Originally posted by J_A_B
Thanks for the info Straffo, Zarkov. My knowledge on the later-model Nieuports is shaky at best.
My comment that the Nieuports were "despised" doesn't mean overall, just in the context of their use by the US in 1918. I've not read an account from a pilot who liked one, and generally the US pilots seemed much happier with their SPAD XIII's. If this is a case of "inaccurate history", by all means correct me (I eat this stuff up).
Overall, the various models of Nieuports definately deserve their place as some of the Allies' best fighters through the middle of the war.
J_A_B
J_A_B - you were certainly right about USAS pilots prefering the SPAD over the Nieuport 28 - however, I think the word "despised" is a bit strong.
The Nieuport 28 has the misfortune of being the step-child of the Nieuport line. All the Nieuports up to and including the Nieuport 27 were fairly common in French and British squadrons; the British used the "early" model Nieuports until fairly late in the war and the French always had a few dispersed among their squadrons even after the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII became the standard fighter mainly because some pilots preferred the Nieuport due to its maneuverability - the SPADs, while very fast and durable, also tended to stall like bricks due to their very thin wings (think of them as a WWI-era Mustang or Focke-Wulf). However, the Nieuport 28, wasn't adopted by either the French or the British (although I believe some examples were distributed among French squadrons) and it was pretty much pawned off on the Americans until SPAD XIII's were available to take their place. However, despite their place in history as a stop-gap measure, they were fairly maneuverable (more maneuverable, certainly, than the SPAD...although that isn't saying much) but having the alarming tendency of shedding its wing fabric like all Nieuports.
With that being said, despite their weak wings, the Nieuports were fairly popular fighters, especially among the British. And French ace Nungesser scored the majority of his kills in a Nieuport and continued to fly various models even when posted to SPAD squadrons (although he did eventually switch to the SPAD); however, to be honest, he was "unique" among French aces as the other top aces (Fonck, Guynemer, etc.) all seemed to prefer the SPAD over the Nieuport.
