U.S. Air Service




AIRCRAFT


OF THE


A E F



Nieuport 11 and 17




Development and Operation

The Nieuport 11, commonly known as the Bébé, was a replacement for the Morane-Saulnier L and LA series of aircraft. It was a small single-seat version of the earlier Nieuport 10. It was of a sesquiplane configuration. The wing spars were of wood. The lower wing had a 6-degree dihedral while the upper wing had no dihedral. Ailerons were on the upper wing only. A single Hotchkiss or Lewis gun was mounted on the top wing due to a lack of an adequate synchronization gear. The gun was supplied with a 97 round drum. The aircraft was powered by an 80 hp Le Rhône engine. It was the Nieuport, along with the British D.H. 2, which effectively ended the dominance of the German Fokker Eindecker series of aircraft.

The Nieuport 17 was an enlarged Nieuport 11. It retained the single-spar lower wing but had an enlarged wing area, was powered by the 110 hp Le Rhône, 120 hp Le Rhône or 130 hp Clerget engine. The fuselage was of metal tubing from the nose to the cockpit and wood aft of the cockpit. The machine was armed with a synchronized Vickers machine gun fitted to the centerline of the fuselage. It also was capable of carrying four Le Prieur anti-balloon rockets.

Neither the Nieuport 11 or 17 were flown in combat by pilots the U.S. Air Service. However, American citizens who volunteered to fly for French Air Service before the United States entered the conflict flew both of these aircraft. In particular, both of these aircraft were assigned to the Lafayette Escadrille. American citizens flying with the French and who subsequently transferred to the U.S. Air Service include:

Robert Rockwell--Commanding Officer of the 93rd Aero Squadron
Robert Soubiran--Operations Officer of the 1st Pursuit Group and
       Commanding officer of the 103rd Aero Squadron
David Peterson--Commanding Officer of the 95th Aero Squadron
William Thaw--Commanding Officer of the 103rd Aero Squadron and
       the 3rd Pursuit Group
Willis Haviland--Commanding Officer of NAS Porto Corsini in Italy
Kenneth Marr--Commanding Officer of the 94th Aero Squadron
Boy Bridgeman--Commanding Officer of the 22nd Aero Squadron
Gervais Raoul Lufbery--Combat Instructor with the 94th and
       95th Aero Squadrons

Aircraft and Flight Characteristics


Nieuport 11 Single-Seat Fighter with 80 hp Le Rhône engine

Span

7.52 m

Length

5.50 m

Height

2.40 m

Weight

 

Empty

162 kg

Loaded

480 kg

Maximum Speed

162 km/hr. at 2000 m

Climb

 

To 2000 m

8 minutes 50 seconds

To 3000 m

15 minutes

Ceiling

5000 m

Range

250 km

Endurance

2.5 hrs.

Armament

Single Hotchkiss or Lewis Machine gun

 

 

Nieuport 17 Single-Seat Fighter with a 110 hp Le Rhône 9Ja engine

Span

8.16 m

Length

5.80 m

Height

2.40 m

Weight

 

Empty

375 kg

Loaded

560 kg

Maximum Speed

 

Sea Level

165 km/hr.

2000 m

160 km/hr.

3000 m

154 km/hr.

4000 m

137 km/hr.

Climb

 

To 2000 m

6 minutes 50 seconds

To 3000 m

11 minutes 30 seconds

To 4000 m

18 minutes 5 seconds

Ceiling

5300 m

Range

250 km

Endurance

1 hr. 43 minutes

Armament

One 7 mm Vickers synchronized machine gun and up to 8 le Prieur rockets




References:


1. French Aircraft of the First World War
by Davilla, Dr. James and Arthur M. Soltan

2. Lafayette Escadrille Pilot Biographies Gordon, Denis

3. Profile Publications No. 49, Andrews, C.F.

4. Photo Courtesy of The Aerodrome website


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