| Nie 31 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nieuport 31 circa 1919 | |
| Role | Single-seat fighter |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Nieuport |
| First flight | 1919 |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Number built | 2 [1] |
| Developed from | Nieuport Madon |
The Nieuport Nie 31 or Nieuport 31 was a single-engine, single-seat monoplane or sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed and built in France in 1919.
Though the Nie 31 (it had been flown and subsequently abandoned before the company changed its name to Nieuport-Delage) was technically a sesquiplane, it could equally well be described as a shoulder-wing monoplane with a small foreplane. Its immediate predecessor was the Nieuport Madon, which had an ancillary lifting surface built around the axle of its wide-track undercarriage. The Nie 31 had a narrower-track undercarriage, but the second wing extended outwards beyond the wheels, which were faired into its upper surface; this wing and the axle were joined to the lower fuselage by a pair of near vertical N-form struts. [2]
The main plane was of low aspect ratio. In plan it had a rounded leading edge, straight trailing edge and square tips. Its roots were cut away to allow a better downward view from the cockpit. This was placed ahead of the trailing edge so the pilot looked forward over the wing; he had a faired headrest behind. The Nie 31's upper wing had ailerons but no flaps and was braced on each side by a parallel pair of aerofoil section struts stretching outwards from the bottom of the undercarriage struts. The lower wing had parallel chord and straight edges, providing a lifting surface with about 40% the area of the main plane. Both wings were fabric covered. [2]
The Nie 31 was powered by a 130 kW (180 hp) Le Rhone 9R nine-cylinder rotary engine, smoothly and completely cowled. It drove a two-blade propeller. The fuselage, like that of the earlier Nieuport Nie 29, was a smooth wooden monocoque shell of tulipwood, produced by winding thin spiral strips around a mould in a series of alternately handed layers and glueing them together. It tapered to the rear, where an almost delta-shaped tailplane was mounted at mid-height, carrying horn-balanced elevators. The fin was much less broad, with a straight-edged, balanced rudder extending down between the elevators below the lower fuselage, where there was a small dorsal fin. [2]
The Nie 31 was intended to carry twin 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns. A flight test programme conducted through 1919 showed that the Nie 31 had excellent performance, especially given the low engine power, but Nieuport did not proceed with its development as a fighter, [2] however the Nieuport-Delage Sesquiplan was a direct evolution of this design, but powered with a Hispano-Suiza 8 water-cooled V8 engine, and was built specifically for racing.
Data fromThe Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown [2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.
The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieuport 28 continued a similar design philosophy of a lightweight and highly maneuverable aircraft.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 was a fighter aircraft built in France in the early 1920s, the first in a family of designs that would form the backbone of the French fighter force over the next decade.
The Latécoère 6 was a French four-engined biplane bomber of the early 1920s. It was of advanced all-metal construction and probably the first aircraft to use geodetic construction. Only one was built.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 120 series was a series of French single-seat parasol monoplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was built in a number of versions, fitted with various types of engines, with six aircraft designated NiD 123 being sold to Peru.
The Kondor E 3, sometimes erroneously known as E.III, was a German single seat, monoplane fighter aircraft designed and built close to the end of World War I. Though successful in the third D-type fighter competition at Aldershof in September 1918, only a few were produced, given the Idflieg designation of Kondor D.I.
The Kondor D 7 was a prototype German single seat biplane fighter built over the winter of 1917-18. It was not a success and its development was soon abandoned.
The Pfalz D.VI was a German sesquiplane fighter aircraft from World War I. It was not put into production.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 37 was a single-engine, single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft and racer designed and built in France in the early 1920s. It had a small foreplane to bring the centre of pressure forward. Heavy, slower than expected and with turbo-supercharger problems, development ended without any entering service.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 43 was a single-engine, two-seat biplane fighter aircraft designed and built for shipboard use in France in 1924.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 48 was a French single-engine parasol wing light fighter aircraft, designed and built in the 1920s. Its performance was not markedly better than that of the much heavier Nieuport-Delage NiD 62 then going into production, so only two were flown.
The Loire-Nieuport 161 was a single-seat, single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter designed and built in France in 1935 to compete for a government contract. Accidents delayed its development and only three prototypes were completed.
The Hanriot H.26 was a French single seat fighter aircraft prototype completed in 1923. Only one was built.
The Hanriot H.31 was a single engine, single seat French biplane fighter aircraft built in 1925 to compete in a government programme. It was not successful and only one prototype was completed.
The Potez 26 was a single seat fighter aircraft designed and flown in France in the mid-1920s. It did not reach production.
The Caudron 02 was a French high altitude single seat fighter that was flown in November 1917.
In October 1917 Nieuport began construction of a prototype monoplane fighter known as the Nieuport Madon, a strut braced monoplane.
The de Marçay 4 was a single seat monoplane fighter built in France in 1923 for a government competition. It did not receive a production contract.
The Nieuport Triplanes were a series of experimental stagger-wing triplanes modified from Nieuport 10, 17 and 17bis biplanes during World War I that were built by Nieuport. The exact number built is unknown, but only three or four are known to have been evaluated by the French Army Aviation and the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). None of the aircraft were superior to the fighters already in service and they were not accepted for production.
The Morane-Saulnier MS.221 was a French fighter aircraft, built in 1928 to compete for a government contract in the "Jockey" programme. Two were built, one of which was progressively modified to increase its speed, but in 1930 the light fighter concept was abandoned.
