If you want to be a World War I fighter ace, remember that you'll have to tangle with a deadly enemy, one that has sent hundreds hurtling to their doom. No, I don't mean the Red Baron — I mean your own plane. Early biplanes were frail and balky craft; one small error and you discovered all too easily that your machine had "the gliding angle of a brick", as pilots used to say.
This was especially true for the famous Sopwith Camel, which took its name from its British manufacturer and from the "humped" profile of its fuselage. The biplane's extra-sensitive controls made it an expert dogfighter's favorite, but the nemesis of the novice. It was "greatly loved by those whom it did not kill," one historian remarked. Here are some tips to ensure that you end up loving your Camel rather than the alternative.
1. Preflight Pointers
Not to sound like your mother, but make sure to wear warm clothes: An open cockpit can get nippy at 10,000 feet (and 120 miles per hour). For comfort if not style, many aviators favored fur coats made from imported Chinese dog pelts. The silk scarf isn't just for dash, either — you'll find it handy for wiping grease and grime off the windshield. And fasten your seat belt: In mid-loop, it'll be the only thing to keep you from doing a nose-dive into no man's land, sans plane. British ace Louis Strange once forgot to buckle up and found himself, in mid-dogfight, spinning upside down over Belgium and hanging on to his machine gun for dear life. He only managed to right himself by reaching the control stick with his feet.
2. Airborne
Your Camel has a rotary engine, one that spins in sync with the propeller. This creates a torque effect that will make the plane swerve if you let go of the controls. But it's also what lets the Camel "turn on a sixpence", as they said in the Royal Flying Corps. More alarmingly, the whirling engine sprays its castor-oil lubricant in all directions. Try to avoid swallowing any; as all too many pilots discovered, it's a long way to the bathroom.
Although you'll be carrying a flight map in a case around your neck, it's easy to get lost. After all, the Camel has no radio. Don't panic: Try swooping down over railroad tracks and buzzing along until you can read the name on a station. One World War I flying manual advised: "As a final resource, [you] may land and inquire the way." This isn't recommended for missions over enemy trenches, however.
3. The Art of the Dogfight
Despite the Sopwith Camel's lack of speed and climbing ability compared to the German Fokker and Albatross fighters, its maneuverability made it a dogfighting champion. (A Camel shot down the infamous Red Baron in 1918.) From the moment, you spot an enemy plane, try to keep above and behind him, looping and spinning to get into position. When you go in for the kill, one flight manual advised, shut off the throttle and dive straight down onto the enemy, blazing away with your twin Vickers machine guns. But watch your back: fighters rarely traveled alone, and a favorite German tactic was to dive down out of the dazzling glare onto a distracted opponent. "Beware of the Hun in the sun!" warned a Royal Flying Corps training poster.
4. A Note on Chivalry
If you want to fit in with your fellow aviators, you'll have to behave like one of the "knights of the air," as World War I fliers styled themselves. Try to emulate the French ace Georges Guynemer, who, when his opponent's machine gun jammed, gallantly waved him safe passage home — or the Austrian pilot Benno Fiala von Fernbrugg, who shot down a Sopwith Camel, landed at a nearby airfield and rushed by car to the wreckage, where he cordially greeted the British airman and offered him a life.
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© Copyright 1999 by David W. Tschanz.
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