A 1 CAMERA REPAIR

Nieuport 28C.1

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-hazy Center, Dulles, Va., October 29, 2009.

Info from the museum's website:

Appearing in mid 1917, the Nieuport 28C.1 was rejected by the French in favor of the sturdier, more advanced Spad XIII. Having no suitable fighter design of its own, the United States adopted the Nieuport 28 as a stop-gap measure before the much-in-demand Spad XIIIs could be made available from the French. It was the first fighter aircraft to serve with an American fighter unit under American command and in support of U.S. troops. It was also first type to score an aerial victory with an American unit.

The Nieuport 28 also made its mark in U.S. aviation history after the war. Twelve were employed by the U.S. Navy for shipboard launching trials from 1919 to 1921. Others were operated by the U.S. Army in the 1920s. In private hands, several were modified for air racing, and a number found their way into Hollywood movies. Still others became privately-owned airplanes flying in various sporting and commercial capacities.
Gift of James H. "Cole" Palen.

The museum's Nieuport 28 has a complex and confusing history. It was acquired in 1986 from Cole Palen, founder and operator of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. He flew the aircraft regularly in his air shows from 1958 to 1972. Immediately before its transfer to NASM, the airplane was on loan from Palen to the Intrepid Sea/Air/Space Museum in New York.

Upon close inspection, it became clear that the NASM aircraft is a composite of several different Nieuport 28s. The various components had been owned by a number of different people and used in a variety of capacities over a long period of time. As a result, the pieces have been shuffled around a lot and re-built many times. A large number of parts were not original and in many cases the replacement parts were not prepared to original specification. As a result, a serious investigation of the history of the NASM airframe was undertaken to determine as near as possible the provenance of the museum's Nieuport 28.

When it was acquired a number of erroneous assumptions were passed on, probably uncorroborated stories from Cole Palen. Initially the aircraft was believed to have been a war-time product and that it flew with the U.S. Air Service in World War I. Additionally, it was purported to have been one of the twelve U.S. Navy Nieuports tested in 1919-1921, that it was used in the Hollywood epic "Dawn Patrol," and that Howard Hughes had owned it at one point. Painstaking research has demonstrated that nearly all of these assumptions were untrue.

To determine the actual history of the NASM Nieuport, the logical place to begin was with the numbers and markings on the airframe. There are five different serial numbers on the airplane. The fuselage number on the firewall is 6497. The upper wings have a manufacturing date of February 1919 with serial numbers 7103 (left panel) and 7226 (right panel). The lower left wing panel is marked as having been fabricated in November 1918 with serial number 6465. The lower right was made in October 1918 with serial number 6432.

The first obvious conclusion drawn from these data was that the NASM Nieuport 28 is essentially a postwar product. The lower wing panels were made at the very end of the war, which concluded on November 11, 1918. The fuselage serial number being higher than the lower wing numbers dates it as very late 1918 or very early 1919. The upper wings are dated 1919. Therefore, the NASM aircraft could not have been a war veteran. Further, given the late production dates, it can be concluded that the NASM aircraft must be a modified and improved postwar version of the Nieuport 28C.1, sometimes referred to as a Nieuport 28A.

A third conclusion drawn from the serial numbers was that the components are probably from at least five different aircraft. This is not necessarily so, as wing panels, tail units, fuselages, etc., were assembled from production line manufacture. Nevertheless, given that the serial numbers are so far apart, it is hard to believe that all the present components represent one original aircraft. The upper and lower wing sets could have been originally paired together as their respective numbers are relatively close together. But the 6400 series serial numbered wings and 7000 series numbered wings were unlikely to have been on the same airframe when the airplane first left the factory. Moreover, the NASM airplane, on at least one occasion, probably more, was put together from "best available components" from a collection of Nieuport 28 airframes. The most reasonable interpretation based on the evidence is that the NASM Nieuport 28 is not a documented single airframe with a continuous history. It is an amalgam of component parts of several aircraft brought together many years after their original individual manufacture.

Certain that the NASM aircraft is not a war-time Nieuport, the n

Nieuport 28C.1

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-hazy Center, Chantilly, Va., October 29, 2009.

Info from the museum's website:

Appearing in mid 1917, the Nieuport 28C.1 was rejected by the French in favor of the sturdier, more advanced Spad XIII. Having no suitable fighter design of its own, the United States adopted the Nieuport 28 as a stop-gap measure before the much-in-demand Spad XIIIs could be made available from the French. It was the first fighter aircraft to serve with an American fighter unit under American command and in support of U.S. troops. It was also first type to score an aerial victory with an American unit.

The Nieuport 28 also made its mark in U.S. aviation history after the war. Twelve were employed by the U.S. Navy for shipboard launching trials from 1919 to 1921. Others were operated by the U.S. Army in the 1920s. In private hands, several were modified for air racing, and a number found their way into Hollywood movies. Still others became privately-owned airplanes flying in various sporting and commercial capacities.
Gift of James H. "Cole" Palen.

The museum's Nieuport 28 has a complex and confusing history. It was acquired in 1986 from Cole Palen, founder and operator of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. He flew the aircraft regularly in his air shows from 1958 to 1972. Immediately before its transfer to NASM, the airplane was on loan from Palen to the Intrepid Sea/Air/Space Museum in New York.

Upon close inspection, it became clear that the NASM aircraft is a composite of several different Nieuport 28s. The various components had been owned by a number of different people and used in a variety of capacities over a long period of time. As a result, the pieces have been shuffled around a lot and re-built many times. A large number of parts were not original and in many cases the replacement parts were not prepared to original specification. As a result, a serious investigation of the history of the NASM airframe was undertaken to determine as near as possible the provenance of the museum's Nieuport 28.

When it was acquired a number of erroneous assumptions were passed on, probably uncorroborated stories from Cole Palen. Initially the aircraft was believed to have been a war-time product and that it flew with the U.S. Air Service in World War I. Additionally, it was purported to have been one of the twelve U.S. Navy Nieuports tested in 1919-1921, that it was used in the Hollywood epic "Dawn Patrol," and that Howard Hughes had owned it at one point. Painstaking research has demonstrated that nearly all of these assumptions were untrue.

To determine the actual history of the NASM Nieuport, the logical place to begin was with the numbers and markings on the airframe. There are five different serial numbers on the airplane. The fuselage number on the firewall is 6497. The upper wings have a manufacturing date of February 1919 with serial numbers 7103 (left panel) and 7226 (right panel). The lower left wing panel is marked as having been fabricated in November 1918 with serial number 6465. The lower right was made in October 1918 with serial number 6432.

The first obvious conclusion drawn from these data was that the NASM Nieuport 28 is essentially a postwar product. The lower wing panels were made at the very end of the war, which concluded on November 11, 1918. The fuselage serial number being higher than the lower wing numbers dates it as very late 1918 or very early 1919. The upper wings are dated 1919. Therefore, the NASM aircraft could not have been a war veteran. Further, given the late production dates, it can be concluded that the NASM aircraft must be a modified and improved postwar version of the Nieuport 28C.1, sometimes referred to as a Nieuport 28A.

A third conclusion drawn from the serial numbers was that the components are probably from at least five different aircraft. This is not necessarily so, as wing panels, tail units, fuselages, etc., were assembled from production line manufacture. Nevertheless, given that the serial numbers are so far apart, it is hard to believe that all the present components represent one original aircraft. The upper and lower wing sets could have been originally paired together as their respective numbers are relatively close together. But the 6400 series serial numbered wings and 7000 series numbered wings were unlikely to have been on the same airframe when the airplane first left the factory. Moreover, the NASM airplane, on at least one occasion, probably more, was put together from "best available components" from a collection of Nieuport 28 airframes. The most reasonable interpretation based on the evidence is that the NASM Nieuport 28 is not a documented single airframe with a continuous history. It is an amalgam of component parts of several aircraft brought together many years after their original individual manufacture.

Certain that the NASM aircraft is not a war-time Nieuport, th