A single bay biplane, the two-spar wooden wings have plywood on the leading edges and fabric covering aft of the front spar. The wooden fuselage has plywood covering as far as the cockpit and fabric on the rear fuselage. Conventional controls were fitted, with ailerons on the lower wings only.
Nieuport 28C-1
Only a few were used by the French Air Force but the Americans bought 297 to equip their Expeditionary Force.
They did have a habit of shedding fabric from its wings in a dive. Before this was fixed, the Nieuport 28 had been replaced in the US squadrons by Spad 13’s.
28C Engine: Gnome, 160 hp or Clerget, 160 hp Wingspan: 26 ft 9 in Length: 20 ft 3 in Height: 7 ft Max speed: 140 mph at SL Endurance: 2 hr Armament: 1 or 2 Vickers mg Crew: 1
Nieuport N 28 C 1 Bébé Engine: Gnôme-et-Rhône 9 N Monosoupape, 160 hp Length: 21 ft 9 in / 6.4 m Height: 8 ft 1 in / 2.5 m Wingspan: 26 ft 9 in / 8.16 m Wing area: 172.224 sqft / 16.0 sq.m Max take-off weight: 1540 lb Weight empty: 960 lb / 435.0 kg Max. weight carried: 507.2 lb / 230.0 kg Fuel capacity: 33 Imp.Gal Max. speed: 128 mph / 111 kts / 206 km/h at SL Initial climb rate: 1181.10 ft/min / 6.00 m/s Service ceiling: 20,000 ft / 6100 m Wing load: 8.61 lb/sq.ft / 42.00 kg/sq.m Range: 130 nm / 240 km Endurance: 2 h Crew: 1 Armament: 2 x Vickers mg
The Nieuport 27 saw comparatively little com¬bat and the AEF appear to have made the greatest use of it. Over 180 are thought to have been purchased, most being used as ‘pursuit trainers’.
The genuine Nieuport 27.Cl had the plain tailskid. The central, vertical, bracing wire to the mid point of the spreader bar where the two half axles were pivoted, and the simplified skid, distinguished the Nie 27 from the Nie 24.
The Nieuport 24bis strongly resembled previous Nieuport designs but was lighter and had more power than the 17. It was aerodynamically cleaner through the use of fuselage side stringers.
Type 24bis
The Nieuport 24 and 27 were fitted with a round tail similar to the later type 28, whereas the type 24bis used the angular type 17 empennage.
As with all “Vee” strut Nieuport designs the 24bis possessed an inherent weakness of the lower wing. The sesquiplane configuration caused the wing to twist during prolonged high speed dives or abnormally violent maneuvers.
Shortly after its inception the 24bis was cancelled out as a first line fighter and many found their way to the rear as advanced trainers.
Developed over four months, the improved model 17, stronger than its predecessors, and with a 110 or 120 hp Le Rhone engine, the new model was highly manoeuvrable and had high performance with a particularly good rate of climb. A Lewis gun was mounted on the top wing to fire above the propeller with a sliding mount enabling it to be pulled down by the pilot and aimed upwards, thereby permitting an attack on enemy aircraft in their blind spot, from below.
A single-bay biplane, the wooden wings had two spars in the top wings and only one in the lower wings. Ailerons were in the top wings only. Tail surfaces were steel tube construction and no fixed fin was fitted.
Superseding the Nieuport 11 Bebe, the Nieuport Type 17 single seat fighter entered service in March 1916.
Nungessers Nieuport 17
Later in the Nieuport’s service life, when a synchronising gear had been perfected to allow the gun to fire through the propeller, a Vickers machine gun was substituted. A number of French squadrons re equipped with the Type 17, together with Belgan, Italian, Russian and British RFC units, and the type rapidly made a name for itself with aces who included Nungesser, Ball and Bishop.
When used for attacks on German observation balloons, four Le Prieur “firework type” rockets were attached to each interplane strut, and were fired electrically.
Capt W A Bishop, 60 Squadron, in Nieuport 17, shot down 3 aircraft in single-handed attack on German aerodrome on 2 June 1917. Awarded the VC.
Ultralight replica: Airdrome Airplanes Nieuport 17 Circa Reproductions Nieuport 17
17C Engine: Le Rhone, 110 hp Wingspan: 26 ft Wing area: 158.8 sq.ft Length: 19 ft Height: 7 ft Empty weight: 825 lb Loaded weight: 1232 lb Wing loading: 7.7 lb.sq.ft Max speed: 107 mph at 6500 ft Service ceiling: 17,400 ft Time to 10,000ft: 9 min Endurance: 2 hr Armament: 1 or 2 Vickers mg Crew: 1
Nieuport 17 Engine: Le Rhone, 110 hp Wing span 27.25 ft. (8.3 m) Length 19.5 ft. (5.9 m) Height: 8 ft Weight empty 825 lb (374 kg) Max wt: 560 kg (1,235 lb) Max speed 107 mph (172 kph) Ceiling 17,400 ft (5,300 m) fully loaded Time to 3280 ft: 3 min Range: 155 sm (250 km) Endurance: 2 hr Seats 1 Armament One machine gun, and eight Le Prieur rockets
Designed by Gustave Delage, the Nieuport 12 was larger and more powerful the preceding Nieuport 10. A single bay biplane, the wooden wings have two spars in the top wing and only one in the lower wing. Ailerons are on the top wing only. The wooden fuselage and entire airframe are fabric covered. Tail surfaces are steel tube construction and there is no fixed fin.
Engine were either 110 hp or 130 hp Clerget rotary with a two blade propeller.
They were equipped with one Lewis machine gun in the ear cockpit. Some aircraft had a Lewis gun above the wing centre-section or, later, a Vickers gun above the front fuselage.
In addition to machines bought from France, 50 Nieuport 12’s were built in England for the RNAS and FC by the Beardmore company and could be recognised by their completely circular engine cowlings instead of the normal horseshoe type.
Ultralight replica: Circa Reproductions Nieuport 12
Engine: 110 hp Clerget Wingspan: 29 ft 7.5 in Wing area: 236.5 sq.ft Length: 23 ft 11.255 in Height: 8 ft 11 in Empty weight: 1155 lb MTOW: 1815 lb Max speed: 98 mpg at SL Service ceiling: 13.000 ft Endurance: 3 hr
Engine: 130 hp Clerget Wingspan: 29 ft 7.5 in Wing area: 236.5 sq.ft Length: 23 ft 11.255 in Height: 8 ft 11 in
Originally designed for the 1914 Gordon Bennet Cup Contest and reshaped to become the Type 11. A successful fighter of 1916-17, the Nie. 11 (also known as the Nieuport Type 13, based on the wing area in square metres) was a sesquiplane with a half size lower wing. The upper wing with sweepback. Initially the lower wing would warp and sometimes break off in a high speed dive.
The fuselage was rectangular with bulkheads secured by four longerons and diagonally braced with wire. The top of the bulkheads were in the same plane but tapered together toward the rear of the fuselage becoming narrower and shorter. The top of the fuselage was faired into a turtledeck with light formers, longitudinal stringers and covered with plywood, and fitted with a headrest.
Steel tube was used in the cockpit and engine compartment and as needed for wing spar, strut and landing gear mounts. The wood longerons were sometimes made of ash, changing to spruce behind the cockpit. Spruce was also used in the vertical struts and cross members.
The engine bearer/forward bulkhead was heavy-gauge steel plate. There was no front support for the engine. The aluminium engine cowl had strengthening ribs, and sometimes enclosed the entire engine, sometimes had a gap at the bottom. There were two holes at the bottom right for exhaust and ventilation.
Early aircraft were powered by an 80 hp Le Rhone and had a Lewis machine gun mounted atop the wing. Later XIs were powered by 130 hp Clerget and had a synchronised Vickers machine gun firing through the prop arc.
Charles Godfrey’s Nieuport 11
Aluminium fairings merged the circular cowling into the flat-sided fuselage. Behind the cockpit the fuselage was fabric covered with plywood panels reinforcing the structure at the rear. In the front cockpit the fabric was attached with hooks and cord for easy access.
The top wing, rear spar was set directly above the lower wings single spar to optimise the load and eliminate the need for inter-strut drag wires. The bottom wings incidence could be adjusted on the ground for different payloads. The wings ribs had ash flanges and limewood webbing. Spruce strips were on the leading and trailing edges of the wings and trailing edges of the ailerons. Push-pull rods moved the ailerons. The tail was made from steel tube and fabric covered. The elevators and rudder used cables for control. A flat, curved spring steel on a reinforced mount served as a tail skid.
The undercarriage was a pair of streamlined drawn-aluminium tubing cross members in a V. An axle with rubber cord shock absorbers on each end spanned the spoked aluminium wheels, covered with aluminium plate. They were armed with a single Hotchkiss or Lewis machine gun mounted over the top wing. Reloading was by a Foster mount curved rail that allowed the gun to be slid back and down. There were also a number of stops so the gun could be fired upwards. It could also carry eight Le Pruir rockets on the wing struts for attacking balloons.
First introduced in July 1915, the Nie. 11 gained superiority over the Fokker E.III during the Battle of Verdun, ending the “Fokker Scourge”.
French ace Nungesser and Nieuport 11
They were used by many forces during WW 1, including France, the United States, England, Italy, Belgium, and Russia. At least one captured Nieuport 11 was operated in German markings.
Charles Godfrey passing under the Arc de Triumphe
It was produced in England by Nieuport & General Aircraft Co Ltd, in Italy by Nieuport-Macchi as well as the parent company and many sub-contractors in France.
Ultralight replica: Circa Reproductions Nieuport 11 Airdrome Airplanes Nieuport 11
Replica: Pfeifer Nieuport 11
Nieuport 11 Bebe Engine: Gnome, 80 hp Wingspan: 24 ft 6 in Length: 19 ft 3 in Empty weight: 759 lb Top speed: 97 mph Landing speed: 30 mph Take-off dist: 100 ft
In Januaray 1914 Gustave Delage started as a new engineer and designed a sesquiplane with two wings a V-struts. This Nieuport 10B (B for biplane) was to be a two-seat observation/fighter with an observer in the front (as a Nie.10 AV (Avant, in front) or, behind the pilot as the Nie. 10 AR (Arriere, behind).
The single seat fighter appeared as the Nie. 10c1 and it is believed many of the two seat models were converted into the Nie. 10c1.
Jean Navarre and friend Sagaret with a Nieuport X
Nieuport 10/83 Engine: Clerget rotary, 130hp.
Nie.10c1 Engine: Gnome, 80 hp or Le Rhone 9C, 80 hp Wingspan: 24 ft 9 in Length: 19 ft 1/3 in Height: 8 ft 0.5 in Top speed SL: 97 mph ROC: 550 fpm Gross weight: 1060 lb Ceiling: 15,090 ft Endurance: 2 hr 30 min
