Nieuport 14

Nieuport 14
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Nieuport
First flight	September 1915
Introduction	1916
Primary user	Aéronautique Militaire
Number built	100

The Nieuport 14 was a military reconnaissance biplane produced in France during the First World War. When the French Army deployed it in 1916, they found its performance inferior to what was called for in the original specification, and the type was quickly withdrawn from front-line service.^[1][2]

Developed in response to an order by the Aéronautique Militaire in summer 1915, it was to have been a two-seat reconnaissance machine capable of making a flight of 300 km and back while carrying a load of bombs.^[3] Nieuport's design was based on the Nieuport 12 fighter, but had its fuselage stretched to add a second cockpit in tandem with the pilot's and its wingspan increased by the addition of an additional bay.^[3][4] Power was provided by a single Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine in the nose, driving a tractor propeller.

Deliveries to three reconnaissance squadrons commenced in late 1916, replacing obsolete Voisin types. However, the Nieuport 14's sluggish performance became immediately apparent and these squadrons were re-equipped with Nieuport 17s only eighteen days later and re-deployed as fighter squadrons.^[2] Production of the Nieuport 14 was halted,^[3] and remaining machines were relegated to training duties once improvements had been made to their side-mounted radiators.^[5] These were followed into service by a dedicated trainer variant, the Nieuport 14 École with dual controls, a nosewheel to guard against nose-over accidents, and a rotary engine of lower power replacing the V-8 of the original design.^[6] It is possible that these airframes had been left over from the original abortive production attempt.^[5] When further refined, the trainer version became known as the Nieuport 82, nicknamed Grosse Julie ("Big Julie"),^[7] and aside from service in France, examples were exported to Brazil and Japan. Further development would lead to the Nieuport 15.

Three Nieuport 14s were modified for test purposes; one with cutouts in its wings to improve visibility and fitted with a 180 hp Lorraine-Dietrich engine, another with a 150-hp version of the Hispano-Suiza engine originally fitted, and a third with a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza engine and a crescent-shaped wing.^[8]

Variants

• Nieuport 14 A2 - service designation of reconnaissance aircraft
• Nieuport 14 E2 - service designation of trainer
• Nieuport 82 E2 - dedicated trainer version

Operators

 France

• Aeronautique Militaire

Specifications

Data from Sanger 2002, p. 44

General characteristics

• Crew: Two, pilot and observer
• Length: 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 11.90 m (39 ft 1 in)
• Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)
• Empty weight: 620 kg (1,400 lb)
• Gross weight: 970 kg (2,100 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza liquid-cooled V-8, 100 kW (140 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 155 km/h (97 mph)
• Endurance: 4 hours

Armament

• 1 × trainable .303 Lewis gun in rear cockpit for observer
• small load of bombs

Notes

1. ^ Taylor 1989, p. 697
2. ^ ^{a b} The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, p. 2598
3. ^ ^{a b c} Hartmann 2006, p. 12
4. ^ Sanger 2002, p. 41
5. ^ ^{a b} Sanger 2002, p. 42
6. ^ Sanger 2002, pp. 42–43
7. ^ Sanger 2002, p. 71
8. ^ Sanger 2002, p. 43

References

• Hartmann, Gérard (2006). "Les Nieuport de la guerre". La Coupe Schneider et hydravions anciens/Dossiers historiques hydravions et moteurs. http://www.hydroretro.net/etudegh/les_nieuports_de_la_guerre.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-07. 
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Orbis Publishing. 
• Sanger, Ray (2002). Nieuport Aircraft of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. 
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.