This week Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona placed their new Sopwith Camel on display.
The reproduction was originally constructed in Europe by John Shaw utilizing original drawings. A flight test was conducted in September 2017 which saw the machine reach roughly 150 ft before its original Clerget rotary engine “coughed and stopped,” resulting in a “heavy landing.” Thankfully Shaw escaped the incident, but the Camel suffered significant damage.
It was acquired by Pima in 2018 and restored for static display wearing the colors of a
Camel flown by Lt. Alfred John Haines of 45 Squadron in late 1918. It is again fitted with an original Clerget from the Pima collection.
For additional details on this aircraft, check out issues 1, 5 and 28 of The Flying Machine journal. For details on John Shaw’s second Sopwith Camel, check out issues 14 and 23.
Click below to view additional images.
