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Subject: Nieuport 28
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuport_28
The Nieuport 28 C.1 was a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War
I, built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the
successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the
Nieuport 28 continued a similar design philosophy of a lightweight and highly
maneuverable aircraft.
By the time the Nieuport 28 was available, the SPAD XIII had been chosen to
fighter was also the first choice for the projected American "pursuit"
squadrons. In the event, a shortage of SPADs led to Nieuport 28s being issued to
four American squadrons between March and August 1918, and these became the
first aircraft to see operational service with an American fighter squadron.
Nieuport 28s saw considerable post-war service: in particular 50 from a second
batch ordered later were "returned" to America, and as well as army and naval
service these found civilian use, especially in Hollywood films.
By the middle of 1917, it was obvious that the Nieuport 17 and its immediate
developments such as the Nieuport 24bis, with only moderate performance gains,
were unable to offer sufficient improvements to deal with the latest German
fighters. The Nieuport 17 line was already being supplanted in French service by
the SPAD S.VII as quickly as supplies of the Hispano-Suiza engine would allow.
The Nieuport 28 design advanced the concept of the lightly built, highly
maneuverable rotary engined fighter typified by the Nieuport 17 to the more
demanding conditions of the times. It had a more powerful engine, twin machine
fighter was fitted with conventional two-spar wings, top and bottom, in place of
the sesquiplane "v-strut" layout of earlier Nieuports. Ailerons, controlled with
torque tubes were fitted to the lower wings only. The design of the tail unit
closely followed that of the Nieuport 27, but in order to provide a more
streamlined profile, the fuselage was longer and slimmer, so narrow that its
twin Vickers machine guns were offset to port, one between the cabane struts and
one just outboard of them. Several prototypes were built - testing three
different dihedral settings for the top wing, including a completely flat wing,
and one with marked dihedral that rested very close to the top of the front
fuselage. Production machines had an intermediate configuration, with a slight
dihedral in the upper wing, taller cabane struts, and room for the second
machine gun to be mounted under the center section.
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Nieuport
Designer
Gustave Delage
First flight
14 June 1917
Introduction
March 1918
Retired
July 1918
Primary users
U.S. Army Air Service
Number built
about 300
By early 1918, when the first production examples of the Nieuport 28 became
available, the SPAD S.XIII was already firmly established as the standard French
fighter, and the Nieuport 28 was "surplus" from the French point of view. On the
other hand, the United States Army Air Service was desperately short of fighters
to equip its projected "pursuit" (fighter) squadrons. Since the SPAD S.XIIIs the
Americans actually wanted were initially unavailable due to engine shortages,
the Nieuport was offered to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) as an interim
alternative.
A total of 297 Nieuport 28s were purchased by the Americans (none of our sources
make it clear if this refers only to the initial order, or includes Nieuport 28A
trainers accepted from the late 1918 contract). The 94th and 95th Aero Squadron
received the initial allotments, starting in March 1918. In all, four AEF
pursuit squadrons: the 27th, 94th, 95th and 147th Aero Squadrons, flew Nieuport
28s operationally for various periods between March and August 1918
The factory delivered the Nieuport 28s to the Americans in mid-February 1918
without armament. At the time the AEF had no spare Vickers machine guns to
supply to the squadrons, so that the first flights were unarmed training flights
for pilots to familiarize themselves with the handling and performance of the
new type. When deliveries of Vickers guns to the American squadrons finally
started in mid-March, and until sufficient guns had been received for all of the
fighters to be fully equipped, some aircraft were flown on patrol with only one
machine gun fitted.
Postwar, approximately 50 new Nieuport 28As which had not previously seen
service were shipped to the U.S. During the 1920s, Nieuport 28s were also in
service with various air forces; Switzerland obtained 15, while Argentina
received a couple of aircraft. Switzerland acquired its examples in 1919, and
continued to fly the type throughout the 1920s, retiring their last Nieuport 28s
from active service in 1930.
During the same period, a number of Nieuport 28s made their way to Hollywood
where they appeared in the movies, The Dawn Patrol (1930), as well as its remake
in 1938, Ace of Aces (1933) and Men with Wings (1938). The Nieuport 28s appeared
in several later films set during World War I, including the Lafayette
Escadrille (1958).
Specifications
General characteristics
Crew: one, pilot
Length: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 8.16 m (26 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.5 m (8 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 475 kg (1,227 lb)
Loaded weight: 560 kg (1,635 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 198 km/h (123 mph) at 2,000 m (6,500 ft)
Range: 349 km (180 miles)
Service ceiling: 5,300 m (17,390 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.5 min to 3,000 m (9,840 ft)
Power/mass: 0.15 kW/kg (0.09 hp/lb)
Armament
*
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