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Nieuport Madon
	Nieuport Madon prototype with wing root opening visible
Role	Fighter
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Nieuport
First flight	December 1918
Number built	2

In October 1917 Nieuport began construction of a prototype monoplane fighter known as the Nieuport Madon, a strut braced monoplane.^[1]

Design and development

The tapered shoulder mounted wing was supported by lift struts attached to the landing gear, which featured an additional constant chord lifting area between the wheels. A section of wing root was cut away to improve downward visibility.^[1] The fuselage and wing were fabric covered. It was armed with two synchronized 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Vickers machine guns.^[2] The first prototype made its first flight in early January 1918 while powered by a 110 kW (150 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 9N rotary engine,^[1] the same engine used in the Nieuport 28.

The second prototype first flew in late January 1918 with the slightly more powerful 130 kW (180 hp) Le Rhône 9R.^[2] This aircraft had a revised wing whose inboard trailing edges were cut away and it had an elongated fin. On 1 May 1918 the second prototype was rejected in favour of the Monosoupape powered model.^[1]

The Nieuport Madon was not officially accepted but would be refined through the Nieuport 31^[1] the Nieuport-Delage Sesquiplan and eventually into the Nieuport-Delage NiD 62 which was still in second line service in 1940.

Specifications

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 sq ft)
Empty weight: 433 kg (955 lb)
Gross weight: 703 kg (1,550 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Monosoupape 9N 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 110 kW (150 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)
Endurance: 2 hours
Time to altitude: Time to 4,000 m (13,000 ft) - 13 min.

Armament

Guns: 2x synchronized 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Green, W.; Swanborough, G. (2001). The Complete Book of Fighters. Salamander Books. ISBN 978-1840652697.
^ ^a ^b Bruno Parmentier (7 March 2006). "Nieuport Madon". aviafrance.com. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

Bibliography

Bruce, J.M. (1988). Nieuport Aircraft of World War One - Vintage Warbirds No 10. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-934-2.
Davilla, Dr. James J. & Soltan, Arthur M. (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, Connecticut: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 0-9637110-4-0.
Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (2001) [1994]. The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-84065-269-1.
Owers, Colin A. (2020). French Warplanes of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Gret War Aviation Centennial Series (43). Vol. 1: Fighters. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-93-3.