1:48 scale diecast model airplane from the Corgi Aviation Archive Collector Series AA38101. Sopwith Camel RAF No.208 Sqn, Henry Botterell, 1918. Limited Edition.

Length 5 inches
Wingspan 7 inches

Features:
Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.
Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
Optional extended/retracted landing gear with rotating wheels.
Poseable presention stand to display the aircraft "in flight".
Many limited editions with numbered certificate of authenticity.
Detailed pilot and crew member figures.
Authentic detachable ordnance loads complete with placards.
Selected interchangeable features such as airbrakes, opened canopies and access panels.
Selected moving parts such as gun turrets and control surfaces.

Henry Botterell does not qualify as an air Ace – he had one accredited ‘kill’ whereas five are required for official recognition. However, he gained celebrity in his final years as the sole surviving Royal Naval Air Service pilot and the oldest FirstWorldWar fighter pilot of any nation. When he died in January 2003, aged 106, there were none left. Born in Ottowa, Canada in 1896, he applied to be a civilian pilot and was sent to England for training in 1916. He enlisted with the Royal Naval Air Service No.8 squadron in May 1917 but on only his second flight he crash landed and sustained multiple injuries. He was discharged from service on medical grounds but en-route back to Canada he met some old chums from No.8 squadron and was persuaded to re-enlist. His old squadron had become No.208 squadron of the newly formed RAF and Botterell flew a variety of aircraft including a staggering 91 sorties in a Sopwith Camel in just 60 days between July and August 1918.

The Sopwith Camel is one of the most historically significant aircraft included in Corgi’s WWI aircraft series. WWI fighters were relatively small in comparison to their WWII counterparts and 1:48 scale captures significant details that would be lost in smaller scales. The model uses fine gauge wire to represent the structurally significant bracing wires found on the actual aircraft. Additionally, the mold faithfully replicates the complex contours of the entire aircraft, simulating a stretched fabric covering. A detailed pilot figure sits behind the twin Vickers machine guns while the top wing includes the inboard cut-outs, so essential to the pilot’s forward visibility in a dogfight. Up front, the propeller and engine are nicely detailed and free to rotate in unison behind the cowling, just as with the real aircraft. The model rests on rolling rubber tires that accurately reproduce the gray color vulcanized natural rubber takes on after prolonged exposure to sunlight.