied to United States Air Service
company had already several successful designs added to its re- units were fitted with the Gnome Monosoupape 150 hp engine.
putation and the new “Fighter 1”, abbreviated as F.1 was designed Despite of some shortcomings of the design and troubles with
under the leadership of Sopwith´s chief designer Herbert Smith who engines and guns, the aircraft, which got the name Camel due to
was working with the concept conceived by T. Sopwith, F. Sigrist and the hump on the front section of the fuselage was ordered in huge
H. Hawker. Their main idea was to concentrate most of the mass of amounts by both RFC and RNAS. Sopwith company was unable to
the aircraft within a relatively small area to create extremely ma- fulfill the orders, so other companies were tasked with production.
neuverable aircraft. The design job was fast thanks to the fact the These were Ruston, Proctor & Co., Clayton & Shuttleworth, William
Sopwith´s design office was very simple. The basic design drawings Beardmore, Boulton & Paul, British Caudron, Hooper & Co., March,
were made by chalk directly on the workshop floor in 1:1 scale. Jones & Cribb, Nieuport & General Aircraft and Portholme Aerodro-
me. There were minor technical differences between aircraft from
Conventional but different these factories and bigger in terms of built-in quality. Namely Rus-
The first of three prototypes undertook ground acceptance tests to- ton, Proctor-built aircraft were markedly inferior in performance
wards the end of the year and was deemed airworthy on December in comparison to other manufacturers.
22, 1916. It is believed the prototype flew for the first time the same
day with Harry Hawker behind the controls (some sources state De- Wide use
cember 26), powered by the Clerget 9Z 110hp engine. Hawker was Altogether 5597 Camels in 48 series were built until the end of the
very positive about flying characteristics, although it was obvious war. Twelve RFC day fighter squadrons (Nos. 3, 28, 43, 45, 46, 54, 65,
the new design had very sensitive controls and was rather unstable. 66, 70, 71, 73 and 80) operated Camels on Western front with three of
More to it, a strong gyroscopic effect of rotary engine and propeller them having also spell in Italy (28, 45 and 66). There were also two
was making the control of the aircraft even trickier. Many less expe- night squadrons operating in France (Nos. 151 and 152) with Camels.
rienced and novice pilots fell victim to its flying characteristics later. The RNAS had eight Camel squadrons (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13).
On the other hand, when mastered, the Camel was very effective in Home Defence used Camels with seven squadrons equipped with
combat. them (Nos. 37, 44, 50, 61, 87, 112 and 143). These were used to fight
The new fighter assembly was more conventional than the design night flying German heavy bombers and airships attacking British
approach. The fuselage was made of wooden box-girder, wire-bra- islands in 1917 and 1918. Some of these night fighters were converted
ced assembly. The sides of the cockpit were covered in plywood, to the “Comic” version. Another special version of the Camel was
while the forward engine bay was covered in sheet aluminium pa- 2F.1, used as shipborne fighter. These Camels had folding fuselage
nels. The rest of the fuselage was fabric-covered, as were the wings for easier storage on the decks. Two USAS squadrons were equipped
and tailplanes. To make the mass production easier, the upper wing with Camels, Nos. 17 and 148, also Belgians received them during the
lacked dihedral and lower wing was given increased 5° dihedral. war and some other Air Forces were flying them after the armistice.
Armament consisted of two synchronized Vickers 0.303 inch machi- Although the Camel was a fighter, squadrons used their aircraft also
ne guns mounted in the “hump” in front of the cockpit. The original as fighter-bombers using bomb rack for four 20lb (11kg) Mk.I Cooper
gun cover did not allow access to the cocking handle of feed-block bombs. These low-level strafing and bombing sorties, although quite
pawls, as both weapons had right-hand feed. This made in-flight fix effective, were very dangerous for pilots. All in all, Camel pilots shot
of the jammed starboard gun impossible. To overcome the problem, down some 1543 enemy aircraft and 120 balloons during the WWI.
the opening was cut in forward decking above the breech mecha- Another 1086 enemy aircraft were reported as OOC (Out-of-Control).
nism of the starboard gun. This modification was standardized on
July 28, 1917, by No. 2 Aircraft Depot. The change necessitated addi- This kit: Sopwith F.1 Camel (BR.1)
tion of a windshield (these were of various design). The BR.1 engine powered Camels were most popular amongst the
pilots and highly sought for. Bentley´s design, although based on the
Engine and production troubles Clerget 9B engine, had light alloy cylinders and was not only more
The Admiralty placed its first order for 50 aircraft even before the powerful, but also more reliable than original thanks to the dual igni-
prototypes had flown, while the War Office was waiting until late tion. More to it, the BR.1 was less expensive to the Admiralty or War
May. Thanks to that Naval Camels began to reach the units by mid- Office, as the license payments for Clergets made these units quite
-May, while the No. 70 squadron of RFC obtained their Camels in late pricey. The higher output was result of increased stroke, which en-
June as first to put them in combat with RFC. And while the Naval larged engine diameter. Although the BR.1 still fitted into the Clerget
Camels were powered by the 150-hp Admiralty Rotary No.1 engine engine cover, specific one for the BR.1 was also prepared, but used
(later renamed as Bentley Rotary No. 1), RFC used their Camels with quite rarely. The BR.1 was standard engine for RNAS squadrons, but
license-built Clerget 9B engines, which not only lacked some perfor- as these units were not produced in required quantity, most of the
mance to their French original, but also lost power after just about RFC pilots had to use Clergets.

© Eduard - Model Accessories, s.r.o. 2021 www.eduard.com 82171-NAV1

 ATTENTION UPOZORNĚNÍ ACHTUNG ATTENTION

INSTRUCTION SIGNS INSTR. SYMBOLY INSTRUKTION SINNBILDEN SYMBOLES

OPTIONAL BEND SAND OPEN HOLE SYMETRICAL ASSEMBLY REMOVE REVERSE SIDE APPLY EDUARD MASK
VOLBA OHNOUT BROUSIT VYVRTAT OTVOR SYMETRICKÁ MONTÁŽ ODŘÍZNOUT OTOČIT AND PAINT
POUŽÍT EDUARD MASK
NABARVIT

PARTS DÍLY TEILE PIECES

PLASTIC PARTS

A> D>
82170 A 82170 D

E> F> eduard

82170 E 82170 F

PE - PHOTO ETCHED DETAIL PARTS

82171 Sopwith F.1 Camel (BR.1) 1/48
1 2 3 4

4 5
8
8 9 10 11
6 7
12

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4
16 18 4
13
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© EDUARD 2021 Made in Czech Republic

COLOURS BARVY FARBEN PEINTURE

GSi Creos (GUNZE) MISSION MODELS GSi Creos (GUNZE) MISSION MODELS
AQUEOUS Mr.COLOR PAINTS AQUEOUS Mr.COLOR PAINTS
H4 C4 MMP-007 YELLOW H84 C42 MMP-023 MAHOGANY
H8 C8 MMP-005 SILVER H85 C45 MMP-019 SAIL COLOR
H11 C62 MMP-001 FLAT WHITE H327 C327 MMP-101 RED
H12 C33 MMP-047 FLAT BLACK H338 C338 MMP-116 LIGHT GRAY
H15 C65 MMP-047 BRIGHT BLUE C19 MMP-061 SANDY BROWN
H25 C34 MMP-047 SKY BLUE Mr.METAL COLOR METALLICS
H37 C43 MMP-012 WOOD BROWN MC214 MMM-001 DARK IRON
H51 C11 MMP-063 LIGHT GULL GRAY MC215 MMM-004 COPPER
H78 C38 MMP-021 OLIVE GREEN MC218 MMM-003 ALUMINIUM

2
 B 2 pcs.
E6
E24
E25
E2 - MARKINGS B;C;E
PE3
E4 - MARKINGS A ;D D14
H37
C43 PE19
PE16 E2 WOOD BROWN

E23
MC218
H12 MMP MMM
C33 047 003
FLAT BLACK ALUMINIUM
MC215
MMM
E4 004
COPPER
E11
E10
D45 MC214
MMM
MC218 ALLOW A SPACE 001
MMM
003 BETWEEN PARTS DARK IRON

ALUMINIUM
D14 AND E23 E6
A E6
E6
H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK
D14 E23
E29
PE5 D45
C19
SANDY BROWN

MC218
MMM
003
E27
ALUMINIUM
OPTIONAL:
PE2 decals
K1 K2 K3
H37
H37 PE14 C43
WOOD BROWN
C43

E50
WOOD BROWN
PE1
K6
E23
K4 K5

C SIDE VIEW

E39
D22 MC218 D22
MMM
MC214 003
MMM ALUMINIUM
001
DARK IRON C19
E37 SANDY BROWN

H37
C43
H37 WOOD BROWN
C43
WOOD BROWN

MC218
MMM
D29
003
ALUMINIUM

D E
MC218
A3 - MARKINGS A;E
H37
C43
WOOD BROWN
MMM
003
A5 - MARKINGS B ;C;D
ALUMINIUM

A3 A5 H85
C45
SAIL COLOR

A1
E20
H12 MMP
C33 047 H85
H85 FLAT BLACK C45
C45 SAIL COLOR
SAIL COLOR H37
C43
WOOD BROWN
H37 H37
C43 C43
MC218 WOOD BROWN
WOOD BROWN
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

H85 E38 H12 MMP

C45 C33 047
SAIL COLOR FLAT BLACK

3
 SIDE VIEW E5
PE4
B A - 0,3 mm
H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK MC214
MMM
001
H37 DARK IRON
C43
WOOD BROWN
H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK PE4

E E5

DO NOT
GLUE!
B D

E31
H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK
C

step 1
E34 MC218
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

step 2
F E12

H37
C43
WOOD BROWN

A8 A9

G Bentley engine A8 - MARKINGS B ;C;D

E44 A9 - MARKINGS A;E
E16

MC214
MMM
001
DARK IRON
F
MC218 MC218
MMM MMM
003 003
ALUMINIUM
ALUMINIUM

E15

REAR VIEW

E44

MC218
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

D52

4
MARKINGS A ;D

MC218
F2 MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

PE10
PE8 - MARKING A ONLY
E41
PE8
MC218
MMM
E58 H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK
003
MC214
MMM E41 ALUMINIUM
001
DARK IRON

SIDE VIEW
F2

MARKINGS B;C;E

DO NOT GLUE!
F5 PE8 - MARKING E ONLY
F4 H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK
PE8

H12 MMP
MC218 C33 047
MMM FLAT BLACK
003
ALUMINIUM
E41

MC214
E41
MMM
001
DARK IRON

SIDE VIEW
F4 F5

MC218
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM
E58

5
 - 0,3 mm PE18 H12 MMP
C33 047
D24
PE4 FLAT BLACK

PE18

- 0,3 mm D21 H12 MMP

C33 047
FLAT BLACK
H12 MMP
C33 047 D30
FLAT BLACK
- 0,3 mm PE4
D27

K PE4 H12 MMP

C33 047
FLAT BLACK
L PE4 H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK

- 0,3 mm - 0,3 mm
D31 D34

F6

D31 F6

D34

A6

MC218 MC218
MMM
003 A2 MMM
003
ALUMINIUM ALUMINIUM

H37
C43 H37
WOOD BROWN C43
WOOD BROWN

6
 H12 MMP
C33 047
F6 FLAT BLACK
PE4
- 0,3 mm

D28

F8

MC218
MMM
A4
003
ALUMINIUM

H12 MMP
C33 047
F6 FLAT BLACK
PE4
H37 - 0,3 mm
C43 MC218
WOOD BROWN MMM
003
ALUMINIUM
D26

H37
C43
WOOD BROWN

MC218
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

H37
C43
WOOD BROWN

H12 MMP D2
C33 047
FLAT BLACK

D4
MC214
MMM
001
DARK IRON

D2
D38

D36
D37

D35

D6

MARKINGS A ;E ONLY MC215

MMM
004 MC214 D13
COPPER MMM
001
DARK IRON
PE11
D40
PE17

H37
D40 C43
WOOD BROWN

PE12
MC215
MMM
004
COPPER

D36
7
 D25 - MARKINGS A ;D; E
D32 - MARKINGS B;C D7 D3 - MARKING C
D7 - MARKINGS A ;B;D; E
D25 D32

MC215
MMM D11
004
COPPER

H37
C43
WOOD BROWN
D3
D9
MC214
MMM
E47
001
DARK IRON
MC215
MMM D9 - MARKINGS A;E
004

D11 D12
COPPER D11 - MARKINGS B ;D
D12 - MARKING C

D12 D25 D32

D25 - MARKINGS A ;D; E
D32 - MARKINGS B;C

4 pcs.
M MARKING C ONLY

PE7 4 pcs. E21

H12 MMP
C33 047
FLAT BLACK

PE6 PE15

E21 4 pcs.

PE13

E30

8
 E36

MC218
MMM
003
ALUMINIUM

E36
 RIGGING DIAGRAM

10
A
B
C
D
E