Sopwith F.1/2F.1 Camel (Haynes Manual)

Once Haynes just did car manuals but sensibly have opened their horizons much further these days as less people are willing/able to maintain their own ever more advanced automobiles. Here is a Haynes manual therefore for the Sopwith Camel, the first truly famous British aeroplane. It could, of course, be of use for owners of the WW1 icon but the vast majority of readers will never own the plane, so is the book worth having?

Haynes manuals are very good value for the money, very readable and very well presented. These manuals for historic vehicles usually include a potted history of the type in question and then go on to technical details as to how it was built and how it can be maintained. The Camel book is no exception. The history of the Camel also includes a brief history of the origins of the RAF. Its a good read but maybe should have been gone in to a little more depth.

The technical portion of the manual does goes into depth on how the Camel was built. I find with these manuals there tend to be sections of interest and others which i skip over. The section on starting the engine for example is very good.

So yet again a good Haynes manual, and if ever i manage to get myself a Sopwith Camel (which isn't in 1:72 scale) i'll know how keep it all together!

N6812 at the Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum

One of the WW1 biplanes at the Imperial War Museum. This one is a Royal Aircraft Factory BE 2c.

First World War infographics

You can't move on the internet these days without someone trying to convey information using an infographic (and most of them are pretty awful to be honest). However newspapers have been using graphics to try and illustrate concepts to readers for a long time and in this fascinating gallery the Guardian newspaper republishes some of the infographics from the First World War (though in those days they were mostly known as maps and diagrams).

I particularly like the aviation graphics such as the one trying to show the Gotha bomber's gun turret.