Nieuport-Astra
| Industry | Aeronautics, defence |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged |
| Predecessor | Société Générale d’Aéro-Locomotion (SGAL) |
| Successor | SNCAO |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Founder | Édouard Nieuport |
| Defunct | January 1937 |
| Headquarters | Suresnes, France |
| Products | Aircraft, boats and electrical components |
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.
Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in 1902 for the manufacture of engine components the company was reformed in 1909 as the Société Générale d'Aéro-locomotion, and its products were marketed to the aviation industry, including ignition components. During this time, their first aircraft were built, a small single-seat pod and boom monoplane, which was destroyed in a flood after having flwon successfully. A second design flew before the end of 1909 and had the essential form of the modern aircraft, including an enclosed fuselage with the pilot protected from the slipstream and a horizontal tail whose aerodynamic force acted downwards, balancing the weight of the engine ahead of the center of gravity, as opposed to upwards as on contemporaries such as the Blériot XI.
Nieuport had trouble obtaining suitable engines for their early designs and resorted to making their own. In 1910 a twin-cylinder horizontally-opposed type producing 28 hp (21 kW) was fitted to the Nieuport II and proved successful.
In 1911, the company was reformed specifically to build aircraft while continuing to build components including propellers under the name Nieuport et Deplante. In 1911, Edouard Nieuport(1875–1911), who was one of several aviation minded brothers, died after being thrown from his aircraft, and the company was taken over by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, a famous supporter of aviation development. With his financing, the name was changed to Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport, and development of existing designs was continued. A second of the brothers, Charles Nieuport, died in another accident in 1912 after he stalled and spun in, and the position of chief designer was taken over by the Swiss engineer Franz Schneider, better known for his work for his next employer, L.V.G., and his long-running fight with Anthony Fokker over machine gun interrupter / synchronizer patents. Schneider left Nieuport in late 1913.
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