Nieuport N28C-1 by Roden

1/48 scale
Kit No. Ro403
Cost: $25.99
Decals: Five versions, all for 94th Aero Squadron, including one machine flown by Lieutenant (later Captain) Eddie Rickenbacker
Comments: Nice stressed fabric effects, detailed radial engine and machine guns; one-piece wings; instructions include rigging diagram

History

The Nieuport 28 was designed in mid-1917 by Gustave Delage for the Societe Anonyme des Establissements Nieuport, when its series of fighters, starting with the Nieuport 11 and continuing with the Nieuport 17, was outclassed by German fighters and was being replaced by the SPAD S.VII. To remain competitive, the company created a new lightly built model with a more powerful engine for increased performance – the Gnome Monosoupape 9N.  Its wing tips were elliptical in contrast to the angular wing tips of its predecessors, and the ailerons were moved from the upper wing to the lower wing. The design was more streamlined than earlier Nieuports. Due the small size of the aircraft, two machine guns and the associated ammunition bins and feed trays could not fit in the traditional location. So, one machine gun was positioned on the upper forward fuselage and a second machine gun was placed distinctively on the lower left fuselage side.

Although ordered into production by the French during World War I, the Nieuport N28C-1 was soon rejected for service by the French Air Force, as its performance was inferior to the new Spad VII which had already begun to equip fighter squadrons. The 28 might have been the last fighter Nieuport ever produced, but for the pressing need of the American Expeditionary Forces once the United States entered the war in the Spring of 1917. Beginning in March 1918, the Nieuport 28 ultimately saw extensive action not with the French, but with the United States Air Service, as it was called at the time. It therefore has the distinction of being the first fighter aircraft to carry the American colours into combat.

While eager to get into action and glad to have the use of the fighter, not having arrived on French soil with any of their own, the American pursuit squadrons (27th, 94th, 95th and 147th) soon had reason to curse the machine, despite the success of its predecessors, particularly the Nieuport 11 and Nieuport 17. The reason for this bad feeling toward the Nieuport 28 spoke to the cause of its rejection by the French.

A chief drawback was the Nieuport’s quirky powerplant, the 165 h.p. Gnome “Monosoupape” 9-N radial engine which had a reputation for unreliability, and, in the hands of an unwary pilot, setting fire to the aircraft. At the time the preferred aircraft engine was the Le Rhone, but it was earmarked for other types. The Gnome had no carburetor and could not be throttled up or down; pilots needing to reduce power did so by means of a “blip switch,” a cut-off button on the control yoke allowing the engine to be shut off for brief intervals, as when making an approach for a landing. Additional buttons on the control stick enabled the pilot to cut out one or more cylinders for continued running at reduced power. But all cylinders had to be switched back on at regular intervals to prevent flooding, fouling of the spark plugs, and above all, the danger of fire in the cowling from unburned fuel.

Unburned fuel was a continuous hazard due to the design of the Gnome’s engine cylinders, each of which had only one valve instead of the standard two. All Gnome engines wasted a certain amount of fuel because of the passage of some of the fuel mixture into the cylinder on the non-firing part of the engine cycle. Discharge of this unburned mixture directly into the cowling created a serious fire hazard, as the Nieuport 28 had a closed cowling, unlike some earlier versions which had a large opening at the bottom.

Nieuport 28 in Combat

While the 95th Squadron flew an unarmed patrol over the front line on March 15, 1918, led by none other than ace Raoul Lufberry (there was no choice, as the planes initially arrived without armament), the first American unit to see combat was the 94th, when two German aircraft stumbled upon their aerodrome at Toul in poor weather on April 14th. A pair of Nieuport 28’s were scrambled, flown by Lts. Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell. They shot down one plane, a Pfalz D.III, and forced the other, an Albatros D.Va to land just minutes later. Despite this spectacular start, the Americans would soon learn that the Nieuport 28’s drawbacks were not limited to its engine.

Another flaw was that like other aircraft of its time, the Nieuport’s upper wing could not take the stress of prolonged dives or sudden, violent maneuvers. Lieutenant Jimmy Meissner of the 94th Squadron discovered this structural deficiency during a fight with two Albatros D.Va’s on May 2, 1918. Meissner managed to shoot one down after chasing it through a long dive, but upon pulling up, discovered that fabric was ripping free of the left upper wing, and was following suit on the right upper wing. He nursed his damaged machine back across the lines and was forced to crash-land in the American forward area. The same thing happened to him a second time during a loop in a dogfight at 4,000 feet, but on that occasion he managed to limp back to his own aerodrome.

Lt. James Norman Hall, a former Lafayette Escadrille pilot who was attached to the 94th Squadron, would be taken prisoner when his Nieuport suffered an identical structural failure, forcing him to crash-land in German-held territory. Hall would later become a famous novelist, writing books on WWI aviation but also penning the novel “Mutiny on the Bounty.” Even the 94th’s Eddie Rickenbacker had to nurse a Nieuport 28 back to base after fabric tore loose from his upper wing, compromising both lift and maneuverability.  By the time a fix was devised for the weak wing in July 1918, the Nieuport was being replaced by the Spad XIII.  The Spad was a marked improvement as it enjoyed a good deal more ruggedness, but it was not perfect; while fast, it did not have the Nieuport 28’s maneuverability, and its Hispano-Suiza engine, while more powerful, also had its idiosyncrasies.

Post-War Service

Fifty Nieuport 28’s were brought to the U.S. in 1919 and a dozen were given to the U.S. Navy, which rigged special platforms for them to be flown from the turrets of battleships and serve as observation aircraft — their light weight and quick acceleration suited them to this task. Machines given to the U.S. Army were briefly used as trainers and then scrapped. Several Nieuport 28’s saw their swan song in Hollywood, being employed (and often deliberately destroyed) in such films as 1930’s “Dawn Patrol,” 1933’s “Aces of Aces,” and the 1938 remake of the former.

While the Nieuport 28 was meant to improve on its forbears’ performance with a more powerful engine (the Nieuport 17 with its 110 h.p. engine was by 1918 was outclassed by newer types such as the Fokker D. VII), the drive for greater maneuverability led to a more slender, lighter airframe that could not withstand the rigors of air combat in all its permutations. Unfortunately, the type fell short of its promise, and it was only the lack of more suitable aircraft that led to its association with the Americans on the Western Front upon their arrival in 1918. Still, perhaps due to its lineage, especially the earlier success of the Nieuport 17, it enjoys a greater reputation today than it perhaps deserves. It is nonetheless a distinctive aircraft that played a critical, early role in the development of America’s air arm.

The Kit

Roden’s Nieuport N.28C-1 is injection molded in grey plastic and comes on two sprues in a single clear plastic bag consisting of an economical 50 parts. The instructions and decals come in their own separate sealed plastic bag, a nice innovation for those concerned about decal oxidation. Construction begins with the engine assembly, consisting of ten parts including the cowling and firewall.

In an unusual bit of engineering, the fuselage is cemented together first and the cockpit assembly (seat, control yoke, rudder pedals, instrument panel, internal cockpit frame and a rear bulkhead of sorts), is inserted into the fuselage afterwards. The completed engine assembly is then cemented to the front of the fuselage to seal everything up. Construction thereafter is fairly straightforward, with the upper and lower wings each consisting thankfully of a single part, so they should offer no serious challenges with proper alignment.

Another concern with biplanes, even in 1/48 scale, is the interplane struts and whether they are of sufficient size and strength to hold the weight of the upper wing; there is no cause for concern on that point with this kit. Proper placement of the machine guns on the upper deck of the cowling can be rather challenging with WWI fighters, but in the case of the Neiuport 28, Roden has simplified this by molding slotted positions into the left half of the fuselage, into which the machine guns are to be cemented. The propeller is nicely detailed but may require some rounding of the blade tips with light sanding.

Markings

The kit contains decals for five versions, all of the 94th Aero Squadron, an American unit operating Neiuport 28’s almost exclusively from the Spring of 1918 on. The first is White 8, flown by Lt. James A. Meissner, May 1918; second is White 1, flown by Major John Huffner, April 1918; third is Black 14, also flown by Lt. James A. Meissner, May 1918; fourth is White 12, flown by Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, April-May1918.

Rickenbacker’s plane is distinctive in that it had a war bond poster on the right upper wing and on the underside of the right lower wing; fifth is White 10, flown by Lt. Douglas Campbell, based at Villeneuve-les-Vertus, France. The aircraft of Meissner and Campbell also feature images of war bond posters, but only on the underside of the right lower wing. No decal is provided for this poster, rather it is a pair of miniaturized images of a woman with windblown dark hair and a white gown carrying the American flag, urging viewers to “Fight or Buy Bonds” and advertising the “Third Liberty Loan,” on semi-gloss paper (two images are provided for those who wish to depict Rickenbacker’s aircraft).

The posters as presented by Roden are reminiscent of postage stamps, except that modelers are left to their own devices as to how to affix them to the wing surfaces, as there is no sticky backing. It is odd that they would be on combat aircraft, as they would be more likely to impress crowds at war bond rallies than enemy pilots. All versions of the aircraft are painted in an overall camouflage scheme of US Dark Green, US Light Green, Pale Stone, Matt Black, and Matt Chocolate — no doubt dictated by prevailing French Air Force paint schemes of the period.

Conclusion

To the naked eye the kit looks quite accurate in the box, and the relatively few parts for a fighter of this scale underscores the simplicity of the actual Nieuport aircraft, designed with a view to be as light as possible to maximize maneuverability, with the added byproduct of a respectable power-to-weight ratio helping the top speed generated by the 160 hp Gnome-Rhone Monosoupape 9N radial engine. A fun weekend build for sure.

References

• The Nieuport N.28C-1 by Peter M. Bowers; Profile Publications No. 79, Copyright 1966 Peter M. Bowers and Profile Publications; Leatherhead, Surrey, England.
• www.aresgames.eu