The Nieuport 17 was a slightly larger development of the earlier Nieuport 11, with a more powerful engine, larger wings, and improved aerodynamic form. It was at first fitted with a 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhône 9J engine, though later versions were upgraded to a 130 hp (97 kW) engine. The 17 had outstanding maneuverability and an excellent rate of climb. Unfortunately, the narrow lower wing, marking it as a "sesquiplane" design with literally "one-and-a-half wings", was weak due to its single spar construction, and had a disconcerting tendency to disintegrate in sustained dives at high speed. As soon as production of the new Alkan-Hamy synchronization gear permitted, the wing mounted Lewis gun of the "11" was replaced in French service with a synchronised Vickers gun. The standard Royal Flying Corps synchroniser of the period, the Vickers-Challenger gear, was unreliable, and in British Service the wing mounted Lewis was usually retained, by now on the improved Foster mounting, a curved metal rail which made it easier for the pilot to bring the gun down in order to change drums or clear jams. A few individual aircraft were fitted with both guns - but in practice this reduced performance unacceptably, and a single machine gun remained standard.
The new type reached the French front in March, 1916 and quickly began to replace the smaller Nieuport 11 and 16 fighters in French service. The N17 went into service with Escadrille N.57 on May 2, 1916. The Nieuport, along with the British DH.2, was crucial in ending the reign of the Fokker Eindecker - the so-called 'Fokker scourge' period, proving a severe shock to German aviation high command. Most French aces used the nimble Nieuport during their career including Georges Guynemer, Charles Nungesser, Maurice Boyau, Armand Pinsard, René Dorne, Gabriel Guerin, Alfred Duellin and Jean Navarre. The type was also used by American volunteers of the Escadrille Lafayette when they replaced their earlier Nieuports. During part of 1916 the Nieuport 17 equipped every fighter squadron of the Aéronautique Militaire. Charles Nungesser scored most of his victories while flying Nieuports.
It was also ordered by the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, as it was superior to any British fighter available at that time. Historians have found it difficult to identify how many of each Nieuport type were operated by the RFC as its surviving records tend to only specify 'Nieuport scout'. An unknown proportion of various Nieuport models including the 16, 17 and 24 were issued to squadrons. Individual Nieuport types are best identified from surviving photos rather than archives. British squadrons known to have used the type include Nos 1, 29, 32, 40 and 60 of the Royal Flying Corps and No 6 of the Royal Naval Air Service which was attached to the RFC. During the Battle of Arras much use was made of British Nieuports in balloon-busting attacks to prevent enemy artillery spotting. No 40 Squadron experimented with low level hedge-hopping attacks to reach the balloons while Nieuports of No 60 Squadron co-operated with F.E. 2bs of No 11 Squadron to carry out massed strafing attacks on German infantry entrenched on both sides of the River Scarpe.
The Germans supplied captured examples to several of their own aircraft manufacturers for them to copy. German technicians also salvaged many engines from crashed Nieuports and re-used them in German machines including Fokker Dr1 triplanes. Albatros Werke adopted the Nieuport's sesquiplane wing structure for the Albatros D.III and D.V: called 'V-strutters' by the RFC to distinguish them from the earlier Albatros D.II. The German machines were heavier than the Nieuport and this aggravated the tendency to wing failures which the Nieuports had already experienced. Despite experimenting with extra bracing the Germans never fully solved the problem. Several pilots were killed while others experienced terrifying crash landings from altitude with a lower wing cracked or missing.
By mid-1917, the Nieuport was outclassed by the firepower and speed of the twin-gun latest German fighters, being one of the types suffering heavy casualties during Bloody April. The more powerful, 130 CV (95.6 kW) Clerget 9B nine-cylinder rotary engine resulted in the Nieuport 17bis. Newer models (the Nieuport 24 and the 27) were brought out in an attempt to retain the type's ascendency. However, the powerful SPAD S.VII had already replaced the Nieuport fighters in many French squadrons by mid-1917. The British persisted with Nieuports a little longer, not replacing their last Nieuport 24bis until early 1918.
Many British Empire air aces flew Nieuport fighters, including Canadian ace W. A. Bishop, who received a Victoria Cross while flying it, and most famously of all, Albert Ball, V.C. who often hunted alone in his Nieuport. 'Mick' Mannock VC flew Nieuports early in his career with No 40 Squadron.
Italian aces such as Francesco Baracca, Silvio Scaroni and Pier Piccio all achieved victories while flying Nieuport fighters. In Belgium the 1st and 5th Belgian escadrilles were equipped with the Nieuport 17. Belgian aces flying the type included Andre de Meulemeester, Edmund Thieffry, Francis Jaquet and Jean Olieslagers. Imperial Russian forces operated the Nieuport. It is believed that the Russian ace Kazakov flew a Nieuport which was still marked with French-type roundels.
Like the other Nieuport types, the 17 was used as an advanced trainer for prospective fighter pilots after its operational days were over. The American Expeditionary Forces purchased 75 Nieuport 17s for training. The Nieuport 23 was a development of the 17. Charles Nungesser's own Nieuport 17bis was later converted to Nieuport 23 standard.
Take a look at this YT clip and notice how narrow the lower wing is.
[youtube]GLpZET6_wxA[/youtube]
This is the weekend edition so you get one lot of markings and these are of the Italian ace Tenante Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda . He was the fifth highest scoring Italian ace with twenty victories. These markings are from when he was flying with the 91a Squadriglia on the Italian front in Spring 1917. He was born in 1884 so he was quite old for a fighter pilot, in his thirties.
After the war Di Calabria remained in the military, though without assignment. By 1925, his main activity was management of his family estates located near Paliano.
In 1934 he was named senator of the kingdom by king Victor Emmanuel III. He also continued in the military, eventually rising to the rank of Tenente Colonello in 1942. Ruffo di Calabria served in the Italian senate until 1944.
During World War II he was a supporter of the Italian fascist leader Mussolini. He was subsequently convicted postwar by an Italian court for complicity in the crimes of fascism, and that ruling was upheld on 10 January 1946 despite his appeal.
Fulco Ruffo di Calabria died in Ronchi di Apuania, Italy on 23 August 1946.
The last of his seven children, Donna, born 1937 became Queen of the Belgians in 1993.
As to the kit, the main problem I had was with the decals. They were very thin and the skull and crossbones side decals just fell apart when I tried to transfer them onto the model which was a bit of an 'Oh dear' moment or words to that effect.... The rudder tricolour decal was way oversize so I sprayed the tricolour on. Other than that it was my first go at rigging which wasn't too bad actually, not the nightmare I thought it would be although it's very fiddly. To think I bought four biplanes to ease myself back into this; the logic being they are small so therefore easy...
I hope as a cack handed beginner this encourages other new modellers to post stuff up as I've now set the bar pretty low. So, here it is, without the skull and crossbones. If anyone has a spare set... 
