Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 33 : Nieuport Aces of World War I

The French Nieuport company provided the Allied air forces with the first true fighter scout of World War 1 in the shape of the diminutive XI of 1915. Based on the Bebe racer, built for the abandoned Gordon-Bennett Trophy of the previous year, the aircraft utilised a sesquiplane (lower wing much smaller than the upper wing) arrangement which gave the XI extreme manoeuvrability. It was the only scout respected by the all-conquering German Fokker E-series of 1915-16, and was flown by French, British, Russian, Belgian and Italian aces. The XI was replaced from May 1916 onwards by the bigger and more powerful XVII. which proved to be one of the best fighters of World War 1. Again a popular mount with scout pilots, the Nieuport was used extensively by high scoring aces like Ball, Bishop, Nungesser and Guynemer even after more modern fighters had arrived at the front. The final Nieuport fighter to see action in World War 1 was the notoriously unreliable Nie.28, which was flown by the American Expeditionary Force in 1918 because no other fighters were then available. Text by Norman Franks with illustrations by Harry Dempsey.

Contents

• Setting the Scene
• British Aces
• French Aces
• Other Allied Aces
• Appendices