Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the earlier Sopwith Pup and became one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of the First World War. The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized machine guns. Though proving difficult to handle, it provided for a high level of manoeuvrability to an experienced pilot, an attribute which was highly valued in the type's principal use as a fighter
Gloster Aircraft Company accommodation. In 1934, Gloster was acquired by another British aircraft manufacturer, Hawker Aircraft. Regardless of this change in ownership, the company continued to produce aircraft under its own brand name. In that same year, Gloster produced one of its most famous aircraft, the Gladiator biplane. The 1935 merger of Hawker Aircraft and the interests of J. D. Siddeley (Armstrong Siddeley and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft) saw Gloster become a part of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft, Ltd. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the firm lacked any modern designs of its own in production, but had significant expertise and production facilities