V. Chapman's Nieuport XVI

[StephenLawson]

Greetings all;

I remember reading in a book on the Lafayette Escadrille an author put forth the idea or information that Victor's new machine ( a Nieuport 16) was over painted light or sky blue. It was this machine he flew on his last flight when attempting to deliver some oranges to a wounded friend in the hospital. Of the idea that this was in a published book, can this be confirmed?

[Cliff]

Stephen

C&C (US) V.2#1 has an article on the Escadrille Lafayette.
In reference to June 17 it states: "For his courage the Captain (Thenault) assigned him (Chapman) a new Nieport 11 with the 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine to replace his damaged 80 h.p. machine. He was happy with this airplane, and two days before his death, scraped the camouflage paint off the fuselage and has his mechanic paint it pale grey in order to make it less visible."
No other references to the grey scheme.

Cliff

[Cigogne]

Related to your Chapman query is another Nieuport that wore such a finish. That is Guynemer's Nieuport 11 N 836 which he flew in the Spring of 1916. He was wounded in this aircraft on March 13, 1916. This MAY have been a factory applied finish. A number of Nieuport 11 and 16 aircraft may have borne a sky blue finish. In the book "Guynemer, l'Avions d'un As" (by Bernard Klaeyle, Phillipe Osche, and Christophe Cony) it states that Guynemer flew Nieuport 11 N 836 (Vieux Charles II)which also had a sky blue finish. The statement appears on pg. 104 of the book. Here is the rough translation:

"The plane is new and it's opaque finish would indicate that it is covered with a coloured coating, probably light blue gray."

Photographs of the aircraft are on pgs. 36, 38, 104, 105, plus a color profile on page 116.

[Cigogne]

Cliff et al,

The 110 h.p. Nieuport 11 was the Nieuport Type 16. The pal he intended to deliver the oranges to in hospital was Clyde Balsley.

[StephenLawson]

Very cool! It appears then to have some validity.