<p>Founded at Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, in 1910, the Société Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport was active during the early stages of European aviation. By the time of the outbreak of war with Germany in August 1914, it was sufficiently well established to design and manufacture a series of fighter aircraft that saw extensive use by the French and its Allies.
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<p>Designed by Gustave Delage, the Nieuport 17 was what would now be regarded as a typical single-seat fighter biplane of the early stages of World War I. A braced single-bay biplane, its fuselage structure was basically of wood but introduced a forward section of welded steel tubing which was covered by aluminum cowlings to the pilot's cockpit. Aft of that the wooden structure was fabric covered, as were the wings and tail surfaces, with the narrow-chord lower 'sesquiplane' wing having half the area of the upper wing. The landing gear was of tailskid type, the main unit comprising wire-braced Vee struts supporting a through axle. The initial Nieuport 17 was powered by a 110-hp (82-kW) Le Rhône 9J rotary engine or, in the case of the Nieuport 17-bis, by the 130-hp (97-kW) Clerget 9B. Extensively operated by the Allies, AEF procurement was limited to 75 Nieuport 17s which were used for training, and a single Nieuport 17-bis which was shipped to the USA for test and study.
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<p>The Nieuport 21, which was a variant of the 17, introduced an 80-hp (60-kW) Le Rhône 9C engine and enlarged ailerons, but otherwise differed only in small details. Two versions were acquired by the AEF, the initial Nieuport 21 (to a total of 181), plus 17 of a variant with the Le Rhône 9J engine, all 198 being used in the training role. Final direct version of this family was the Nieuport 23, a slightly more robust (and consequently heavier) version of the Nieuport 17. AEF procurement of this totalled only 50 (again for training), comprising variants with the Le Rhône 9C (total 47) and 9J (3).
<item><hi format=bold>Powerplant:</hi> one 110-hp (82-kW) Le Rhône rotary piston engine
<item><hi format=bold>Performance:</hi> maximum speed 106 mph (170 km h) at 6,500 ft (1,980 m); climb to 13,125 ft (4,000 m) in 19 minutes 30 seconds; service ceiling 17,550 ft (5,350 m); range 155 miles (250 km)
<item><hi format=bold>Weights:</hi> empty 825 lb (374 kg); maximum take-off 1,235 lb (560 kg)
<item><hi format=bold>Dimensions:</hi> span 26 ft 10.75 in (8.2 m); length 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m); height 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m); wing area 158.77 sq ft (14.75 m<su>2</su>)
<item><hi format=bold>Armament:</hi> one fixed forward-firing 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Lewis gun mounted above the upper wing center-section to fire clear of the propeller disc; subsequently, after the introduction of synchronizing gear, one 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Vickers machine gun
