Nieuport-Delage NiD 29

Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 History

World War I raged in Europe since 1914, and by 1918 aircraft technology had grown tenfold. The French company Nieuport-Delage wanted to provide another combat platform for the French Air Force and developed their NiD 29. The Nieuport name itself has been associated with several high-profile fighter jets during the war years.

The first prototype of the new fighter made its maiden flight on August 21, 1918, and the system achieved desirable results. In its current arrangement, however, it maintains an operating cap deemed insufficient, forcing Nieuport-Delage engineers to revise the table again. This led to a second prototype, which complemented the original design with longer wings that could help it go beyond ceiling limitations.

The aircraft was evaluated by the French Air Force and officially put into production in 1920 through a procurement contract for 250 aircraft. However, deliveries of new machines did not reach French units until 1922. The NiD 29 was the fastest aircraft of its kind and brought the French Air Force to the forefront of military aviation.

Her speed will remain a major asset in her service for years to come, attracting the attention of other world air forces looking to upgrade their inventory. The post-World War I world eventually produced more than 850 examples.

The design of the NiD 29 series is very traditional. She is an equal-span biplane wing assembly supporting two carriages and parallel struts. The engine is housed in a compartment in the front of the streamlined fuselage and turns a two-bladed propeller. The pilot sits in an open-air single-seat cockpit under the tail and upper wing assemblies, and his aircraft has relatively good visibility to the sides, above, and aft.

A short wraparound windshield and a raised fuselage ridge protect him behind his head. The fuselage tapers to a circular vertical tail and applicable horizontal tail. The landing gear consists of a pair of fixed monowheel legs and a tail skid.

Power for the NiD 29 is provided by a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8 piston engine. The device allows for a top speed of 146 mph, a range of 360 miles and a service cap of nearly 28,000 feet. She runs over 21 feet long, stands over 8 feet tall, and has a wingspan of 31 feet 10 inches.

The weapon is centred on a 2 x 7.7mm Vickers machine gun mounted on its mount, firing forward and synchronised by rotating propeller blades. Some combat-ready versions were installed to carry small external bomb loads.

There are several notable variants in the NiD 29 lineage. The base designation "NiD 29" refers to the first production-quality aircraft, while the NiD 29 B.1 represents a limited-production development model that can carry additional bombs. NiD 29 C. 1 is the name used by the French. The NiD 29D was supercharged to improve performance, especially at high altitudes, and was used in altitude record attempts.

The NiD 29 E. 1 was equipped with a 180 hp Hispano-Suiza engine and 1 x Vickers machine gun and was used as a dedicated fighter pilot trainer. The NiD 29bis is an experimental prototype with smaller wings and a positionable tail skid for improved ground performance. The NiD 29G was a prototype with different engines (Gnome and Hispano-Suiza types) and was subsequently used in seaplane competitions. The NiD 32RH was a "one-off" modification that sold the NiD 29 as a portable stand, but this design was not further developed. The NiD 29 SHV was another modified racing fuselage, again with smaller wings fitted, although only two were eventually completed.

The NiD 29V is another race car with a smaller wing and a 320-horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine, three examples of which have been completed. The NiD 29Vbis was a performance-enhancing closed-cockpit prototype that was eventually lost in an accident.

In operational service, the Nieuport-Delage design has proven to be a winner worldwide. When she failed to earn the respect of French pilots, she won the admiration of the aviation-loving public in flying competitions. She was an extraordinary aircraft with powerful characteristics that earned the respect of many aspiring pilots in the golden age of aviation. She is fast, shows a healthy surgical margin and is relatively reliable. Their biggest design caveat turned into a trend into what the aviation world calls "spins" -- sometimes dangerously unrecoverable events in which the plane's center of gravity shifts past the center, forcing the fuselage to place itself on top of it to turn the nose toward down, with the nose above the horizon.

Additionally, the aircraft was developed by the Nieuport-Delage company to participate in multiple aerial competitions and record attempts, during which time the aircraft earned its owner at least eight such flight records. In combat use, the NiD 29 was used by France and Spain to suppress insurgent forces in their respective North African colonies.

NiD-29s produced by Imperial Japan have been licensed under the designation Nakajima Ko-4, of which approximately 608 have been delivered - making Japan the largest operator of the bracket. Likewise, in Italy, Macchi produced 95 airframes for Regia Aeronautica, while SABCA produced 87 aircraft for Belgium. Ultimately the other operators are Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Sweden (as "J 2") and Siam (Thailand).

Spain was the first foreign operator of NiD 29, followed by Belgium.

The NiD 29 won the Gordon Bennet Air Racing Trophy at an event in 1920.

Specification

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