Nieuport 17
| Nieuport 17 | |
|---|---|
 Nieuport 17 with the fighter pilot Billy Bishop 1917 |
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| Type: | Fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
January 1916 |
| Commissioning: |
March 1916 |
The Nieuport 17 was a French biplane - fighter in the First World War , which the designer Gustave Delage at Nieuport was designed. Due to its excellent performance, it was very popular with many pilots and was the most successful French fighter aircraft until the appearance of the SPAD S.VII .
History of development and use
The Nieuport 17 was derived from the Nieuport 11 . It got a more powerful engine, larger wings and a reinforced structural design. The first machines still received a 110 hp (82 kW) paid Le-Rhone - rotary engine , in which equipped with two machine guns version Nieuport 17 until the Clerget radial engine was used with 130 hp (97 kW). The machine was exceptionally manoeuvrable, but its lower wings were prone to breakage under maximum load.
Originally a Lewis machine gun firing over the propeller circle was used as armament, which could be adjusted by the pilot via a joint in the support, so that the weapon could be oriented relatively steeply upwards. With the introduction of synchronized machine guns, Vickers machine guns were installed.
The aircraft was used in France from March 1916 and was later flown by many other armies, such as the British Royal Flying Corps , the US Air Force , the Belgian, Russian and Italian air force. The German aircraft manufacturers received captured aircraft and tried several times to copy the Nieuport 17. The Euler DI and the Siemens-Schuckert DI were almost lifelike replicas, but Albatros D.III and Pfalz D.III also adopted features of the construction.
Well-known fighter pilots on Nieuport 17
variants
Nieuport 21
This variant (also referred to as Nieuport 17b by the British) was equipped with a weaker Le Rhóne 9C rotary engine with 80 hp (59 kW) and also had larger ailerons than the Type 17.
The machines of this type were delivered to Russia and the USA in larger numbers, whereby the machines last delivered to the USA were equipped with the Le Rhóne with 110 hp.
Mainly these machines were used in pilot training.
Nieuport 23
The Nieuport 23 was heavier than the other versions and was delivered with both the 80 hp Le Rhóne 9C and the 120 hp Le Rhóne 9Jb rotary engine. The French Air Force often used the Type 23 machines together with the Nieuport 17.
Military use
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Hungary
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Italy
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Netherlands
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Poland
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Romania
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Russia / Russian Republic / Soviet Russia
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Thailand
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Ukrainian People's Republic
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United Kingdom
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Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 5.96 m |
| span | 8.20 m |
| height | 2.44 m |
| Wing area | 14.75 m² |
| Empty mass | 374 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 560 kg |
| Cruising speed | ? km / h |
| Top speed | 170 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 5350 m |
| Range | 250 km |
| Engines | 1 × 9-cylinder rotary engine Le Rhone 9Yes with 82 kW (approx. 110 PS) |
| Armament | 1 Vickers or Lewis machine gun |
See also
literature
- Enzo Angelucci: The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. 1914-1980. The Military Press, San Diego 1983, ISBN 0-517-41021-4 .
- Jack Bruce: Those Classic Nieuports. In: Air Enthusiast Quarterly. No 2, Pilot Press, Bromley 1976, pp. 137-153.
- JM Bruce: The Airplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). Putnam, London 1982, ISBN 0-370-30084-X .
- EF Cheesman (Ed.): Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Harleyford Publications, Letchworth 1960.
- Peter Cooksley: Nieuport Fighters in Action. Squadron / Signal Publications, Carrollton 1997, ISBN 0-89747-377-9 .
