HENRY BOTTERELL SOPWITH CAMEL

AVIATION ARCHIVE - KNIGHTS OF THE AIR SERIES

Historical Note:    Henry John Lawrence Botterell  (November 7, 1896 - January 3, 2003)  was a Canadian fighter pilot who served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and then in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War I. When he died at the age of 106, the Canadian Department of Veterans' Affairs believed he had been the last surviving pilot in the world to have seen action in the Great War.

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Info:    Sopwith Camel - Henry Botterell
Scale:    1:48
Wingspan:    7.0   inches
Length:    4.75    inches

Item Number:    AA38101                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Price:    $39.95

Historical Note Continued:    In September, Botterell joined No. 8 Naval Squadron. The squadron, which was usually referred to as Naval 8, was soon posted to France in support of the Royal Flying Corps. Botterell’s immediate superior was also a Canadian, the flying ace. Flight Commander James White. The squadron was commanded by another ace, Squadron Commander Christopher Draper, who was later known as the "Mad Major" for his habit of flying under bridges.

On September 18, 1917, Botterell's second operational flight as a pilot ended in a crash at Dunkirk when the engine of his Sopwith Pup failed. He sustained head injuries, a fractured leg and broken teeth. After six months in hospital, he was discharged and sent back to Canada

En route to Canada, Botterell ran into some of his former colleagues from Naval 8 in London. They arranged for him to be sent to Manston in Kent in order to re-qualify as a pilot. After 10 hours of refresher training he was approved to start flying once more and was sent to Serny on the Western Front, where he rejoined No. 8 Naval Squadron, now renamed No. 208 Squadron RAF. He served with them from May 11 to November 27, 1918 flying a variety of missions in different aircraft. He flew patrols and fought over Serny, Tramcourt, Arras, Foucacourt and Estrees. In 60 days between June and August 1918 he flew 91 sorties.

Botterell's sole air victory saw him bring down a German observation balloon, which was well-defended by anti-aircraft guns, on August 29, 1918 near Arras. He was returning from dropping four bombs on the railway station at Vitry when he saw the balloon. Putting his Sopwith Camel into a dive, he put 400 machine-gun rounds into the balloon, setting it aflame. The German observer parachuted to safety. The scene was immortalised in Robert Taylor's painting "Balloon Buster".

During his service, Botterell flew a variety of planes, including several Sopwiths (Pup, Camel and Snipe), the RE8, the SE5, the Claude Graham White and the Maurice Farman. He logged 251 combat hours.

At the end of the war, Botterell was a Flight Lieutant with the Royal Air Force (the Royal Flying Corps and RNAS had been combined on April 1, 1918 to form the RAF).

After his return to Canada, Botterell never flew again except on commercial flights.    (Historical Note from  "Wikimedia Foundation, Inc",  for complete historical information, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Botterell