Nieuport Nighthawk
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| Nighthawk | |
|---|---|
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Nieuport & General |
| Maiden flight | 1919 |
| Introduced | 1923 |
| Retired | 1938 |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Greece |
| Variants | Nieuport Nightjar Gloster Sparrowhawk |
The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did not enter large scale service with the RAF owing to unreliable engines. Re-engined aircraft did see service with Greece, serving from 1923 to 1938.
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[edit] Development
The Nieuport & General Aircraft Co Ltd was formed before the start of the First World War to license produce French Nieuport aircraft. During 1917, hiring Henry Folland as chief designer, the company started to design its own aircraft, with the first type, the Nieuport B.N.1 fighter flying early in 1918.
To produce a fighter to replace the Sopwith Snipe in service with the RAF, the Air Ministry produced RAF Specification Type 1 for a single seat fighter to be powered by the ABC Dragonfly engine. This was a radial engine under development which was meant to deliver 340 hp (254kW) while weighing only 600 lb (272 kg), and on the basis of the promised performance, was ordered into production in large numbers.[1]
To meet this requirement, Folland designed the Nighthawk, a wooden two-bay biplane.[2] An initial order for 150 Nighthawks was placed in August 1918, well before flight ready engines were available, with the first prototype, serial number F-2909 flying in April or May 1919.[3] By this time, it was clear that the Dragonfly had serious problems, being prone to extreme overheating (which was so severe as to char propellor hubs), high fuel consumption and severe vibration (inadvertanly being designed to run at its resonance frequency).[1] When the engine could be persuaded to work, the Nighthawk showed excellent performance, but in September 1919, it was finally recognised that the Dragonfly was unsalvagable and the engine programme was cancelled, although by this time over a thousand engines had been delivered.
Seventy Nighthawks were completed by Nieuport and the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company, with a further 54 airframes without engines being completed.[3]
Nieuport & General closed down in August 1920, and the rights to the Nighthawk were purchased by the Gloster Aircraft Company, who hired Folland as chief designer. [4] Gloster proceeded to produce a number of derivatives of the Nighthawk, using stocks of Nighthawk components acquired by the company from the cancelled production run, calling them the Gloster Mars.[5]
The first of these derivatives was the Mars I (or Bamel) racing aircraft. Powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Napier Lion II engine, this first flew on 20 June 1921,[6] This aircraft was modified as the Gloster I,[7] this setting a world air speed record of 212.15 mph (342 km/h) in 1922.[8]
The Gloster Sparrowhawk (or Mars II, III and IV) was a naval fighter for Japan, powered by the Bentley BR2 rotary engine. The Nightjar (known as the Mars X) was a similar carrier fighter for the RAF.
The Gloster Nighthawk, or Mars VI, replaced the Dragonfly with either a Armstrong-Siddeley Jaguar or Bristol Jupiter radial. The RAF acquired 29 aircraft converted from Nieuport Nighthawks, powered by both Jaguar and Jupiter engines, while Greece purchased 25 Jaguar powered fighters.[5]
[edit] Operational history
Small numbers of Dragonfly powered Nighthawks were delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, but in that form did not enter operational service.[3]
The Mars I, after conversion to the Gloster I, was fitted with floats and used as a training seaplane for the British 1925 and 1927 Schneider Trophy teams, remaining in use until 1930.[7]
Three of the RAFs Gloster Nighthawks were sent to Iraq in 1923 for more extensive evaluation, being tested by No 1, 8 and 55 Squadrons.[9] The 25 Greek aircraft were delivered in 1923, remaining in service until 1938.[9]
[edit] Variants
- Nieuport Nighthawk
- Original production version. Powered by 320 ABC Dragonfly engine.
- Gloster Bamel (Mars 1)
- Racing derivative of Nighthawk. Powered by 450 hp Napier Lion engine. One built
- Gloster 1
- Rebuild of Mars 1 with more powerful engine and smaller wing.
- Gloster Sparrowhawk (Mars II, III and IV)
- Naval fighter for Japan.
- Gloster Nighthawk (Mars VI)
- Rebuild of Nighthawk with Jaguar or Jupiter engine.
- Nieuport Nightjar (Mars X)
- Naval fighter for RAF.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Nighthawk (Dragonfly Engine))
Data from The British Fighter since 1912 [3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
- Wingspan: 28 ft 0 in (8.54 m)
- Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
- Wing area: 276 ft² (25.6 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,500 lb (682 kg)
- Loaded weight: 2,218 lb (1,008 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× ABC Dragonfly I 9-cylinder radial engine, 320 hp (239 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 131 knots (151 mph, 243 km/h) at sea level
- Service ceiling 24,500 ft (7,470 m)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
- Power/mass: hp/lb (W/kg)
- Endurance: 3 hr
- Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 7 min 10 sec
Armament
- Two fixed forward firing .303 in Vickers machine guns.
[edit] See also
Related development
- Nieuport Nightjar
- Gloster Sparrowhawk
- Gloster II
Comparable aircraft
- Sopwith Dragon
- BAT Basilisk
- Sopwith Snark
- Sopwith Snapper
- Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Bruce 1974, p.292
- ^ Mason 1992, p.149.
- ^ a b c d Mason 1992, p.150.
- ^ Green and Swanborough 1994, p.443.
- ^ a b Mason 1992, p.152.
- ^ Jackson 1973, p.311
- ^ a b Jackson 1973, p.312.
- ^ A BRIEF HISTORY OF GLOSTER AIRCRAFT COMPANY Brockworth Parish Council. Retrieved 20 February 2008
- ^ a b Mason 1992, p.153
[edit] Bibliography
- Bruce, J.M. "Sopwith Snipe...:...the RAF's First Fighter. (Part 2). " Air Enthusiast International Volume 6 Number 6, June 1974. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll.
- Green, William. and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919. Volume 2. London: Putnam, Second edition, 1972. ISBN 0 370 10010 7.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
[edit] External links
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