Nieuport 10 arrival and armament

[Bulldog90]

Hi,

What month did the Nieuport 10's first make their way to front line French squadrons? Were they armed with the Hotchkiss MG for an observer first, and then as a single seater, or when they converted them to single seaters were the French using the Lewis Gun to fire through the upper wing root? The Hotchkiss seems so inefficient I'm wondering how long they used it.

Thanks,

Bulldog 90

[TomVrille]

Originally Posted by Bulldog90

What month did the Nieuport 10's first make their way to front line French squadrons? Were they armed with the Hotchkiss MG for an observer first, and then as a single seater, or when they converted them to single seaters were the French using the Lewis Gun to fire through the upper wing root?

Refs: French Aicraft of the First World War
Nieuport Aircraft of World War One

It appears that the Nieuport 10 began to arrive at front line escadrilles in late April 1915. By August of that year, there were 42 aircraft of the type at the front, with another 39 aircraft held in reserve. The initial purpose of the Nieuport 10 was reconnaissance, and earliest deliveries to the front were as replacements for Morane Saulnier Types L and LA parasols.

The earliest Nieuport 10s featured a forward seated observer who was armed with a Hotchkiss light machine gun on a pillar mounting. In order to fire the Hotchkiss, the observer was provided with a "manhole" cut into the upper plane. Standing exposed to the slipstream from waist up, the observer had the unenviable task of keeping his balance, and aiming, firing, and reloading his weapon as required. Trials were conducted in June of 1915 to evaluate the Nieuport as a fighter. One result of these trails was the recommendation that the seating arrangement of the pilot and observer be reversed. This did away with the need for the manhole cutout, and moved the machine gun to a fixed mounting near the top plane trailing edge.

By September of 1915, the primary mission of the Nieuport 10 had changed from reconnaissance to flying combat patrols along the front lines. It was evident that the Nieuport 10 with a two-man crew was underpowered in this new role, so trials were conducted with only the pilot, again moved to the back seat, with the front seat now faired over. In order to reduce the pilot workload in this new variation, a pull down gun mounting was adopted. By this time, the Lewis gun was beginning to replace the Hotchkiss as the weapon of choice.

[Bulldog90]

Thanks a bunch for your reply Tom. That makes it much more clear!

Bulldog90