Nieuport 23

Nieuport 23
Role	Fighter
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Nieuport
First flight	1917
Primary user	Aéronautique Militaire
Developed from	Nieuport 17

The Nieuport 23 was a fighter aircraft produced in France during the First World War.^[1][2] It was a development of the Nieuport 17 intended to address structural weakness of the earlier type, and most were produced with a lighter version of the Le Rhône 9J engine that powered the Nieuport 17,^[3] offering a better power-to-weight ratio. Internally, the main difference between the Types 17 and 23 was a redesigned wing spar in the upper wing.^[3] This, however, did not prove satisfactory, and when the fighter displayed an unacceptably high accident rate due to shedding its wings in flight,^[4] the Général chef du service aéronautique ordered that either additional reinforcement be added to the wings or that the type be withdrawn from service.^[3] One hundred and fifty new sets of wings were ordered to keep the type flying.^[3] External differences included better streamlining of the forward fuselage^[5] and a synchronised machine gun mounted on the upper fuselage and firing through the propeller disc.^[1][3] Nieuport 23s ordered for Britain's Royal Flying Corps nevertheless were fitted with machine guns that fired over the top of the upper wing, in the way that the Nieuport 17 had been armed.^[3]

A trainer version was produced as the Nieuport 23 École (or Nieuport 21/23) with an 80 hp Le Rhône engine.^[3]

A Nieuport 23 is preserved at the Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire in Brussels.^[6]

Operators

 France

• Aéronautique Militaire

 Belgium

 Italy

 Russia

Produced under licence by Dooks.

 Switzerland

 United Kingdom

• Royal Flying Corps

 United States

• United States Army Air Service

Specifications

Data from Kowalski 2003, 46

General characteristics

• Crew: 1, pilot
• Length: 6.40 m (21 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
• Height: 2.40 m (7 ft 11 in)
• Wing area: 14.8 m² ( ft²)
• Empty weight: 355 kg (781 lb)
• Gross weight: 574 kg (1,263 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9Jb, 90 kW (120 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 168 km/h (105 mph)
• Endurance: 1 hours  7 min
• Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 5.8 m/s (1,100 ft/min)

Armament

• 1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine gun

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Taylor 1989, 697
2. ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, 2598
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Sanger 2002, 49
4. ^ Bruce 1990, 22
5. ^ Kowalski 2003, 18
6. ^ Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire website

References

• Bruce, J.M. (1990). Nieuport 17. Berkhamsted: Albatros Publications. 
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing. 
• Kowalski, Tomasz J. (2003). Nieuport 1–27. Lublin: Kagero. 
• Sanger, Ray (2002). Nieuport Aircraft of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. 
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. 
• "Avion Nieuport 23C.1 (France, 1915) (N-5024)". Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire website. http://klm.web.shphosting.com/klm_cdml/fmpro?-db=klm_catalogus.fp5&-lay=web&_k_recordID=12977357&-format=catalogusdetailobj.cdml&-token.1=2&-find. Retrieved 2008-12-11.