Saturday, November 5, 2011

Italy - 1916 - Nieuport-Macchi

Italian Manufactured Nieuport 11

While working on profiles for the Nieuport-Macchi 11 I have has a problem. The sources provide very little information on who fllew them and what units they served in. I seem to not be alone coming up dry on the hunt for deeper understanding. I have read those words Pilot and Unit unknown more often than not. I am not fond of being unable to establish the pedigree of a aircraft profile, but sometimes you just have to settle for what you can find.

Italy began to produce their own version of the Nieuport 11. Production was licensed to Macchi who produced several other aircraft including: Hanriot HD-1, and flying boats. It was not till later that Italy produced Italian designed fighters.


The broad strip of Italian national colors add visual interest. Italian Nieuport 11s carried their serial numbers on the fuselage and not the rudder. The cowling in this example was not painted. Some drawings show this aircraft with reinforcement tape on the seams. I have done another drawing with them, however I posted this one to show what my old master file looked like in contrast to the new one used for the other profiles.


This example has a personal insignia which combines the Italian roundel with an ornate letter A. It has the reinforcement tape and the colored wing tips. The port side wingtips are red and the starboard ones are green. The theme is carried on to the cowling which is painted in the red, white, and green sections.


This example has the same red, white and green theme as above. the thin tri-color wraps around the fuselage. The serial numbers are not painted the aircraft.

3 comments:

Tandorini said...

Nieuport-Macchi 11, sn Ni1763 - 1916 is from 75 Squadriglia, the other two from Servizio Aeronautico Italiano (flight school).

Unknown said...

@Tandorini,

Thanks for the information. I will put it to good use. Can you share what the source is for the information so I can see if it can solve other issues I have been dealing with?

Best Wishes,

Will

Unknown said...

Ok, I fixed the post with the additional information. Thanks!