Nieuport 21
Nieuport · France · first flew 1916 · fighter
The Nieuport 21 was a French single-seat, single-engine fighter used during the First World War by the French, Russian, British and American air forces.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.8 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Sesquiplane with a smaller lower wing
- Le Rhône 9C rotary engine under a horseshoe-shaped cowling
- Often mistaken for the slightly smaller Nieuport 11, which used the same cowling
A rotary-engined sesquiplane with a horseshoe cowling, easily mistaken for the Nieuport 11.
Specifications
- The Nieuport 21 has a length of 5.8 m (19 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8.16 m (27 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 150 km/h (93 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed by Gustave Delage, it had a similar airframe to the Nieuport 17 but a less powerful Le Rhône 9C engine, as it was intended as a long-range escort fighter. It first flew in June 1916.
Variants
It was licence-built in Russia by the Dux factory.
Where you'll see it
It served alongside the Nieuport 17, and the bomber-escort role was abandoned when bombers were withdrawn from daylight operations. Many were built for training, and after the war it was a popular civil aircraft.
Related aircraft
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