The most successful of the Nieuport biplanes of WWI, flown by the French, British, Americans, Italians, and Russians. Often referred to in contemporary sources as the “15 meter” Nieuport (based on its total wing surface). Continue reading
One of the fastest planes of its time, the Bristol M.1C monoplane fell victim to official concern about its stability and the perceived hazards of its high landing speed. There seemed to be an official distrust of monoplanes by the British authorities, and the M.1 was much-delayed. Finally some were sent to the Middle East in June, 1917. Continue reading
An unusual-looking biplane with a reverse stagger of the wings, the upper being set back just aft of the cockpit, to allow better visibility for the pilot. The idea was to combine the superior performance of a tractor biplane with the unobstructured pilot’s forward view of a pusher type. Continue reading
The Sopwith ‘Pup’ was fast, agile, and easy-to-fly, perhaps reflecting the fact that it was developed from the personal aircraft of Harry Hawker, Sopwith Aviation’s test pilot.
Entering service in late summer of 1916, the Sopwith “Scout” (as it was officially termed) was one of the first British tractor biplanes with a synchonized machine gun. Supplied to No. 2 Naval Wing of the RNAS at Dunkirk, it displayed its capabilities immediately, as pilots flying the new craft claimed eight victories in the last week of September. Even though it only carried one 7.7 mm machine gun, it was in some ways superior even to the new German Albatros D.III. Continue reading
The image is a Nieuport 17
The French answer to the Fokker Eindekker was the Nieuport 11, equipped with the 80 horse-power Le RhÃ