The prototype NiD.29 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons on both upper and lower wings. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear, a nose-mounted engine and a single open cockpit for the pilot. The prototype NiD 29 was evaluated by theFrench Service Aeronautique de l'Armee in July 1918 and a pre-production batch was ordered on 21 August 1918. It was powered by a 220 kW (300 hp)Hispano-Suiza 8Fb piston engine and performed well in test, but could not achieve the required ceiling. The second prototype was modified with an increased wingspan, and on exceeding the required ceiling it was ordered into production in 1920, becoming the fastest service fighter in the world at that time. Production aircraft did not have ailerons on the upper wing, and the lower wing ailerons were increased in span though reduced inchord.
The first mass production deliveries were made in 1922 to the French Air Force and the type was popular although it did have a tendency to enter aflat spin. The French military bought 250 aircraft which were built by Nieuport and seven other companies. The NiD 29 was to become an important fighter in the 1920s with purchases of 30 by Spain (including 10 Spanish licence-built aircraft) and 108 by Belgium (87 licensed built bySABCA). The ItalianRegia Aeronautica bought 175 aircraft including 95 built by Macchi as theMacchi-Nieuport 29 and 80 built byCaproni. Sweden bought nine aircraft and designated themJ 2. TheJapanese companyNakajima bought a pattern aircraft and built 608 for the Imperial Japanese Army as theKo-4.
Three NiD 29s were modified for reserve CaptainJoseph Sadi-Lecointe in November 1925 and used on 70 sorties against insurgents inMorocco using bomb racks with six 10 kg bombs.[3] Spanish aircraft were also involved in similar operations in North Africa.
Prototype for series, powered by a 240 kW (320 hp)Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine.
NiD.29 C.1
Production aircraft, powered by 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engines.
NiD.29 B.1
Nieuport-Delage NiD.29G floatplane modified for Grand Prix de Monaco
Small number of conversions as an experimental assault version to carry six 10 kg (22.0 lb) bombs.
NiD.29bis
Prototype only with reduced wing area and steerable tailskid, powered by a 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine.
NiD.29G
Prototypes fitted with aGnome Monosoupape 9N rotary engine, two later converted to take a Hispano engine and fitted with twin floats and an auxiliary tail float for theGrand Prix de Monaco in 1923.
NiD.29M
Single prototype for Aeronavale (M for Marine) similar to 29G but with 130 kW (180 hp)Le Rhone 9R engine, further converted into 32Rh.
NiD.29D
Conversion with an engine-driven supercharger for an attempt on the altitude record, reached 7,000 m (23,000 ft).
NiD.29 ET.1
Trainer variant with a 134 kW (180 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Ab engine and a single synchronisedVickers machine gun, three built.
NiD.29 SHV
Nieuport-Delage 29V racer
Seaplane for the 1919Schneider Trophy contest with reduced wingspan and military equipment removed, two aircraft built and one was also entered in the 1921 event but neither aircraft flew in the races. Powered by a 220 kW (300 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine
NiD.29V
Nieuport-Delage NiD-29V 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile October,1922Lightweight racer developed in 1919 with a wingspan reduced to 6.00m (19ft 8¼in), powered by a 240 kW (320 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine, three built.
NiD.29Vbis
One-off conversion with an enclosed cockpit to gain more speed, the pilot had small teardrop windows on each side with little forward visibility. Powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine boosted to give 250 kW (330 hp). On 12 December 1920, Sadi-Lecointe flew the NiD-29Vbis to a new world speed record of 313.043 km/h (194.516 mph; 169.030 kn). The aircraft was lost in a landing accident in 1921.
Corpo Aeronautico Militare operated 175 examples built byMacchi andCaproni from 1924 until at least 1931.[8] These were flown by the 76, 84, 91stSquadriglias of the 7thGruppo, 70, 74 and 75thSquadriglias of the 23rdGruppo of the 1stStormo Caccia and the 92ndSquadriglia 8thGruppo.[8]
Imperial Japanese Army operated 608Nakajima-built Ko.4 (Nieuport Fighter type 4) from 1923 until 1937 or later in the 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8Hiko Rentai (Air Regiments). One pattern aircraft was purchased from France[9]
Andersson, Lennart.A History of Chinese Aviation:Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China until 1949. Taipei, Taiwan: AHS of ROC, 2008.ISBN978-957-28533-3-7.
Bruner, Georges (1977). "Fighters a la Francaise, Part One".Air Enthusiast (3):85–95.ISSN0143-5450.
Wauthy, Jean-Luc & de Neve, Florian (June 1995). "Les aéronefs de la Force Aérienne Belge, deuxième partie 1919–1935" [Aircraft of the Belgian Air Force].Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (305):28–33.ISSN0757-4169.
Manchukuo
Sweden
