Nieuport 12 Explained

The Nieuport 12 (or Nieuport XII in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. Later production examples were built as trainers and served widely until the late 1920s.

Design and development

To improve the performance of the Nieuport 10 a re-engined version was developed as the Nieuport 12 with a significantly enlarged upper wing. A Lewis gun was fitted to the rear cockpit for use by the observer, normally on an Etévé ring (known as the Nieuport ring in British service) although early examples used a pedestal mount or half ring. A second Lewis was sometimes fitted to fire over the top wing. Nieuport 12s built by Beardmore used by the Royal Flying Corps were sometimes fitted with a Scarff ring instead of the Nieuport ring, and a synchronized Vickers gun for the pilot. Additional modifications were made to those built by Beardmore.

It could be fitted with either a 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on Clerget, 130hp Clerget 9B engine or 110hp Le Rhône 9J mounted in the nose.

Variants

Nieuport 12 A.2
  • Two-seat fighter-reconnaissance biplane, powered by 110hp Clerget 9Z engine.[1] or 110hp Le Rhône 9J.
    Nieuport 12bis C.2
  • Revised version with 130hp Clerget 9B engine and streamlined side fairings.[2]
    Nieuport 13
  • Two prototypes with increased span but same nominal wing area as 12. One powered by a 140hp Hispano-Suiza 8, and the other by an 80hp Le Rhône 9C.
    Nieuport 20
  • Version powered by 110hp Le Rhône 9J. Not used by France, but 21 delivered to Royal Flying Corps.[3] All but first examples externally similar to 12bis.
    23 meter Nieuport
  • Unofficial generic designation for all types listed here based on nominal wing area of 23 square meters.
    Nieuport 80 E.2 and 81 E.2
  • Nieuport 12s were later built in large numbers specifically as training aircraft with the gun ring removed. 8 in designation referred to 80hp Le Rhône 9C. These differed in having flight controls for just the pilot in the rear seat (81 E.2), or both pilot and passenger (80 E.2).
    Nieuport 12 (Beardmore)
  • Beardmore progressively redesigned the Nieuport 12 during a production run of 50 aircraft so early examples were almost stock but late production examples differed considerably in detail. These were fitted with 110hp Clerget 9Z and 130hp Clerget 9B rotaries.
    Mitsubishi Army Type 甲 1 (Ko 1) Trainer
  • Japanese designation for licence built Nieuport 81 E.2s. 57 built.[4]
    Trainer Type 1
  • Siamese designation for Nieuport 80 E.2.
    Sipowicz 1
  • Polish experimental aircraft using lifting struts similar to the Wright-Bellanca WB-2.

    Operators

    Chile
    Greece
    Serbia
    Siam
    Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet

    Survivor

    A single ex-French Nieuport 12 is on display following an extensive restoration (including reinstalling the original Le Rhône 9J rotary engine) at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa in the late 1990s. This aircraft was donated to the Canadian Dominion Archives along with a Canon de 75 modèle 1897 cannon and an extensive collection of propaganda posters by the French Government in 1916 and was used for war bond drives until the 1918 flu pandemic resulted in it being placed in storage. In the late 1960s the Royal Canadian Air Force partially converted it into an RFC Beardmore example for display.

    References

    Bibliography

    Notes and References

    1. Bruce 1982, p.320.
    2. Bruce 1982, p.323.
    3. Bruce 1982, pp. 323–324.
    4. Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 176.

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