Sopwith Camel and Spitfire flying in formation

[@DavidELD]

When you compare the two... it was just barely a decade or so from the Wright Brothers to the Sopwith Camel. Then you jump ahead 20 years or so to the Spitfire. Then about 20 years from the Spitfire, you have the first manned missions to space. Technology man. Then you see the two flying, the Spit flies so effortlessly like it was born to fly. The poor 100 year old Camel just wants to stay on the ground. It's probably saying. "WHAT AM I DOING UP HERE?! MAKE IT STOP! WANNA GO HOME, WANNA GO HOME! DON'T LIKE THE AIR!"

[@SulCoCrazy]

Ha! The spit during formation flighy is near stall speed and barely hangin on. The camel is right in her prime.

[@jamesshunt5123]

DavidELD It's all *relative* . The Spitfire was equally outdated by the dawn of fighter jets and all piston-engined fighters were deemed slow and obsolete by the Korean War of the early 50's already. A Sopwith Camel was a lethal plane at the hand of a skilled pilot in WWI, which is why it shot down more enemy planes than any other plane in WWI. The Wright Flyer couldn't even launch itself without a catapult and got some design elements wrong - such as the ailerons being at the front. By contrast the Camel was a practical aircraft with several times the range, altitude and speed of the Wright Flyer. As such you clearly know nothing. But alas silly people never deal in relatives and always in absolutes.

[@jvcardesign]

True True

[@Dragonblaster1]

@@SulCoCrazy I wonder why the pilot didn’t drop the flaps a bit.

[@Dragonblaster1]

16 years from the Wrights to the Camel. 17 years from the Camel to the Spitfire. 10 years from the Spitfire to the first jet fighter (Me 262). 5 years (yes, 5 years) from the Me 262 to the first supersonic flight (Bell X-1). 6 years from the Bell X-1 to the first supersonic jet fighter (F-100 Super Sabre). From the Super Sabre to the first Mach 2 fighter with supercruise (the Camel’s and Spitfire’s grandson, the English Electric Lightning), 6 years. From the Lightning to landing on the moon, 9 years.

[@HSTMDad]

Beautiful vid and wonderfully clear sound. No music to mess with those engines either - perfect!

[@bbtreehaus]

Fantastic! My dad would have loved this; he was born at about the time of the Camel and was fascinated by flight since he was very young. When he joined the army in 1940, he wanted to fly. He passed every test but one. So he joined an anti-aircraft unit instead! He served in both WWII and Korea...a great man!!

[@tasospatriwtis396]

OMG...THIS TWO IS MY FAVOURITE PLANES OF ALL TIMES...I JUST LOVE THIS BEAUTIES.

[@CliffHarveyRCPlanes]

That was almost a spiritual experience, the world around me faded away as I watched, as if in a dream, my two favourite planes, wow.

[@Wellsy411]

5:10 doesnt even seem real.... its like something glorious from the past being relived right in front of you. thanks for uploading!

[@CIWS1]

You have to love the sheer difference in the engine sounds. The "Playing card in wheel spokes" sound of the Sopwith and the aggressive and sexy purr of the Spitfire. Two amazing aircraft to be sure!

[@draoi99]

The sound of the Spitfire is just beautiful!

[@FokkerBoombass]

Two of the best fighters of their time period... AWESOME

[@AmerAhmad]

Supreme. I hope this video gets preserved for posterity. As a pilot I never realised the curios stepped throttle of the sopwith. Amazing and very well flown, formation and filming

[@Baroness1015]

Wow! What a beautiful image. It's so cool to see how much planes of all kinds have advanced. Just between WW1 and WW2 you can see such a big diffrence in how far technology had come, and now look what we have. These planes are wonderful reminders of the birth of flight, keep em flyin!

[@callinstead09]

Man, what a phenomenal scene! I can't get over how good it is to see these planes still flying.

[@johnlohr5435]

I was witness to the spitfire during ww2and it's amazing performance from the waist position of a B 17 but I would not have believed the sopwith and it's scary engine and the name it finally made for itselfe. John Lohr 379th bomb groupe

[@Tuner010]

+John Lohr Try to think and put yourself doing the time of WWI pilots going through those take offs and landings and dog fights then look how the Sopwith Camel operates and maneuvers from the Allies point of view and the enemy axis. It Was a deadly Adversary in it's own rights during the WWI Era. 10 Kills was a Ace During WWI Cause of the way they worked and the pilots flew without air mask or anything to keep them warm except their clothes their wearing and their scarf and look how this taking and landing is so hard also. TOP of the line Performance Back Then. Not to mention Air Fighting was almost Unheard of back then it was just coming into existence.

[@hemmarket]

+John Lohr God Bless ya John !!! I flew in a B-17 as a civilian in 1994 (50th anniversary), just an amazing experience. And so much better when no one is shooting at you ! : ) My father served in the Navy during WWII and Korea.

[@harrypagetflashman1]

god bless you mr. lohr, thanks from an english patriot for your service...

[@GGigabiteM]

Gnome Monosoupape engines had no throttle. The engine was either "on" or "off", with reduction in power done by grounding the magneto on specific cylinders, or by turning the ignition off and blipping the engine.

[@ChannelNotFound]

Spirfire is like "I'M AT STALL SPEED! CHEWY, GIVE ME FULL FLAPS!"

[@barrierodliffe4155]

30 mph above stalling speed, no need for flaps, it is a Spitfire not a P 47

[@doodlegassum6959]

With British accent of course Sir.

[@crazygood150]

I just love the sound of that Merlin engine in the spitfire, just beautiful

[@Enid2Sacramento]

Way to go, Kiwis! Never thought I would see something like this.

[@kirkconway]

that is sooo neat ,listening to Gene De Marco talking about the old planes and thier design's and flight characteristic's. and then that shot where the Spit is right there with Gene, and then Gene peel's off going back to the field. and the spit speed's up over the pretty countryside and then climb's into a loop,and the noise of that Merlin in the open air is beyond word's doing that loop with it's sillouette against the sky hard to discribe. INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!.

[@The11thgrape]

Painfully beautiful, two of the worlds most beautiful aircraft flying in formation over New Zealand.

[@kirkconway]

the way that late model Spit is going thru that large loop with the hill's and greenery, and river's in the background and that sound od that merlin in ABSOLUTE MAJESTY. Totallly Incredible.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

That Spitfire Mk IX was not really a late model, they first entered service in 1942, they continued trough the war, there were 10 models made after the Mk IX.

[@gjmoore5757]

what a beast.great sound .and the spitfire as well.

[@jjaybeebee1]

The Merlin does sound nice. I flew with RAF Bomber Command in the big war and heard 4,000 Merlins in 1,000 Lancasters in unison many nights of the week, That was really something to hear.

[@streakeagle]

Outstanding footage. Simply amazing to see a rotary engine still working so well.

[@philipstrachan455]

This is truly wonderful! You need to know that this video clip has made my week :-) What skill Sopwith Camel pilots must have had (and still have for that matter)!

[@Mostrichkugel]

Removing the chocks this way is quite dangerous. Why don't they attach strings to them and pull them away from the side?

[@niklassilen4313]

Amazing footage!

[@sopgravy]

Two of my favorites and a joy to watch! Thank you! DL

[@davidcompton7559]

Beautiful aerial shots -- thanks for this!

[@billygillan821]

Truly amazing seeing two of the most iconic fighters together

[@blackbirdpie217]

Would be nice to see the Sopwith Camel fly with the Hawker Hurricane. Both companies were founded by Thomas Sopwith. Hawker was one of his partners.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

Probably because the Camel was the top scoring fighter of WW I, the Spitfire the yop allied fighter of WW II, unfortunatelt there are no original Bf 109's.

[@N21X]

Simply incredible! Aviation history is so rich!

[@DayTheBanksCollapse]

Check out that torque just after start! A fantastic aircraft, very very impressive to see flying in the flesh too.

[@Rainhill1829]

Absolutely stunning.

[@bossco09]

Awesome!!! love the sound of both aircraft......

[@PrinceBishop3]

Man, great to hear that! I'm a huge Vampire fan. Was lucky enough to get in the cockpit of one in Langley BC. A stunning aircraft.

[@JonnieCometLtd]

This is super cool. Well worth watching!

[@PrinceBishop3]

BTW (sorry for the triple post) but this vid's narrator sounds like a New Zealander or Aussie, so not only loved by the Brits but Canadians, Aussies, NZs, Polish, French, and many others who decided to fight tyranny instead of waiting untill '42

[@dannyinaus]

wow, thumbs up for those pilots! That is some truly remarkable flying - just awesome to watch!

[@LostCloudx4]

Pure love! Love for the planes, Love for Wanaka & Love Of Flying

[@eromadrol]

Beautiful video, thanks ! And without f... music !... The engines sound is here PURE MUSIC !

[@JonnieCometLtd]

I am reminded of Hermann Goering's comment about the Mosquito, 'this beautiful wooden airplane' that, he said, Germany could not make whilst Britain, who, he said, had all the steel and aluminium Germany wanted, had the Mosquito being turned out by 'every piano shop in London'. We often think the Krauts had it all; but we forget to see their side. They were as afraid of the Allies as the Allies were of them. That's called 'at war'.

[@crazygood150]

This video changed my whole view of aircraft before 1930 and how they operated

[@letlivedidsbury]

Beautiful footage! Saw a spitfire and hurricane flyover at Kirmington, Yorkshire, England in 2003 for Squadron 166 reunion. I will never forget it

[@MartinHatchuel]

So interesting and wonderful to watch. Thank you

[@PrinceBishop3]

I agree that the Mustang is a gorgeous plane and also agree that beauly is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it's because I saw my first Spit in an airshow when I was a kid and I'll never forget the speed, the sound of the Merlin and it's grace. I'm not into 'my dad's better than your dad' arguments. For me it's just the plane I love.

[@biggles1483]

Such beautiful machines...

[@warrenchambers4819]

The sopwith is screaming I think I can! I think I can! The spits is going Pardon me sir but could you speed up just a bit I'm going to fall out of the sky soon.

[@jamesshunt5123]

Funny how the cheapest jet airliners today operated by small charter airlines in smaller nations can easily outrun them both. Heck, TGV trains can outrun the Spitfire at max speed.

[@glennsmith8676]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video!

[@spoada]

never knew that camel engine had that oil spewing system. so cool. the sdadd sounds really cool too.

[@loreztaken]

stunning video. thank you!

[@birthoftime]

Epic, wonderful to see, keep them flying.

[@JonnieCometLtd]

That is very cool.

[@lanceortega1]

Amazing and interesting film - thanks to this interview in the beginning and the perfectly clean sound. PS Spitfire nearly stalled next to this biplane :-)

[@Linkage1992]

5:10 it's ww1 and ww2 coming together! What a difference 20 years makes.

[@Yamieguy]

Actually the P-38 isn't even the most famous American type of WW2.The Spit might just be the most famous fighter of all time period... if you poll people from more then just one country!

[@dianaofburlington5172]

And yet the most common airplane in the whole war was the American B-24.

[@Yamieguy]

@@dianaofburlington5172 They made a lot of Liberators during the war...but abour half the production run of the IL-2 Sturmovik or Me-109.

[@dianaofburlington5172]

@@Yamieguy sorry; not the facts I’ve read for decades. B24 was most-produced bomber, heavy bomber, multi-engine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history. They built them faster than one per hour across 5 plants during wartime, which is probably also a record.

[@Yamieguy]

@@dianaofburlington5172 Yep. All true. But your statement was "the most common airplane" of the war, not bombers... which weren't even in the conversation!

[@johnnorman7708]

WWI ended in 1918 and 20 years later in 1938 WWII was on. Two aircraft seperated by only about 2 decades almost as different as night and day. Stark contrast. Rotary Gnome was a scary little engine. What it took to fly that thing in air combat was extreme.

[@bbtreehaus]

Oh yeah! When I was about 10, my dad took the family to Rinebeck, NY, where they had a bunch of WWl planes on display. I remember they staged an air show, and my little sis and I couldn't see; so we climbed a tree, along with a boy about my age, to get a better view! Also saw a big air show at Barksdale AFB once!

[@DazDaMan]

@nolhrt The Spit was, and still is, generally considered to be one of the easiest tailwheel warbirds to fly...

[@McLarenMercedes]

fighter aircraft development went really fast during its early stages not to mention the wars sped up the development with the factor of 5

[@Vicsam7]

Awesome Vid such Great Planes ! and Beautiful video quality ! Thanks !

[@worldoftone]

Awesome info. Interesting to see just how hard the SC was/is to fly.

[@michaelfiguly1654]

You're not sneaking up on anybody in that plane 😂 lol.

[@MrRatley]

I agree that it is arguable weather or not the Spitfire is the most famous plane of WWII. It is of course one of them and I agree also that its fame is more so for us Brits. The funny thing is the P-51 Mustang was actually a British designed plane commissioned for the U.S.

[@RomanatorII]

This is the castor oil he was mentioning. The particles of oil/exhaust allow water to condense more easily. The Camel has no throttle. The only way to reduce power is to periodically turn off the engine. If not done right, the engine can explode.

[@55chh]

simply gorgeous, both of 'em!!!

[@agwhitaker]

Both were cutting-edge, state of the art, air superiority fighters for their time. Look how the Camel, after it is started, seems to be anxious to get air-borne.

[@mikcol44]

Just brilliant !

[@comradeboris]

@SonOfRDGear No, that IS a rotary engine, a radial is fixed, it doesnt spin with the prop.

[@Airplanefreak14]

very well done!

[@lazyorangehousecat9164]

You can't hear that beautiful Merlin engine...That's how loud the Camel was. Beautiful aeroplanes, both of them.

[@choppergirl]

Wow, when you see that Spitfire come up behind the Camel, it almost looks like an extraterrestrial alien aircraft... imagine if that had happened in WW2... via some time glitch. Surely the Camel pilot would be scared out of his mind... British Roundels on the wings regardless.

[@GamePlayWithNolan]

+AIDS Bjorn You are thinking of The Final Countdown!!!!! lol, the Nimitz, protecting America since December 6th, 1941!

[@jamesshunt5123]

Nah, they look remarkably similar in layout with a propeller driving the aircraft and wide wings up front. Now a delta-winged fighter jet *would* indeed look extraterrestrial because there is no propeller to propel it forward, no long-wide wings and no internal combustion engine sound. I don't think a Camel pilot would be scared out of his mind merely thinking he had encountered some new prototype metal-plane (those existed at the end of WWI already) - certainly not if he learned that it's British. It has a propeller and is clearly driven by a piston engine. In layout it's similar. Sleek body, wide wings up front. A 60's fighter delta-wing fighter jet would be a lot harder to place. How does it even fly with no propeller? (Thermo-jets or motor-jets were virtually unknown during both WWI and WWII). A WWI pilot could get into a Spitfire and learn to fly it immediately. Trying to handle a jet on the other hand... They had special jet pilot schools at the end of WWII (both the Germans and British) because they were fundamentally different.

[@syfer4580]

Now I like to see a Sopwith Camel fly in formation with a Spitfire and a Hawker Hunter. But thats impossible, the Hunter would immediately rip off the Camel's wings. *sad noises*

[@pcka12]

The Camel (in experienced hands) was known for 'leaping' into the air from the tarmac before ever reaching the grass airfield, when you see the Camel in the Imperial War Museum, London you realise how small they are!

[@BammBammBering]

Great planes, thanks for the video!

[@Stylensky]

Beautiful!

[@GGigabiteM]

The Clerget and the Bentley series both had proper throttles. The reason the gnome series didn't have throttles was because they got their air supply from the exhaust port, instead of mixing air, fuel and caster oil in a carburetor.

[@willy30303]

I remember seeing a Sopwith Camel in a hangar at the Winnipeg airport and that it had been built by a group of retirees. I am not sure if it crashed or is still somewhere in Canada.

[@Stukadriver]

Excellent video. Wonderful in-flight scenes. What did you use to get such a steady platform? Was it the Clay Lacey set-up? The Camel must have been scary to fly. How did that fellow get started in one? No dual control ones exist do they?

[@ICEMAN440X]

Awesome video - what's the original full length video this clip is taken from?

[@NeerajGupta-fu7vq]

Despite its age, spitfire is as beautiful as ever

[@simeon3always]

Great stuff!

[@jerrymail]

Very beautiful vid! It's great to see a WW1 aircraft in flight Thanks for the post ^^

[@ImpendingJoker]

It's a rotary-radial engine. I don't know why people always drop that part.

[@dacke93]

spitfire looks so futuristic in this video

[@MrRatley]

Your 100% right! I had once watched a program where I mistakenly remember the ordering and design of the Mustang by Sir Henry Self. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. For the record my previous post was by no means argumentative or an attempt to prove anything if that is what you meant by a "good try".

[@thegreat_I_am]

You can’t hear the Spitfire at all, presumably because he’s throttled right back while the Camel’s giving it everything it’s got.

[@Tinytacohead]

My favorite WW1 & WW2 birds at same time. :-)

[@Kohl423]

There were many famous fighters from WWII not forgetting very many German aircraft and one or two Russian & Japanese planes as well. Certainly from the allied side and based upon international recognition and submission the Spitfire must be one of, if not the most famous allied fighter of WWII. The others mentioned in various posts were tremendous aircraft and extremely well known and respected, but the name Spitfire was on everybody's lips.

[@JackFlemingFan1]

Excellent!

[@inkey2]

that must have been hell to start one of these up on a cold day

[@JonnieCometLtd]

This is very true; and many have claimed that the Allies won the war against attrition whilst the Germans definitely lost it. Still, in keeping with Yamamoto, a little technology in the right hands can be a dangerous thing.

[@michaelterry377]

Pilots of the Sopwith Camel complained that the engine, guns, fuel tank, and pilot ... The “flying machine,” born only a decade before World War I, matured swiftly

[@1969DodgeChargers]

That is one airplane I would not want to hand prop... Luscombes are enough for me!

[@justforever96]

@neverboardproduction I guess he'd have to have it on 100%, to warm up all the cylinders, huh? The blip switches were to cut power so you could control thrust a little...I'm not an expert, but there may be a governor that keeps cutting the ignition when the RPMs reach a certain point. Kind of like "bouncing a (car) engine off the rev limiter"...try pushing the gas in neutral in a car, and the engine will spin up to redline, cut out and drop 1,000RPM, hit the redline, cut out and drop, etc, etc-

[@Arrowtone]

I like both of these aircraft

[@Peaks209]

633 squadron theme in the background of this would be nice WITH THE ENGINES ROARING IN THE FOREGROUND

[@Nikifuj908]

@hinegums What's the P-51 Mustang, a flying apricot?

[@clintonearlwalker]

Great vid, Nice upload, Thanx!! I was wondering how they were going to remove the chocks from the Sopwith, I believe I'd tie a rope or chain!!

[@JAMamation]

i'd give my arm and leg to fly those two beautiful machines.

[@1515327E]

An obvious proviso being that you arrange for that surgical operation to be performed after the flying experience, not beforehand.

[@mostgrossdanger04]

Because putting ropes on the chocks is a problem??.