Plaque, for Sopwith Camel

This brass plaque is from a Sopwith Camel plane which was built in 1918 and stationed at East Fortune in East Lothian. The plaque was found in the 1980s in a garden at Needless on the outskirts of Athelstaneford in East Lothian.

The plaque is engraved 'Designed by the Sopwith Aviation Co Ltd / Kingston-on-Thames / Built by Messrs Boulton & Paul Ltd, Aircraft Works, Norwich', and stamped 'F1305'. It has a fixing hole in each corner.

F1305 was a Sopwith 1F-1 Camel built by Boulton Paul. The contract was from 1918 and many of the aircraft went into store.

The Sopworth F.1 Camel fighter was one of the most successful fighters of World War I and was noted for its exceptional manoeuvrability. Some 1200 victories were credited to the type, out of just under 5500 built. The aircraft earned its name from the covering over the guns, which went from the circular cowling around the rotary engine to the forward coaming of the cockpit. The Camel had two .303 inch Vickers machine guns, though Royal Naval Air Service variants had a single Lewis gun mounted on the top wing.

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