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OLDE WWI AIRCRAFT - FRENCH BI-PLANE NIEUPORT 17C-1 (COLOR PHOTOS)
An original 1917 Autochrome of a Nieuport 17C-1 was taken by French army photographer. Paul Castelnau at a field near Haut-Rhin, France. Through most of the First World War, the
Nieuports were a favorite of pilots of many Allied countries, specifically because they were fast, very agile and had an awesome climb rate. The nimble wing-and-a-half plane could, however, fail if overstressed in a sustained hard dive, unlike the tougher, stiffer-handling SPADs that entered service later in the war when Nieuports were finally becoming out-classed by newer German fighters.
You can see the synchronized Vickers machine gun on the nose of the plane above. No way to tell if the optional Lewis canister-fed is also mounted atop the upper wing. Powered by a 110-hp engine, the originally French-built Nieuport was a favorite of aces like Canadian W.A.Bishop, Victoria Cross-winner Albert Ball and (though the U.S. formally entered the war later) Yank Eddie Rickenbacker, among many others.
Submitted by Wendell H.
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