Nieuport Nighthawk
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Windsock Datafile 160
Author: C A Owers
Publisher: Albatros Productions
ISBN: 978-1-906798-32-1
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 32
While the Nieuport name is well known for its French fighters of World War One, the name also applies to some indigenous British designs. Originally set up in 1916 to build French Nieuport designs in Britain, by 1918, it had evolved into a full blown aircraft manufacturing firm, with the Nighthawk being their first design. Developed as a rival for the Sopwith Snipe, the Nighthawk was designed by Henry Phillip Folland, who also designed the SE5a fighter, and as such some SE5a details ended up in the Nighthawk.
The first Nighthawk was finished in September of 1918, and despite problems with the engine, an order for the type was put through. The war ended before the Nighthawk entered service, though, and the aircraft did not see combat in the skies over Europe. Post-war, the Nighthawk saw a fair amount of service, including that of a ship-borne fighter and as a racing aircraft.
This Datafile title goes into excellent detail as to the development and construction of the Nighthawk, with thorough coverage of the Dragonfly engine and its problems. Throughout the book are copious amounts of photos that show the Nighthawk in all its variations, with a good selection of Japanese Sparrowhawk photos for those interested in a lesser-known operator of the type. As usual, the center spread features some excellent scale drawings done by Martin Digmayer, while color profile illustrations by Ronny Bar adorn both the inside covers and the back cover.
Once again, Albatros Publications provides an excellent reference on a lesser known aircraft. The evolution of aviation in the immediate post-war period is a fascinating story, and this title helps illustrate some of the challenges and successes of that rapidly changing time. My thanks to Albatros Publications for the review copy.