Was it the Spad variants with their 100 mph+ engines and heaviier arnament 2 sometimes 3 machine guns.Was it the ubiquitous SE5 which had the all-round qualities that pilots liked or was it the little known Sopwith Triplane? I hadn't realised that the allies had developed a triplane until I heard about this lttle gem which seems to have been a wonder plane only marred by it's difficulty to repair.
Sopwith Camel was an extreme dog-fighter[bigger version of Pup,probably the nearest one was Fokker D1 Triplane].It carries 2nos Vickers guns and the prop-arc and gun-breeches enclosed in cowling.Its look like hump of a camel,so the name was authentic. Due to the manuevering complexity many apprentices either fatally injured or dead. In 1917 about 1300 camels were delivered to No 70 Sq.Around 130 nos also delivered to American Expeditionary Force. It had a service ceiling of 18 thousand ft,capable to reach 10 thousand ft by 10 secs and max speed was about 155 km/hr.Lately more variants were produced from its production line.
The Sopwith triplane was used mainly by the RNAS, a nice looking 'plane but not a great performer and difficult to maintain. The Camel and SE5(a) are the usual suspects, but the SpadXIII was a strong contender for one of the best at least. That said the Bristol Fighter F2B remains my contender, despite being a two seater it was fast, strong and a formidable opponent, and let's face it first came onto the scene in 1916 and was made for combat use up until 1926-7. Have a look at this link:- beautiful...
Well,but I have a look for Snipe, a formidable single seat biplane. It was faster too. Snipe was very maneuverable and its rate of climb then was enviable. Cockpit was open type thus provides a better view, had a better performance at high alts. Max speed was about 120 mph with a max service ceiling of 19,500 ft. Climb rate was also as good as 15,000 ft by 19 mins only; probably enough to out fly the enemy. Not only this, it was enable to carry 100 lb of bombs . Wasn't it good enough for the era of biplane ? Its BR2 rotary engine enable to generate more power[230 hp]. Another exiting thing that Canadian ace Barker received VC , by a score of 60 kills.
