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Nieuport 17bis

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Nieuport 17bis and 23bis
Role Fighter
National origin France
Manufacturer Nieuport, Nieuport & General Aircraft
Designer Gustave Delage
Introduction 1 February, 1917 [1]
Status retired
Primary users Royal Naval Air Service
Aéronautique Militaire
Number built 84+
Developed from Nieuport 17
Variants Nieuport 24

The Nieuport 17bis C.1 (or Nieuport XVIIbis C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War 1 French single-seat sesquiplane fighter that was produced under licence in the United Kingdom in small numbers for the Royal Naval Air Service.

Development

Nieuport 17bis prototype in French markings. The forward rake of the front cabane strut is evident here.
Nieuport 17bis from above showing off the square ailerons.

The Nieuport 17bis was the first of the vee strut scouts to feature a fully streamlined fuselage, with longitudinal stringers to fair out the shape. As the first design with this feature, it was otherwise a case of minimal changes, and unlike the later 24, 24bis and 27, the flying surfaces remained the same as used on the 17, as was much of the internal structure. Unlike the 17, or any of the other Vee strutters, it had the Vickers Machine Gun offset to the port (left) side of the centerline.[2] Due to shortages of Le Rhône rotaries, they were fitted with the 130 hp (97 kW) Clerget 9B rotary instead of the 25 kg (55 lb) lighter 120 hp (89 kW) Le Rhône 9J used in most of the other Nieuport single seat scouts. A few examples were fitted with the lower powered 110 hp (82 kW) Clerget 9Z. As a result of the Clerget's slightly greater diameter, the cowling was ballooned out slightly to provide clearance.[2]

The majority of Nieuport 17bis were operated by 6 (Naval) Squadron, who tested them against a Sopwith Triplane and a Sopwith Camel. It was found to have similar manoeuvrability to the Triplane and have a higher dive speed, but was slightly slower at altitude and had heavier controls.[3] Climb rates varied, and in the first test the 17bis outclimbed the Triplane by a significant margin, however in the second the times to altitude were identical.[3] The Camel was marginally faster at sea level but had a lower rate of climb and the speed advantage gradually disappeared with altitude.[4] Adding a Lewis machine gun to the Vickers increased the time to climb to 12,000 ft (3,700 m) by 2 minutes.[5] While initial reports were impressive, it was found in service that the Clerget engines lost power quickly between overhauls, and it was worse with the British built engines, so that many pilots tried to ensure they had French-built engines fitted to their aircraft as this had a significant impact on performance.[6] Some aircraft were also delivered to units with incorrect propellers, which also hampered performance.[6]

At least one 17bis was built as a triplane in the same manner as the Nieuport 17 triplanes, with the wings staggered with the middle wing furthest forward, and the lowest wing furthest aft. Tests carried out by the RFC and RNAS found that it was longitudinally unstable but handled well otherwise, but the concept was not pursued further.

The Nieuport 23bis was a later but in many ways a parallel development to that of the 17bis that resulted from a desperation to produce as many aircraft as possible, but was only produced in very small numbers, all of which went to the RFC. It was developed from the 23, whose internal structure differed from that of the 17 due to the Vickers being offset to the starboard. Unlike the 17bis, it kept the Le Rhône. It also kept the 17/23's flying surfaces, whose front spar was positioned further forward than on the later types. This resulted in the only identifying features distinguishing it from the much more common 24bis were the presence of a plywood leading edge on the wings, and the rake of the forward cabane struts connecting the top wing to the fuselage. On the 17, 17bis, 21, 23 and 23bis, they were angled forward from the fuselage, while on the 24, 24bis, 25 and 27, they were angled aft. Both the 17bis and the 24bis used the earlier raked ailerons as used on the 17 and 23, rather than the rounded ailerons used on the later types.

Operational history

Aside from one example being flown by Charles Nungesser and marked with his personal serial number N1895, the Nieuport 17bis saw little service with the French Aéronautique Militaire.

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the primary operator of the Nieuport 17bis, with 6 (Naval) Squadron being the only unit wholly equipped with the type. It primarily replaced the very much obsolete Nieuport 10 and the Nieuport 11 and would in turn be replaced by the Sopwith Camel. The RNAS received 82 examples, of which 27+/32 were from Nieuport (including 1 triplane) and 50 from Nieuport & General Aircraft who built them under licence in the UK.[6] The British-built examples were delivered so slowly that the type had been declared obsolete before many of them were even delivered and only 4 were known to have been used operationally. As a consequence, most were never even removed from their crates, and were scrapped without having been flown. The order had been reduced from 100, and an additional order of 100 from Nieuport & General was cancelled.[7] After having been removed from front line duties beginning in June 1917, some were used for training in the UK, where they were flown unarmed.

The Royal Flying Corps never operated the 17bis, however it was the recipient of a small number of the similar Nieuport 23bis.

Variants

  • Nieuport 17bis - 130 hp (97 kW) Clerget 9B rotary
    • Experimental variant with oversized spinner.
    • Nieuport 17bis Triplane - 130 hp (97 kW) Clerget 9B rotary
  • Nieuport 23bis - 120 hp (89 kW) Le Rhône 9J rotary

Operators

 United Kingdom
 France

Specifications (Nieuport 17bis)

Data from Tanner, 1976, p.179 (dimensions only), Davilla, 1997, p.385

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.000 m (19 ft 8 in)
  • Upper wingspan: 8.160 m (26 ft 9 in)
  • Upper wing chord: 1.233 m (4 ft 0.5 in)
  • Upper wing sweep: 2° 20'
  • Lower wingspan: 7.800 m (25 ft 7 in)
  • Lower wing chord:.720 m (2 ft 4.3 in)
  • Height: 2.400 m (7 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 14.75 m2 (158.8 sq ft)
  • Airfoil: Type "N" [9]
  • Gross weight: 600 kg (1,323 lb) [10]
  • Undercarriage track: 1.600 m (5 ft 3.0 in)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Clerget 9B air-cooled rotary engine, 97 kW (130 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Levasseur 802[9] or (on British-built examples) British & Colonial Company P23 wooden fixed pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn) at sea level[11]
    • 172 km/h (107 mph; 93 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)[11]
  • Service ceiling: 7,000 m (23,000[12] ft)
  • Time to altitude: [12]
    • 45 seconds to 1,000 ft (300 m)
    • 3 minutes to 4,000 ft (1,200 m)
    • 8 minutes to 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
    • 15 minutes to 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
    • 50 minutes to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)

Armament

See also

Related development

Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nieuport 17bis.

Citations

  1. ^ Westrop, 2006, p.17
  2. ^ a b Westrop, 2006, p.158
  3. ^ a b Westrop, 2006, p.25
  4. ^ Westrop, 2006, p.30
  5. ^ Westrop, 2006, p.31
  6. ^ a b c d e Westrop, 2006, p.159
  7. ^ Knight 2011, p.139-142
  8. ^ a b c d Knight, 2011, p.149
  9. ^ a b Pommier, 2002, p.173
  10. ^ Westrop, 2006, p.158-159
  11. ^ a b Sanger, 2002, p.52
  12. ^ a b Westrop, 2006, p.23

Bibliography

  • Bruce, J.M. (1990). Nieuport 17 (and its near relatives) – Windsock Datafile 20. Herts, UK: Albatros Publications. ISBN 978-0948414244.
  • Bruce, J.M. (1994). Nieuport Fighters – A Windsock Datafile Special Volumes 1 & 2. Herts, UK: Albatros Publications. ISBN 978-0948414541.
  • Davilla, Dr. James J.; Soltan, Arthur (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Mountain View, CA: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 978-1891268090.
  • Franks, Norman (2000). Nieuport Aces of World War 1 - Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 33. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-961-1.
  • Knight, Brian (2011). Nieuports in RNAS, RFC and RAF Service. London, UK: Cross & Cockade International. ISBN 978-0955573439.
  • Pommier, Gerard (2002). Nieuport 1875-1911 — A biography of Edouard Nieuport. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0764316241.
  • Rosenthal, Léonard; Marchand, Alain; Borget, Michel; Bénichou, Michel (1997). Nieuport 1909-1950 Collection Docavia Volume 38. Clichy Cedex, France: Editions Lariviere. ISBN 978-2848900711.
  • Sanger, Ray (2002). Nieuport Aircraft of World War One. Wiltshire: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1861264473.
  • Tanner, John, ed. (1976). British Military Aircraft of World War One. RAF Museum Series: Volume 4. London, UK: Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 978-0853682615.
  • Westrop, Mike (2006). A History of No.6 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service in World War I. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 0-76432425-X.


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