First World War WWI 1914-1918 Aviation Art Print of a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Sopwith Camel 2F1 & HMS Iron Duke Battleship from an original painting by Aviation Artist Roger H. Middlebrook GAvA.

Among the more unusual adaptations to the ships of the Royal Navy during WWI was the fitting of flying-off ramps on the turrets of battleships and cruisers to allow the carrying of aircraft for both reconnaissance and aerial combat duties. To fly from these, several Sopwith designs were adapted and successfully flown.

The five–ship Iron Duke class of dreadnoughts were equipped with two such flying off ramps and were equipped with the navalised Sopwith 2F1 Camel from 1917. One of the major reasons for the deployment of the Sopwith scout was that the war at sea had become far more dangerous with the use of airships for both reconnaissance and attack. Though Britain made use of several smaller types, the German Zeppelins were the more potent.

In this Roger H. Middlebrook painting two Sopwith Camel’s are shown scrambling from HMS Iron Duke to intercept the intruding Zeppelin.

The original painting from which this painting is taken is currently available, please see the link below