The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. Sopwith aircraft were also used in varying numbers by the French, Belgian and American air services during the war.
Thomas Sopwith, c. 1910
Sopwith Dove concept vehicle
The Sopwith "Schneider" (a float-equipped Sopwith Tabloid) at the 1914 Schneider Trophy in Monaco
Three views of the single-seat bomber version of the Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the best-known fighter aircraft of the Great War. In total, Camel pilots were credited with downing 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than their counterparts flying any other Allied fighter of the conflict. Towards the end of the war, the type also saw use as a ground-attack aircraft, partly because the capabilities of fighter aircraft on both sides had advanced rapidly and left the Camel somewhat outclassed.
Sopwith Camel
Harry Cobby sitting in the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel
Replica Sopwith Camel showing internal structure
1917 Sopwith F.1 Camel at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center