Nieuport Madon
Nieuport Madon prototype with wing root opening visible
Role Fighter
National origin France
Manufacturer Nieuport
First flight December 1918
Number built 2

In October 1917 Nieuport began construction of a prototype monoplane fighter known as the Nieuport Madon, a strut braced monoplane.[1]

Design and development

The tapered shoulder mounted wing was supported by lift struts attached to the landing gear, which featured an additional constant chord lifting area between the wheels. A section of wing root was cut away to improve downward visibility.[1] The fuselage and wing were fabric covered. It was armed with two synchronized 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Vickers machine guns.[2] The first prototype made its first flight in early January 1918 while powered by a 110 kW (150 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 9N rotary engine,[1] the same engine used in the Nieuport 28.

The second prototype first flew in late January 1918 with the slightly more powerful 130 kW (180 hp) Le Rhône 9R.[2] This aircraft had a revised wing whose inboard trailing edges were cut away and it had an elongated fin. On 1 May 1918 the second prototype was rejected in favour of the Monosoupape powered model.[1]

The Nieuport Madon was not officially accepted but would be refined through the Nieuport 31[1] the Nieuport-Delage Sesquiplan and eventually into the Nieuport-Delage NiD 62 which was still in second line service in 1940.

Nieuport Madon circa 1918

Specifications

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 17.5 m2 (188 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 433 kg (955 lb)
  • Gross weight: 703 kg (1,550 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Monosoupape 9N 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 110 kW (150 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)
  • Endurance: 2 hours
  • Time to altitude: Time to 4,000 m (13,000 ft) - 13 min.

Armament

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nieuport Madon.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Green, W.; Swanborough, G. (2001). The Complete Book of Fighters. Salamander Books. ISBN 978-1840652697.
  2. 1 2 Bruno Parmentier (7 March 2006). "Nieuport Madon". aviafrance.com. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

Bibliography

  • Bruce, J.M. (1988). Nieuport Aircraft of World War One - Vintage Warbirds No 10. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-934-2.
  • Davilla, Dr. James J. & Soltan, Arthur M. (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, Connecticut: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 0-9637110-4-0.
  • Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (2001) [1994]. The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-84065-269-1.
  • Owers, Colin A. (2020). French Warplanes of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Gret War Aviation Centennial Series (43). Vol. 1: Fighters. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-93-3.
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