For sale: the last Sopwith Camel

[dianeduane]

You won't be finding this one on eBay any time soon.

Secretly stored in a loft in England since WWI, this 1917 Sopwith Camel

#B6291 was discovered by a former Royal Flying Corps Camel pilot with the cooperation of Sir Thomas Sopwith. Carefully restored to flying status by British Aerospace Co., at last it is here now in the U.S.

Nothing compares to this remarkable and historical fighter that once flew over the battlefields of the Western Front in 1917. This is the most desirable Camel existing in the world today.

Additional information at the Vintageaviation.net sales listing area suggests (via recent valuations of the aircraft) a price of somewhere between USD $1,800,000 and $2,600,000.

Sigh...

Tags: Sopwith, camel, vintage aviation, aeroplane, Snoopy

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

All we need now is Biggles (or a Beagle) to fly it.

Wonder if Shultz had heard of Biggles when he wrote the Red Baron stuff into Peanuts...

[dduane.livejournal.com]

(headscratch) No idea. I'd have to do some biography-digging.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

This may be the last one flying that saw combat, but if I remember correctly, there are quite a few replica Camels flying -- unlike more recent aircraft it's simple enough that scratch-building one is feasible (as the Shuttleworth Collection are doing). Indeed, replicas of much more advanced fighters are available for purchase if you've got the money -- up to an including Me-262s and Spitfires.

[dduane.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely. For Peter, it'd have to be a Spit: one of only two aircraft he actively drools over. (Uh, that pun was inadvertent...) Should I come into a lottery win, it'd be a Spitfire sitting in the back yard. The Camel has a definite cachet, but apparently was a real beast to fly.

[mitchy.livejournal.com]

There's something about Spitfires that gets to people. I know very little about planes, but I adore Spitfires. I think their recognisability and their contribution to WWII means everyone has a soft spot for them. They always seem to get the biggest cheers at airshows :)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

There's a bunch of Spits just up the road from us at Duxford. And one of them was bought for £600,000, a few years back.

(They then completely stripped and rebuilt it, as a 50 year service. How much of the original 1940s material is stil in it is anyone's guess — my grandfather's axe, and all that.)

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Okay, my jaw just dropped here.

I'd be willing to bet that there's any number of private bidders who'd be interested in this plane, but if there's an aviation museum run by the UK government in existence, I doubt they're going to let this baby slip through their clutches if they can help it.

At least, I'd hope they wouldn't. I'd want the same for the Canadian Aviation Museum if the stories of the "Phantom Arrow" ever prove out as true re: the Avro Arrow.

[(Anonymous)]

Having just spent yesterday at the Simthsonian Air & Space museum, I'd just like to say:

COOL.

-Jerry

[cjmr.livejournal.com]

You won't be finding this one on eBay any time soon.

And a good thing, too! I don't think I can cover that with PayPal! (grin)