Nieuport

For the town of Nieuport in Flanders, see Nieuwpoort (disambiguation).

Original colour photo of a Nieuport 17 C.1 fighter of World War I

Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.

History

Beginnings

A Nieuport monoplane catalogue, circa 1911. The aircraft shown is an early version of the Nieuport 2

Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in 1902 for the manufacture of engine components the company was reformed in 1909 as the Société Générale d'Aéro-locomotion, and its products (including ignition components) were marketed to the aviation industry. During this time, their first aircraft were built, starting with a small single-seat monoplane, which was destroyed in a flood. A second design flew before the end of 1909 and had the essential form of the modern aircraft, including a non-lifting tail (where the aerodynamic force pushed it down, as opposed to up as on the Bleriots) and an enclosed fuselage with the pilot fully protected from the elements.

In 1911, the company was reformed specifically to build aircraft (though it continued to build components including propellers) under the name Nieuport et Deplante. In 1911, Edouard Nieuport(1875-1911) (one of several brothers) died after being thrown from his aircraft, and the company was taken over by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, a famous supporter of aviation development. With his financing, the name was changed to Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport, and development of the existing designs was continued. Charles Nieuport, the second brother died in another accident in 1912 (he stalled and spun in), and the position of chief designer was taken over by the Swiss engineer Franz Schneider, more famous for his work for his next employer, L.V.G., and his long-running fight with Anthony Fokker over machine gun interrupter / synchronizer patents. Schneider left Nieuport in late 1913.

Gustave Delage and World War I

A Nieuport 11 or 16 bébé Fighter

With Schneider's departure, Gustave Delage (no connection to the Delage automobile company) took over as chief designer in January 1914. He began work on a sesquiplane racer - a biplane whose lower wing was much narrower in chord than its top wing and relied on a single wing spar instead of the usual two. This aircraft was not ready to fly until after World War I had begun but, as the Nieuport 10, the type saw extensive service with the Royal Naval Air Service (R.N.A.S.) of the United Kingdom and with the French and Russian Flying Services. The performance of the Nieuport 10, and the more powerful Nieuport 12, which also served with the Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.) was such that they were used as fighters. Nieuport developed an improved design specifically intended as a fighter - the Nieuport 11, which was regarded as the "baby" (bébé) of the 10, which it closely resembled, except in size.

Until the end of 1917, most of the company's output would consist of successive developments of this one design, with more powerful engines, modest increases in overall dimensions, and slightly more refined aerodynamics, until the line ended with the Nieuport 27. As horsepower increased, the "V-strut" Nieuports began to suffer from the limitations of the sesquiplane wing form, and required careful piloting to avoid the risk of wing failures. By March/April 1917 the design was technically outclassed by the newer twin-gun Albatros D.III, and although the process of replacement had already begun, Nieuport 27's would still be in front line service in the spring of 1918. Even while still in frontline service, Nieuports of all types were being used at French and American flight training facilities, with the bulk of production from 1917 onwards going to flying schools.

Some pilots, notably Albert Ball and Charles Nungesser preferred the Nieuport due to its sensitive controls and maneuverability. Pilots Eddie Rickenbacker and Billy Bishop flew Nieuport aircraft to some of their first victories, with Bishop achieving his when the Nieuport 23 he flew was already deemed to be obsolete.

The next design, the Nieuport 28 was the first Nieuport fighter with two spars to both upper and lower wings but by the time it was ready for service the French had already chosen the SPAD S.XIII as their primary fighter. Due to a shortage of SPAD S.XIIIs, the first fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Service (USAAS), used the Nieuport 28 on operations. Despite its short time in operational service with the USAAS, the Nieuport 28 became the first fighter used on operations by a U.S. Squadron.

The Nieuport fighters were widely used by the Allied air arms, and various models were built under licence in both Italy and Russia. In Italy, the modern firm of Aermacchi was originally formed as Nieuport-Macchi for the purpose of building various Nieuports under licence. They started with the Nieuport IV, but built the Nieuport 10, 11, 17 and finally the post-war NiD.29 under license. In Russia several companies, notably Dux, built Nieuports of several types.

Charles Godefroy flies a Nieuport fighter through the Arc de Triomphe in 1919

On the morning of Friday, 8 August 1919, three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew one of the tiny "v-strut" Nieuport fighters through the large arch of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The event was filmed.

Post-World War I

By the end of 1918, Nieuport had two new fighter types flying, the Nieuport 29 and the Nieuport 31 monoplane both of which had evolved in parallel from the Nieuport 28. The 29 differed from earlier Nieuports in having a streamlined wooden monocoque fuselage, a 300 hp (220 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine, and a strongly-braced two bay biplane wing. Specially modified Nieuport 29 and 31 aircraft set speed and height records, and the 31 was the first aircraft to exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) in level flight, in the hands of Joseph Sadi-Lecointe.

At this time, Nieuport became Nieuport-Astra, with the absorption of Société Astra, a company known for aerial balloons, though this name would not be used for long, before becoming Nieuport-Delage, in honour of the work of the chief designer, Gustave Delage, who had been running the company throughout the war years. Also at this time, Tellier (who built seaplanes) was also absorbed, and for a brief time the name Nieuport-Tellier was used.

Despite the many successes achieved with 29 and 31 in setting speed and altitude records, Delage quickly embarked on a new design (The Nieuport-Delage NiD.42) that was to provide the basis for a family of aircraft that would remain in service until the fall of France during World War II. This design first saw light as a shoulder wing racer (42S), then as single seat (42 C.1) and two seat fighters (42 C.2) for the French Air Force though none of these would see service. The Nieuport-Delage 52, a slightly improved NiD.42, entered service with Spain, and remained in service well into the Spanish Civil War, although by that time it was obsolete and was retired before the end of the conflict. The French then bought large numbers of the 62 series (620, 621, 622, 629 - also derived from the NiD.42) which equipped the bulk of the French fighter units until replaced by newer designs in the late 30's. Despite being hopelessly obsolete by this stage, several French second-line escadrilles were equipped with them during the invasion of France. The Nieuport-Delage 38 and similar 39 were small airliners of which more than 37 were built. Other types were developed, the majority of which were one-offs or did not result in significant development.

The final aircraft developed by Nieuport saw much of their development done by successor companies, as Nieuport was first merged with Loire Aviation to form Loire-Nieuport, and then reformed as SNCAO during the mergers in the French aircraft industry. Only one of these, a single seat, single engine monoplane dive bomber with an inverted gull wing and a similarity to the Junkers 87 saw service.

The end of Nieuport

In 1932, as a result of the forced amalgamations taking place in the French aviation industry, Delage retired and Nieuport-Delage reverted back to Nieuport, albeit only briefly before becoming Loire-Nieuport, then disappearing completely into SNCAO. Without a skilled chief designer, the company was unable to produce any memorable aircraft and had pretty much disappeared before World War II. SNCAO would eventually be merged into the massive conglomerate known as Aérospatiale; however, the companies' records were destroyed during World War II, when they were burned to prevent their falling into German hands. This step didn't prevent the Germans from charging several employees with espionage, as the last aircraft to carry the Nieuport name looked remarkably like a Junkers 87—albeit as a single-seater with retractable gear.

Aircraft produced

During WW1 Nieuport aircraft were often known only by their wing area (in square meters) rather than their official designations, thus the Nieuport 10 sesquiplane was also a Nieuport 18 or an 18 meter Nieuport, the Nieuport 11 & 16 were known as Nieuport 13M and the Nieuport 17/21/23 were the 15 meter Nieuports.

• Nieuport I - pod and boom tractor monoplane, flew once before being destroyed by a flood.
• Nieuport II - small single-seat sport/racing monoplane powered by a wide variety of engines.
• Nieuport III - single-seat sport/racing monoplane based on IIA with larger variant of engine.
• Nieuport IV - two-seat sport/racing monoplane
• Nieuport VI - three-seat sport monoplane.
• Nieuport VIII - two-seat sport monoplane, variant of IV for Turkey, some impressed into French Navy.
• Nieuport X - three-seat sport monoplane similar to VI but with constant chord wings.
• Nieuport XI - small single seat sport monoplane similar to II but with constant chord wings.
• Nieuport-Dunne - tailless biplane built under licence with many local modifications.
• Nieuport Carton-Pate - twin boom sesquiplane pusher floatplane for military.
• Nieuport 10 - sport sesquiplane, later used in wide variety of military roles, no relation to earlier monoplane Nieuport X
  • Nieuport 83 - trainer version of Nieuport 10
• Nieuport 11 - sesquiplane fighter; Nieuport's first purpose-built fighter, no relation to earlier monoplane Nieuport XI
• Nieuport 12 - two-seat artillery spotting sesquiplane developed from Nieuport 10
  • Nieuport 80 and 81 - trainer versions of Nieuport 12 with 80-hp engines
• Nieuport 12bis - two seat artillery spotting sesquiplane, extensively redesigned from Nieuport 12
• Nieuport 13 - two-seat artillery spotting sesquiplane developed from Nieuport 12
• Nieuport 14 - two-seat reconnaissance sesquiplane
  • Nieuport 82 - trainer version of Nieuport 14 with 80-hp engine
• Nieuport 15 - large sesquiplane bomber, further enlargement of 14
• Nieuport 16 - sesquiplane fighter; Nieuport 11 airframe powered by the Le Rhône 9J engine.
• Nieuport 17 - sesquiplane fighter similar to the earlier Nieuport 11, but had the same engine as the 16, larger all around, and a more refined structure in general.
• Nieuport 17bis - sesquiplane fighter; cleaned-up version of Nieuport 17. Used in small numbers.
• Nieuport 18 - twin engine sesquiplane bomber
• Nieuport 19 - same as Nieuport 18 but with different engines. Neither appear to have been built
• Nieuport 20 - two-seat artillery spotting sesquiplane aircraft developed from Nieuport 12
• Nieuport 21 - light weight sesquiplane fighter and advanced trainer version of Nieuport 17 with lower-powered engine
• Nieuport 23 - sesquiplane fighter, development of Nieuport 17 with Vickers machine gun offset (when installed)
• Nieuport 24 - sesquiplane fighter; cleaned-up version of Nieuport 17. Used by France, the (Royal Flying Corps), (Royal Naval Air Service), (Imperial Russian Air Service), United States Army Air Service and postwar in Japan and several other countries.
• Nieuport 24bis - sesquiplane fighter, like 24 but with Nieuport 17 rudder and horizontal tail
• Nieuport 25 - sesquiplane fighter; cleaned-up version of Nieuport 17 with much larger engine - prototypes only.
• Nieuport 27 - sesquiplane fighter - the definitive version of the Nieuport 24 and penultimate example of series.
• Nieuport 28 - biplane fighter of late First World War - first biplane Nieuport fighter.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 - biplane fighter used by France, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Argentina, Italy, and others.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 30 - large single engine biplane bomber later redeveloped as transport (as the NiD 30T), several sold
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 31 - monoplane fighter
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 33 - 2 seat trainer with square section fuselage otherwise similar to NiD.29 used by Japan.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 38 & NiD 39 - light single engine biplane cabin airliners produced with different engines
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 - sesquiplane fighter, prototype for 52, 62, 72 and others, was originally a parasol monoplane
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 450 & 650 - monoplane racers for Schneider cup
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 48 - sesquiplane fighter scaled down NiD 42 for Jockey light fighter program.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 - sesquiplane fighter used by Spain.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 62 - sesquiplane fighter used in large numbers by France.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 641 - large single engine monoplane airliner with eliptical wing.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD 72 - sesquiplane fighter all metal version of 62.
• Nieuport-Delage NiD-120 - single seat parasol monoplane fighter used by Peru.

• Loire-Nieuport LN.10 - twin engine inverted gull monoplane patrol floatplane with engines over wing.
• Loire-Nieuport LN.30 - single engine pusher training flying boat.
• Loire-Nieuport LN.40 - Single engine, single seat dive bomber with inverted gull wing.
• Loire-Nieuport LN.160 - Single engine, single seat fighter, developed into SNCAO 200.

Gallery

• 

  Nieuport IV.G

• 

  Nieuport IV.G

• 

  Nieuport IV.G

• 

  Monument to Nesterov's Nieuport plane in Nizhny Novgorod

• 

  Nieuport 10 C.1

• 

  Nieuport 11 C.1

• 

  Nieuport 12 A.2 Prototype

• 

  Nieuport 17 C.1

• 

  Nieuport 27 C.1 with Nieuport 24bis C.1 behind

• 

  Nieuport 28 C.1

• 

  Nieuport-Delage 29 C.1

• 

  Nieuport 31

Bibliography

• Alegi, Gregory. Nieuport 29 - Windsock Datafile 97, Albratros Publications, Herts, 2003 ISBN 1-902207-52-1
• Apostolo, Giorgio. Aermacchi - from Nieuports to AMX, Giorgio Apostolo Editore (GAE), Milan, Italy, 1991
• Bruce, J.M. Nieuport 10~12 - Windsock Datafile 68, Albratros Publications, Herts, 1998, ISBN 1-902207-01-7
• Bruce, J.M. Nieuport 17 (and its near relatives) - Windsock Datafile 20, Albratros Publications, Herts, 1990, ISBN 0-948414-24-3
• Bruce, J.M. Nieuport Aircraft of World War One - Vintage Warbirds No 10, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1988 ISBN 0-85-368-934-2
• Bruce, J.M. Nieuport Fighters - A Windsock Datafile Special Volumes 1 & 2Albratros Publications, Herts, 1994, ISBN 0-948415-54-5
• Čejka, Zdenek Československé Nieuporty (Czechoslovakian Nieuports), Historick Sesity, Prague, 1998
• Cheesman, E.F. (ed.) Fighter aircraft of the 1914-1918 War Letchwordth, Harleyford 1960
• Davilla, Dr. James J. and Arthur Soltan. French Aircraft of the First World War, Flying Machines Press, 1997, ISBN 0-9637110-4-0
• Fletcher, Michael. Nieuport VIH, Random Thoughts (Journal of the International Plastic Modellers Society of Canada), Ottawa, Volume 24, Number 4, pp 80-82.
• Gray, Peter / Thetford, Owen German Aircraft of the First World War London, Putman 1962
• Guttman, Jon. Nieuport 28 - Windsock Datafile 36, Albratros Publications, Herts, 1992, ISBN 0-948414-44-8
• Kowalski, Tomasz J. Nieuport 1-27, Kagero, Lublin, 2003, ISBN 83-89088-09-6
• Kulikov, Victor. Russian Two seat Nieuports, Windsock International, Albratros Publications, Herts, Volume 9, Number 6 Nov-Dec 1993 pp24-26
• Longoni, Maurizio. Nieuport Macchi 11 & 17, Intergest, Milan, 1976
• Munson, Kenneth Pioneer Aircraft London, Blandford 1969
• Pommier, Gerard. Nieuport 1875-1911 - A biography of Edouard Nieuport, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2002 ISBN 0-7643-1624-9
• Sanger, Ray. Nieuport Aircraft of World War One, Crowood Press, Wiltshire, 2002 ISBN 1-86126-447-X
• Treadwell, Terry C. America's First Air War Shrewsbury, Airlife 2000

External links

• Nieuport fighters in Russia