Who invented the Sopwith camel airplane?

Answer 1

Sopwith F.1 Camel was one of the fighter aircraft built by the British company Sopwith that was owned by Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, C.B.E.. This aircraft was a derivation of the Sopwith Pup. There were at least 3 prototype versions before the design was finalized. These were identified as F.1/1 and F.1/2 and F.1/3. These were test flown at Martlesham in May 1917. The final design used the 130-hp Clerget 9B and 150-hp B.R.1 engines.

This aircraft was the first British plane to go into combat with twin guns that were synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. The twin machine guns mounted on top of the fuselage were covered by a fairing thus giving it a 'hump' on the otherwise straight lines of the aircraft---thus the name the "Camel". The version used by the British Navy removed the fuselage mounted guns and mounted twin Lewis guns over the top wing, thus eliminating the "camel hump".

References:

"Aeroplanes and Flyers of the First World War" (1973) by Joseph A. Phelan

"Pocket Encyclopedia of World Aircraft in Color"

Answer 2

The Sopwith Camel F.1 was built by the company owned by Tom Sopwith and was a derivation of the Sopwith Pup. Herbert Smith designed the Pup and had influence in the Camel design. Fred Sigrist made the change to keep the top wing straight with no dihedral. Harry Hawker was a test pilot for the Sopwith Company and he had great input into solving problems with the aircraft. Tom Sopwith said that Harry Hawker was most responsible for the design of this aircraft. Sources: Profile Publication No. 31 "The Sopwith Camel" "Hawker; One of Aviation's Greatest Names" by L. K. Blackmore.