Showing posts with label Holland 1919-1929. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holland 1919-1929. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 October 2025

Nieuport 11 & 16, part three, various users

 
The Nieuport 11, nicknamed 'Bébé' (baby) in French was a French sesquiplane fighter of the World War I era that enjoyed good reputation as a combat plane and was exported (or was captured by) to various countries around the world, among its users stand the following ones:
  • Austro-Hungarian Empire: At least one Macchi-built Nieuport 11 was captured by Austrian troops in north-eastern Italy and was sent to Vienna for evaluation and propaganda. It was painted in Austro-Hungarian KUK markings and received a new Austrian registration, 00.27. Its fate is unknown.

  • German Empire: During 1916 the German Army managed to capture many Nieuport 11 & 16, these being employed by some German pilots who achieved ace status in those machines. They were Oblt. Kurt Student and Lt. Gustav Leffers.

  • Netherlands: During the war, on 2nd February 1917, one Nieuport 11 with 3981 as serial number and belonging to 'A' Squadron, No.1 Wing Royal Naval Air Service (according to other sources it belonged to No. 6 Squadron) made a forced landing at the village of Cadzand, western Netherlands. Dutch authorities purchased the plane from the British and registered it as 'LA-40', with subsequent changes being made to the serial number, to N 213 and then N 230.
    The Royal Netherlands Army evaluated the aircraft and, based on its results, they ordered twenty additional machines to be built by the NV Dutch Motor Car and Airplane Factory at Trompenburg, Rotterdam under license. This factory was commonly known as Spyker (or Spykjer). However, given the war necessities, the needed parts and other materials were not delivered until 1918, so the first twelve aircraft lacked wheels and other important parts, however, as five Nieuport 11 were delivered shortly later and, as the war ended, the flow of spare parts and materials was resumed and the original twelve incomplete machines were, eventually completed.
    It seems that, according to an official report, the Dutch Nieuports were kept out of use between November 1919 and March 1920 after some accidents took place due to the poor quality of the machines. Some other sources claim they were never flown.
    Anyway, it also seems that in 1925 the Dutch Nieuports were still employed.

  • Romania: Given the urgent for armament of the Royal Romanian Army in 1916, a total of twenty-eight Nieuport 11s were sent from the Royal Naval Air Service to Romania. Of those eight were assigned to Grupul 3 (Grupul is the Romanian word for 'Squadron') as the 'Escadrilla Nieuport (Franco/Romana). The deliveries of Nieuports were steady and eventually four fighter units saw service with the Corpul de Aviatie (Aviation Corps - the aviation branch of the Royal Romanian Army back then). 
    Those units were Grupul 1 & 2, attached to 1st Romanian Army and Grupul 1 & 3 attached to 2nd Romanian Army. 
    The Nieuports were used, under French supervisors, to provide aerial defence for Bucharest and the Russian army at Braila, northern Romania. The Grupuls saw extensive action over the fronts and by 15th December 1916 there were less than half of the original 28 Nieuports in service as only 12 were still in service, with six being kept under maintenance and additional eight no longer airworthy. The Nieuport 11s were replaced by the better Nieuport 17 as the year 1917 progressed.








Sources:
1st Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War
2nd https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php/en/aircraft-factory-lists/aircrafts-n/nieuport-11-c1-bb-uk?showall=1
3rd Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 167 - Nieuport Fighters in Action
4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuport_11

Saturday, 27 January 2018

BAT F.K.22/23 Bantam

Friedrich Koolheven's first design for the British Aerial Transport Company (BAT) was the F.K.22 single-seat fighter. It was a two-bay wooden biplane and was planned to be powered by a 120hp A.B.C. Mosquito radial engine, but, as that engine failed, it was fitted with a 170hp A.B.C. Wasp I in the first and third aircraft, while the second aircraft was fitted with a 100hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and was the first aircraft to fly at Martlesham Heath in January 1918.
Originally six of them were ordered as development aircraft but three of them were built as the F.K.23 Bantam I with the second prototype being renamed as Bantam II. The Bantam I had the same wooden structure but it was slightly smaller. Two more prototypes were built, followed by at least 9 development aircrafts. One of them was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment on 26th July 1918. One more was delivered to Villacoublay, in France to be evaluated by the French Aéronautique Militaire and a further one more was delivered to the United States Army Air Corps at Wright field in 1922.
Given the unsatisfactory spin characteristics of the prototypes, the production Bantam had to be modified. However, due to continuous engine problems and the downsizing of the Royal Air Force after the World War I, made that no further orders for the Bantam to be placed. Koolhoven returned to the Netherlands after the war with one aircraft which was re-engined with a 200hp Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx radial engine and several examples were used as civil racing aircrafts.
As we couldn't find graphical evidence of most of these ones, the French, Dutch and American ones should be considered as speculatives.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAT_Bantam
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters