1/32 Hobbycraft Nieuport 17

by Tamer Ozkan

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  Turkey Republic Day 2004 

 

The Nieuport 17 was probably one of the more successful fighters of the WW1 and had a longer career than most others. It was built by the Societe Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport which was started by Edouard de Nieuport in 1910 in France. The Nieuport 17 was a combination of the Nieuport 11 and 16. The engine was a 110 hp LeRhone rotary engine. Another version of the 17 was built. It had a 130 hp Clerget rotary and was known as the Nieuport 17bis. The plane was originally equipped with a Lewis Machine gun mounted on the upper wing that shot above the arc of the propeller. To reload the gun, the Lewis had to be tipped up, the pilot would almost have to stand holding the control stick between his knees, and replace the 47 round drum with a new one. After the planes were equipped with a synchronization gear, a Vickers Machine gun was mounted in front of the pilot. This was a belt fed gun and was more deadly because it shot through the prop and was easier to aim at an enemy aircraft. The plane showed up on the Western Front early in 1916 . The plane was also flown by Russia, Britain, Belgium, Italy and Greece. By the end of 1917, the Nieuport was quickly becoming obsolete, compared to other aircraft and was replaced by the SPAD VII.

The 2 examples in possession of the ottoman armed forces were found on a  Russian raft off the Bosphorus in the Black Sea . Further 3 were captured in Seidikeuy after the liberation of Izmir by the Nationalist Forces on September 9, 1922 during the War of Independence  

The kit was the hobbycraft and I painted all of the markings.  I used an O- ring for the tires.  Riggings were fishing line

Click on images below to see larger images

Many thanks to Mr Mehmet Sekercioglu from PM models and all of the friends at http://www.wwi-models.org.

Tamer

Photos and text © by Tamer Ozkan