Belgian Wings
Belgian Air Force, past and present.
The Aeronautical Reference Site - De Luchtvaart Referentie Site - Le site référence de l'Aéronautique
Sopwith F.1 Camel

Unidentified Sopwith F.1 Camel of N° 3 Observation Squadron.
Single engine - single seat fighter aircraft
As of November 29th, 1917 the first Sopwith F.1 Camel fighter aircraft were delivered from the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to the Belgian Air Service through the "Groupement Technique (Parc)" at Calais-Beaumarais airfield (F.). The Camel had an exceptional maneuverability but was also very difficult to master as its Clerget 9B (130 hp) rotary engine produced strong gyroscopic effects resulting in many fatal accidents. The standard armament of the fighter was composed of two synchronized Vickers machine guns and it was mainly used in fighter or fighter- escort missions (in some cases a small number of Camels was assigned to Belgian observation squadrons).
By the end of the war, no less then 64 Camels were delivered from different British sources. In November 1918, eight more fighters were transferred by the RFC without the Belgian authorities being informed. Unfortunately, they remained stored in open air with the N° 1 Aeroplane Supply Depot at Marquise (F.) and deteriorated to such a bad state that they were refused by the Belgian Government. This nimble powerful fighter was used during WWI by the following Belgian Squadrons: N° 1 (becoming N° 9 Squadron before the end of the war) (Chardon), N° 2 Squadrol (Mouette), N° 3 (Feuille de Houx). N° 4 (Zebre), N° 5 (Hirondelle), N° 6 (Abeille) and N° 11 (Cocotte) Squadrons. Upon delivery the first Camels received the type registration "Sk" but this very soon gave way to the "Sc" prefix. By the end of their service the Camels were officially attributed the type letter "K" (OMA 30 of 29 May 1923) although up to now no visual confirmation has been discovered. As of April 1923, the survivors (including Sc 60, Sc 61, Sc 62, Sc 63 and Sc 64) were transferred to the IV Gr. at Schaffen and were withdrawn from service very soon afterwards. Remarkably and although the Camel was numerically rather important, very few pictures excist of this British fighter aircraft. (Daniel Brackx)
Click the Pic to open
Remarks
In the above list, the "Sc-" serials between Sc 57 and Sc 59 are missing as no information at all is available for these machines. On the other hand, the following Camels were also delivered to the Belgian Air Service without a corresponding Belgian serial being known: B5748 (ex 1 Sqn RNAS) C3608 (delivered in June 1918) and C3807 (delivered in July 1918).
The following Sopwith F.1 Camels were delivered without informing the Belgian authorities. As they remained in the open at N° 1 Aeroplane Supply Depot at Marquise (F.) they suffered to the point where their condition prevented them of being delivered to the Belgian Air Service. They were scrapped on the spot at Marquise (F.)
Aircraft involved were: E7317, E7319, E7323 and Boulton Paul built F6319 (all transferred on 1 Nov 1918), E7321 (transferred on 06 Nov 1918), E7322 (delivered on 2 Nov 1918), E7324 and E7331 (both delivered on 7 Nov 1918).
Photo slider with Belgian Air Service Sopwith F.1 Camel Pilots