Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 Fighter / Racer (1922)
Despite its French origins, the NiD 29 saw service in greater numbers with the Empire of Japan during her operational tenure.
Design of the NiD 29 series was highly conventional. She was a of a equal-span biplane wing arrangement sporting dual bays and parallel strut support. The engine was housed in a compartment at the extreme forward of the streamline fuselage and spun a two-bladed propeller. The pilot sat aft and below the upper wing assembly in an open-air, single-seat cockpit placement with relatively good views to the sides, above and the rear of his aircraft. He was protected from the front by a short wrap-around windscreen and a raise fuselage spine behind his head. The fuselage tapered off to a rounded vertical tail fin and applicable horizontal tailplanes. The undercarriage consisted of a fixed pair of single-wheeled legs and a tailskid at the rear. Power for the NiD 29 was delivered by the Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8 piston engine of 300 horsepower. This fitting allowed for a maximum speed of 146 miles per hour, an operational range of 360 miles and a service ceiling nearing 28,000 feet. She maintained a running length of over 21 feet, a height topping 8 feet and a wingspan of 31 feet, 10 inches. Armament centered around 2 x 7.7mm Vickers machine guns fixed in their mounts to fire forward and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blade. Some combat-ready versions were fitted to carry a small external bomb load.
There were several notable variants in the NiD 29 lineage. The basic "NiD 29" designation marked initial production quality aircraft while NiD 29 B.1 represented a limited production set of developmental models with provisions to carry additional bombs. NiD 29 C.1 was a designation utilized by the French. The NiD 29D fitted a supercharger for improved performance, particularly at higher altitudes and was utilized for an altitude record attempt. The NiD 29 E.1 was fitted with a Hispano-Suiza engine of 180 horsepower and 1 x Vickers machine gun and used as a dedicated combat pilot trainer. The NiD 29bis was a trial prototype with smaller wings and a positional tailskid for improved ground performance. The NiD 29G were prototypes fitted with varying engines (Gnome and Hispano-Suiza types) and subsequently used for seaplane racing. The NiD 32RH was a "one-off" modification to sell the NiD 29 as a carrier-capable mount but this design was not furthered. The NiD 29 SHV was another modified racing airframe again fitted with smaller wings though only two were eventually completed. The NiD 29V was still another racer mount with smaller wings and a Hispano-Suiza engine of 320 horsepower to which three examples were completed. The NiD 29Vbis was a single prototype with an enclosed cockpit and improved performance but was eventually lost to an accident.
In operational service, the Nieuport-Delage design proved something of a winner globally. When she was not earning the respect of her French air men, she was winning the admiration of the aviation-loving public in her aerial racing displays. She was an exceptional aircraft to fly with strong characteristic and earned the respect of many-a-burgeoning airmen during the Golden Age of Flight. She was fast, exhibited a healthy operating ceiling and was relatively reliable. Her major design caveat became a tendency to enter into what is known as a "flat spin" in the world of aviation - a sometimes dangerously unrecoverable event in which an aircraft's center of gravity was shifted aft of center, forcing the airframe to spin on its belly downwards with the nose above the horizon. Regardless, the type was evolved by the Nieuport-Delage firm to compete in several air races and record breaking attempts to which the aircraft garnered her owners at least eight such aviation records. In terms of its combat use, the NiD 29 was utilized by the French and Spanish to put down rebellious forces in respective North African colonies.
The Empire of Japan license-produced the NiD-29 as the Nakajima Ko-4 of which some 608 were delivered - making Japan the largest operator of the mount. Similarly, Italy's Macchi produced 95 airframes for the Regia Aeronautica and SABCA netted 87 aircraft for Belgium. Other operators ultimately included Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Sweden (as the "J 2") and Siam (Thailand). Spain was the first foreign operator of the NiD 29 followed by Belgium.
An NiD 29 was crowned winner of the Gordon Bennet Trophy of air racing in a 1920 event. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
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Specifications for the
Nieuport-Delage NiD 29
Fighter / Racer
Country of Origin: France
Manufacturer: Nieuport-Delage - France
Initial Year of Service: 1922
Production: 858
Focus Model: Nieuport-Delage NiD 29
Crew: 1
Length: 21.29ft (6.49m)
Width: 31.82ft (9.70m)
Height: 8.40ft (2.56m)
Weight (Empty): 1,676lbs (760kg)
Weight (MTOW): 2,535lbs (1,150kg)
Powerplant: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 8Fb 8-cylinder Vee piston engine delivering 300 horsepower.
Maximum Speed: 146mph (235kmh; 127kts)
Maximum Range: 360miles (580km)
Service Ceiling: 27,887ft (8,500m; 5.3miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 0 feet per minute (0m/min)
Hardpoints: 0
Armament Suite:
STANDARD:
2 x 7.7mm (0.303 caliber) Vickers machine guns in fixed, forward-firing mounts.
OPTIONAL:
Some converted to carry small external bombs for combat.
Variants:
NiD 29 - Base Production Designation
NiD 29 C.1 - Alternative Designation (French service).
NiD 29 B.1 - Experimental Light Bombers fitted to carry 6 x 22lb bombs.
NiD 29bis - One-Off Prototype; smaller wing area; controllable tail skid.
NiD 29G - Developmental Platforms; fitting Gnome 9N rotary engine; some fitted with floats for Grand Priz de Monaco.
NiD 32RH - Proposed Carrier Conversion Model Designation.
NiD 29D - Conversion record-setting (altitude record) model fitted with supercharger; increased service ceiling.
NiD 29 E.1 - Trainer Model; fitted with Hispano-Suiza powerplant of 180 horsepower; 1 x Vickers machine gun.
NiD 29 SHV - Converted Seaplane; smaller wingspan; sans military equipment; competed in 1919 Schneider Trophy contest; two examples produced.
NiD 29V - Lightened racing platform; smaller wingspan; Hispano-Suiza engine of 320 horsepower; three examples produced.
NiD 29Vbis - Single example; enclosed cockpit; lost to accident in 1921.
Nakajima Ko-4 - Japanese license production models of the base Ni-D 29; 608 examples produced.
J 2 - Swedish Air Force Designation
Operators: Argentina; Belgium; France; Italy; Japan; Spain; Manchukuo; Sweden; Thailand (Siam)
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