Neiuport IV
The Nieuport IV was a French-built sporting, training and reconnaissance monoplane of the early 1910s.
The first Nieuport IVs were built in 1911 and production continued well into World War I in Russia. The design was adopted in small numbers by most air arms of the period, although the Imperial Russian Air Service was the largest user.
The IV.G was one of the principal aircraft used by the Imperial Russian Air Service during its formative years, with roughly 300 being produced locally by the Russo-Baltic Wagon Works and Shchetinin in St. Petersburg, and the Dux Factory in Moscow.
Lt. Pyotr Nesterov performed the first ever loop, over Kiev in a model IV.G on 27 August 1913 for which he was placed under arrest for 10 days for “undue risk to government property” until the feat was repeated in France and he was promoted and awarded a medal.
The French government equipped a single squadron with Nieuport IV.Ms, Escadrille N12 initially based at Reims, having purchased at least 10. This unit continued to operate Nieuport monoplanes after the start of World War I, slowly replacing them with other types as attrition reduced their numbers.
Nieuport 4’s were also used by other Air Forces including –
Great Britain and Italy.
NIEUPORT 4
Introduced: 1911
Crew: 1
Capacity: 1 passenger
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome rotary piston, 100 hp
Maximum speed: 120 km/h