Nieuport-Delage NiD 29

NiD 29

Role	Single-seat biplane fighter
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Nieuport-Delage
First flight	21 August 1918
Introduction	1922
Primary users	French Air Force Belgian Air Force
Number built	250+

The Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 was a French single-seat biplane fighter (C.I category)^[1] designed and built by Nieuport-Delage for the French Air Force.

Design and development

Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 fighter side view

The NiD.29 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons on both upper and lower wings. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear, a nose-mounted engine and a single open cockpit for the pilot. The prototype NiD 29 first flew on the 21 August 1918 powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine piston engine, it performed well in test but could not achieve the required ceiling. The second prototype was modified with an increased wingspan and on achieving the required ceiling it was ordered into production in 1920, becoming the fastest service fighter in the world at that time. Production aircraft did not have ailerons on the upper wing and the lower wing ailerons were increased in size.

The first deliveries were made in 1922 to the French Air Force and the type was popular although it did have a tendency to enter a flat spin. The French military bought 250 aircraft which were built by Nieuport and seven other companies. The Ni-D 29 was to become an important fighter in the 1920s with purchases of 30 by Spain (including 10 Spanish licence built aircraft), 108 by Belgium (87 licensed built by SABCA). The Italian Regia Aeronautica bought 175 aircraft including 95 built by Macchi as the Macchi-Nieuport 29 and 80 built by Caproni. Sweden bought nine aircraft and designated them J 2. The Japanese company Nakajima bought a pattern aircraft and built 608 for the Imperial Japanese Army as the Ko-4.

Racing versions of the aircraft were developed and they gained eight world speed records and won the 1920 Gordon Bennett Trophy and the 1922 Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe competition.^[2]

Operational history

Three NiD 29s were modified for reserve Captain Joseph Sadi-Lecointe in November 1925 and used on seventy sorties against insurgents in Morocco using bomb racks with six 10 kg bombs.^[3] Spanish aircraft were also involved in similar operations in North Africa.

Variants

Nieuport Ni.29: Prototype for series, powered by a 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine.
NiD.29 C.1: Production aircraft, powered by 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engines.
NiD.29 B.1

Nieuport-Delage NiD.29G floatplane modified for Grand Prix de Monaco

Small number of conversions as an experimental assault version to carry six 10 kg (22.0 lb) bombs.
NiD.29bis: Prototype only with reduced wing area and steerable tailskid, powered by a 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine.
NiD.29G: Prototypes fitted with a Gnome Monosoupape 9N rotary engine, two later converted to take a Hispano engine and fitted with twin floats and an auxiliary tail float for the Grand Prix de Monaco in 1923.
NiD.29D: Conversion with an engine driven supercharger for an attempt on the altitude record, reached 7,000 m (23,000 ft).
NiD.29 ET.1: Trainer variant with a 134 kW (180 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Ab engine and a single synchronised Vickers machine-gun, three built.
NiD.29 SHV

Nieuport-Delage 29V racer

Seaplane for the 1919 Schneider Trophy contest with reduced wingspan and military equipment removed, two aircraft built and one was also entered in the 1921 event but neither aircraft flew in the races. Powered by a 220 kW (300 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine
NiD.29V: Lightweight racer developed in 1919 with a wingspan reduced to 6.00m (19ft 8¼in), powered by a 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine, three built.
NiD.29Vbis: One-off conversion with an enclosed cockpit to gain more speed, the pilot had small teardrop windows on each side with little forward visibility. Powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine boosted to give 250 kW (330 hp). On 12 December 1920, Sadi-Lecointe flew the NiD-29Vbis to a new world speed record of 313.043 km/h (194.516 mph; 169.030 kn). The aircraft was lost in a landing accident in 1921.
NiD.32Rh: 180hp Le Rhone rotary powered derivative for use by the French Navy as a carrier fighter. One converted.
NiD.33 E.2: Two-seat trainer with conventional square-section fabric-covered fuselage. Small numbers used by Japan.
NiD.40 C.1: High altitude fighter with Rateau turbocharger
NiD.40R: One-off modification of NiD.40 C.1 with extended wings and new tail for high-altitude record flights. Later fitted with floats.
Nakajima Ko-4: Japanese licence-built NiD.29, 608 built.

Operators

Argentina

Argentine Air Force

Belgium

Belgian Air Force

France

Kingdom of Italy

Corpo Aeronautico Militare

Japan

Imperial Japanese Army as Ko.4

Spain

Spanish Air Force

Manchukuo: A single ex-Japanese NiD 29 formed the initial equipment of the Manchukuo Air Force in 1937.^[4]
Sweden

Swedish Air Force

Siam (Thailand)

Royal Siamese Air Service as บ.ข.๔ (B.Kh4 or fighter type 4)

Survivor

Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 fighter at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris

A single example survives at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris although it is not presently on display.

Specifications (NiD 29)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft^[5]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 6.49 m (21 ft 3½ in)
Wingspan: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
Height: 2.56 m (8 ft 4¾ in)
Wing area: 26.70 m² (287.41 ft²)
Empty weight: 760 kg (1,675 lb)
Gross weight: 1,150 kg (2,535 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8 piston engine, 224 kW (300 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph)
Range: 580 km (360 miles)
Service ceiling: 8,500 m (27,885 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.06 m/s (1194.26 ft/min)

Armament

2 × fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nieuport-Delage NiD 29.

Notes

↑ C.I = Chasseur (French for fighter), single seat
↑ Taylor and Alexander 1969, pp. 116–117.
↑ Beauchamp, Gerry. "A Short History of French Fighter Airplanes, 1918-1934." Skyways, July 1998.
↑ Andersson 2008, p. 172.
↑ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p. 2600.

Bibliography

Andersson, Lennart. A History of Chinese Aviation:Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China until 1949. Taipei, Taiwan: AHS of ROC, 2008. ISBN 978-957-28533-3-7.
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
Taylor, John W. R. and Jean Alexander. Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-71810-564-8.
Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8.

Aircraft produced by Nieuport

Nieuport (1909-1914)	1909 monoplane II III IV IVM VI VII X XI Nieuport-Dunne Carton-Pate

Nieuport (1914-1918)	10 11 12 12bis 13 14 15 16 17 17bis 18 19 20 21 23 24 24bis 25 26 27 28 Madon 29 30 31

Nieuport (World War 1 trainers)	80 81 82 83

Nieuport-Delage	29 29V 30T Sesquiplan 32RH 33 37 38 39 390 391 40R 42S 42 C.1 42 C.2 43 44 450 46 48 48bis 481 50 52 54 540 541 580 590 62 640 641 650 72 82 941 120 121 122 125

Nieuport (mid 1930s)	140 160

Loire-Nieuport	LN.10 LN.20 LN.30 LN.40 LN.401 LN.411 LN.42 LN.43 LN.161 LN.162

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