| Nieuport 21 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Nieuport |
| Introduction | 1916 |
| Retired | 1920s |
| Primary users | Aéronautique Militaire Imperial Russian Air Service US Army Air Service |
| Developed from | Nieuport 17 |
The Nieuport 21 (or Nieuport XXI C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft used during World War I. The aircraft was used by the French, Russian, British and American air forces. After the war, the Nieuport 21 was a popular civil aircraft.
The Nieuport 21 was designed by Gustave Delage and it made its maiden flight in 1916. While it had a similar airframe to the Nieuport 17, it was equipped with a less powerful Le Rhône 9C engine as it was originally intended as a long range escort fighter. As the engine was fitted with a horseshoe shaped cowling, the Nieuport 21 was often mistaken for the slightly smaller Nieuport 11, which used the same cowling. [1]
The Nieuport 21 served alongside the more powerful Nieuport 17, where its lower weight helped boost its already impressive climb rate. Although initially intended as a bomber escort, this role was abandoned when the bombers were withdrawn from daylight operations. Large numbers were also built for training duties. Nieuport 21s were sold to Russia, and to the United States for use as trainers. The Nieuport 21 was license manufactured in Russia by Dux Factory. Examples were also used in limited numbers by the Royal Naval Air Service. A small number were used by a number of air arms in the early post war period, including the Finnish Air Force (the Whites) which had captured a Russian aircraft in Tampere in 1918 and which was used until 1923. The French Navy used one example for carrier trials in 1919 and 1920. Due to its similarity to the Nieuport 11, many operated by air forces post-war have been misidentified in the past as Nieuport 11s, few of which survived that long.
Argentina 
Brazil 
Estonia 
France 
Finland 
Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Romania 
Serbia 
Thailand 
United Kingdom 
United States 
Data from French Aircraft of the First World War [5] and Nieuport 1875-1911 [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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