Evening All,
Recently I completed a scratch build of the Nieuport IV flown by C. Weymann in the 1911 Gordon Bennett air race at Eastchurch Kent. When I started the build I thought that two Nieuprt IV's had participated in the race when in fact only one did so. I was therefore left with a half built model and rather than throw it away I decided to complete it. Research led me to a machine operated by the 2nd Company of the Air Battallion of the Royal Engineers in 1911. It carried the serial B4 and later became 253 when the Air Battallion became 3 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps on 13 April 1912. It was one of the first aircraft to be bought by the British government for military use.
The key difference between Weymann's aircraft and the aircraft flown by the RFC and air units of other countries was the engine: Weymann had had a 100 hp Gnome Omega Omega fitted to his machine, whereas other aircraft were fitted initially with 50hp Gnome Omega engines, although these were later replaced with more powerful rotaries of between 70 and 100 hp. The type first flew in 1911 and was designed primarily as a racing machine, but it was bought in small numbers by Spain, Turkey, Sweden, Japan and Argentina. France had a squadron of Nieuport IV M's and operated some of them in the early months of WW1 until attrition reduced their numbers to zero. Italy bought "several" and Russia undertook serious production - between 280 and 300 machines were built and delivered to the Imperial Russian Air Service where they saw service on the Eastern Front in World War 1.
On 14 February 1912 B4 was flown by Lt.B.H.Barrington-Kennett for a record setting 4 hours and 51 minutes covering 249 miles and 840 yards winning the £500 Mortimer Singer prize – at that time a world endurance record in a closed circuit. It is not known exactly when B4/253 was stuck off charge, but it was not with 3 Squadron in 1914. Early aircraft had relatively short service lives because of wear and tear by pilots, rough landing grounds and the limited engine life of these machines.
Lt Poytor Nesterov was the first pilot to loop in an aeroplane on 27 August 1913 over Kiev for which action he was promptly placed under arrest for "undue risk to government property". When Adolphe Pegoud repeated the performance a few days later in France Nesterov was released, awarded a medal and promoted!
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
