Sopwith Camel (Air Vanguard)

Considering the length limitations of the Vanguard series this title delivers a fairly complete summary of the career of this iconic aircraft. The developmental history includes a lot of spin-off aircraft like the monoplane version, Comic night-fighter versions, trench strafers, and a 'parasite' version to be launched from airships. Aside from the Western Front and Italy, most interesting for me was the coverage of the Camel's service in far-flung theaters like Mesopotamia, the Greek/Turkish theater, and the Russian Civil War. The color fold-out on the back cover is a nice touch. I'd like to see more Vanguard titles like this on other WWI aircraft. The only improvements I could suggest are 3-view drawings of alternate versions (for modelers) and a table comparing the performance stats for the Camel (for wargamers).

A nice addition to anyone's collection of WW I literature. Jon Guttman always delivers the truth, although he may lack a bit of vitality sometimes win it comes to telling a story. Just the facts, ma'am! Book was in excellent condition. Great illustrations and info on probably World War Ones' most famous fighter. Curse you, Red Baron!

If you have an interest in this area, this is a cheap and easy way to get a ton of info, It is well organized and talks a lot about what really happened and how claims for 'kills' were made. a long list of names and units are available and he clearly has done his research. if you are a Sopwith F-1 guy, this is a good one for you.

"Camel!" Camels accounted for more Allied aerial victories than any other Allied fighter plane of WW1. It had to be handled very carefully in the air, but once its pilots learned the Camel was a demanding mount, it was the scourge of the Kaiser's Flying Corps.

A very interesting history of this important fighter, there are some great colour profiles as well as black and white photos. I never realised that the British Navy used to launch Camels from towed barges. Me being the model maker that i am, I would have liked to have seen a three view drawing, although there is a particularly well done cutaway.

Very interesting.

Book on subject that historically has little information printed previously. Pictures were much needed for us nerd modelers. Looking forward to future titles.

Worth the time if you care

Perhaps I expected to much having similar, more expensive and much more detailed books on WW2 aircraft, but I was expecting more about the aircraft itself

Good in depth detail and well written. Personally I would have liked more on the developement of the aircraft, although this was adequately covered. It was interesting to read about the number of power-plant options and how they affected the flying characteristics.

Speed of delivery well up to your standards.Excellent coverage of the subject,but I would have liked some scale three view line drawings G.H.Keable.

No a book I could honestly recommend, it seemed a half-way house between being a technical book & book that really didn't cover the pilots that flew the Camel's.

Great little book about the Camel. Very compact but a good start on the subject. I liked it.