B.R.1 Camels

Familyman · 28 March 2006, 07:46 AM

Folks!

I've been wondering a lot about B.R. 1 equipped Sopwith F.1 Camels and especially their engine cowlings. A special cowling which went wider towards the nose was used with the Bentley Rotary, right?

Like this one:

It's a Camel of Naval 10, which, according to Profile publications no 10 - Sopwith Camel by J.M. Bruce, used only B.R. 1 Camels. How come I don't see cowlings like this in many other pictures of the famous Naval 10 colourful Camels. Is it just that it is hard to tell the difference between "normal" Clerget cowling and the Bentley cowling from certain angles, or is it possible that Bentleys were used also with Clerget cowlings? Or was there, after all, also Clerget Camels used by Naval 10. Another good example is

Roy Brown's Camel B7270, which is often mentioned to be a Bentley machine. I can't see its cowling go wider...

Another feature associated with B.R.1 Camels is the more aerodynamic, "extended hump", which went a bit over the engine cowling. This was common in 2F.1 Camels, but seems to be very rare in F.1 Camels. I've found some in the old photos, tho. The colourful Camels B6398 "Sylvestre" and B6401 "King of Diamonds" for example. Is the extended hump as rare a feature it seems to me, or was it more usual in the late production B.R.1 equipped F.1 Camels? Was it, perhaps, only in F.1 Camels made by the parent company?. Both B6398 and B6401 were from the last production batch by Sopwith Aviation co. (if my references are right).

Comments?

Mikko

MikeW · 28 March 2006, 10:19 AM

Mikko,

Naval 10 did not use Bentley Camels until the 4th February 1918. Prior to that, from September 1917 to 4th February 1918 they used Clerget Camels.

The photograph you have used is of a Clerget Camel from A Flight, lost on the 23rd January 1918, not the 21st as captioned.

Some Bently Camels had the visually different cowl, some didn't. The cowling on the Bently was made a larger diameter than that of the Clerget - for more clearance to provide better cooling. I believe this was a modification once a problem had been identified in the field. Like any production modification, it often took a long time for older machines to get brought up to current standard - if they ever did!

Mike

Familyman · 28 March 2006, 11:40 PM

Thanks Mike!

How about the "extented hump" in F.1 Camels, any ideas?

Mikko

MikeW · 29 March 2006, 04:21 AM

Mikko,

It seems logical that the extension to the front of the hump occurred when the cowling was increased in diameter. It also seems logical to me that older BR1 Camels would not necessarily get the new "hump" when and if they recevied the latest cowl.

Need to see the drawings to see if the two changes are tied together. Unfortunately I won't be able to get to the RAF Museum in the near future though I do know a man who should be able to answer this.

Mike