Nieuport 28 Jinx

[Barrett]

I just came across evidence of a Nieuport 28 "jinx" that might prompt numerologists and conspiracy theorists to new heights.

Raoul Lufbery leapt to his death from serial number 6178 on Sunday, 19 May 1918.
Quentin Roosevelt was killed in serial number 6177 on Sunday, 14 July 1918.
Who was the unlucky pilot of s/n 6176 on Sundays thereafter?

Barrett,

Man, you must really be bored....

I'm looking for the other Nieuport now hehe.

Regards,

MDD

I don't know,but I bet if he knew he would feel pretty crappy

[Barrett]

OK, I admit it--I'm bored. I sorta hurt one knee by jumping off the Focke-Wulf 190 and have been semi laid up for a couple days, which is tough to take in Arizona when it's 70 degrees in December. Anyway, I ran across Luf's serial number and recalled it was the sister ship of Quentin R's, so decided to make the posting because then I wouldn't be bored for a few seconds.
Main problem is that I just finished the revision of The Next Novel and am suffering post printout depression--the flip side of writer's block. Guess I could get back to work on Leutnant zur See Heinrich von Tillmann's adventures over Flanders--and in the VIP suite of the Bristol Hotel in Berlin.
"When last we saw our marine flieger ace, he was twirling his newly-won Pour le Merite from one hand when the bathroom door opened. Ursula, the gorgeous blonde nymphomaniac, appeared wearing only a towel.
"Around her neck."
Hey, I gotta go. I'm not bored anymore...

[Shooter]

Barrett, you lecherous old dog, you!

About the N-28, much abuse has been heaped upon the old kite, yet you yourself have held up a demurring hand and defended it.

Question: How bad WAS it?

EVR complained that it would skin its wings in a dive, but there were few birds that would hold together in a steep dive. Many writers bespoke of the flammable quality of the rotary engine, but all rotaries were prone to catch fire if you were careless. Was this bird any worse than the rides that it was facing?

I have also heard that the N-28 was nimble, and fast to climb. Not bad features for a fighter a/c there. Was the complaints of the Allied pilots who flew it merely a matter of their style of flight/fighting being incompatible with the N-28?

These are questions. I have no answers.

r/s

Bill

[Scott]

Despite the Nieuport's tendency to shed its upper wing fabric, Harold Hartney loved the Nieuports and hated the SPADs that replaced them. As CO of the 27th Aero, he placed a lot of emphasis on the wing problem when training his men. In fact, he threatened to send any pilot to the rear who violated his instructions. As I recall, he actually did so on one occasion after witnessing the guy pull out of a steep dive too quickly. As a result, he never lost a man due to this problem and felt the 94th's bad experiences were largely due to inadequate training on the Nieuport. He and his men were pretty upset when they were re-equipped with the SPADs. According to Hartney, one of the first SPADs to arrive at the aerodrome was ferried in by a Brit pilot who said something like "it flies like a brick."

[Barrett]

While it wasn't my intent to defend the N.28, neither do I revile it. I think it's easy to understand how some Nieuport pilots would denigrate the SPAD simply because it was a completely different aircraft and, as Scott notes, had to be employed differently. The SPAD was a power machine, had to be flown onto the ground owing to its thin (i.e., speedy) wings and didn't glide well, whereas the Nieuport was a lighter, more maneuverable bird. Consider rotary versus stationary engines and the problem is further complicated.
The N.28 may be one of the better examples of how relatively isolated events fix an aircraft's reputation in perpetuity. Everybody knows about the 94th's wing problems just as everybody "knows" the Brewster Buffalo was a "suicide coffin." But the 95th and (apparently) 147th flew 28s with relatively little trouble. Once I got to checking, there were more N.28 aces than I imagined but that info isn't accessible to me right now. Frank Olynyk's USAS list permits a compilation.