page_title: Nieuport 17
section_title: Derivatives
hierarchical_section_title: Nieuport 17 / Development / Derivatives
context_page_description: The Nieuport 17 C.1 was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier Nieuports and better adapted to the more powerful engine than the interim Nieuport 16. Aside from early examples, it had the new Alkan-Hamy synchronization gear, permitting the use of a fuselage-mounted synchronised Vickers gun firing through the propeller disc.
  At the time of its introduction in March 1916, the type's outstanding manoeuvrability and excellent rate of climb gave it a significant advantage over fighters on both sides and was described as "the best pursuit plane of the day". It was used by many operators and entered service with every Allied power and copies were also operated by the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte. Mass-produced by several French firms, the Nieuport 17 and its derivatives were built under licence in Italy by Nieuport-Macchi and in Russia by Dux. Unlicenced copies, notably the Siemens-Schuckert D.I and the Euler D.I, were produced in Germany.
  The Nieuport 21 and 23 represented relatively minor alterations. Aerodynamic refinement led to the Clerget-powered 17bis.
context_section_description: Entering service in May 1916 but not named until September, the Nieuport 21 differed from the 17 primarily in the adoption of the lower powered 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhône 9C or 90 hp (67 kW) Le Rhône 9Ga engine. This increased endurance and reduced wing loading and was useful for a high-altitude bomber escort but it was rarely employed as such. In French and especially Russian service, the 21 was commonly used with the Nieuport 17 in the same general fighter role, although it was also useful as an economical advanced trainer. The 21 has commonly been mistaken for the earlier Nieuport 11, as both lacked headrests and used the same cowling and engines, particularly when some Nieuport 11s were also fitted with molded fuselage sides. Like the 17, the 21 is larger and can be identified by the flying wires, which restrain the upper wings. On the 11 the flying wires merged to a single point, while on the 21 they ran parallel to different points on the lower fuselage.
  The Nieuport 23 was largely the same as the definitive 17, differing mainly in the use of a different machine gun synchronizer. The gun was offset to starboard, the fuel and oil tank arrangement and the center section rigging were changed to suit, and the rear spar packing pieces were also redesigned. Nieuport 23s were operated by both French and British squadrons alongside Nieuport 17s until their replacement by later types.
  The more powerful 130 hp (97 kW) Clerget 9B nine-cylinder rotary engine was used by the Nieuport 17bis, which first appeared late in 1916. The N.17bis had stringers fairing out the fuselage sides compared to the flat sides on the 17. The major user was the British Royal Naval Air Service, which ordered 32 from Nieuport, 50 more being license-built by the Nieuport & General Aircraft Company. Heavier than the preferred Le Rhône, output from the Clerget rotaries quickly fell below their rated power and the performance of the 17bis suffered accordingly. Armament often included a synchronised Vickers gun with the standard over-wing Lewis.
  Related to the 17bis, the Nieuport 23bis combined the aerodynamic improvements of the 17bis but reverted to the Le Rhône. Few were built and the Royal Naval Air Service may have been the sole operator.
  A pair of triplanes based on the Nieuport 17 were constructed for testing purposes, one for the French and the other for the British. The narrow chord wings were staggered in an unusual manner, placing the middle wing furthest forward and the top wing furthest aft. No subsequent orders came as a result of these tests. Nieuport later trialled the same layout on the Nieuport 17bis, which was tested by the British Royal Naval Air Service as well, however this also remained a prototype. During flight testing, both types demonstrated favourable climbing characteristics, but were also found to be relatively tail-heavy.
  Several of the experimental Berliner Helicopters, named after their German-American inventor Emile Berliner, were manufactured around Nieuport 23 fuselages, including the 1922 and 1923 versions.
caption: Russian Nieuport 21 armed with a Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun
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