This is a well-known WWI aircraft that was widespread in the armies of the belligerent countries. In addition to France, Nieuport 17 was in service with Russia, Great Britain, Belgium and Italy.
The aircraft was built according to a one-and-a-half-plane scheme, which was unusual for that time, with the lower wing of a reduced area.
Many famous pilots fought on Nieuport 17: Canadian William Avery “Billy” Bishop, French Charles Nungesser, British Albert Ball.
You can easily find details about the history of creation and war service of this aircraft on the Internet.
Model
I made this model 47 years ago. This was my second Maly magazine. The first one was the English Lightning, which was already hanging about the ceiling in my room.
I was a teenager and sat behind an iron curtain. There was practically no information. Only about the victories of socialism over the decaying West, about which the TV mumbled day and night. The magazine was delivering to the USSR from Poland. Under socialist organization and planning, Maly arrived almost a month late.
Usually the pause was too long, and it was intolerable to count the days and guess when the next issue would come. And suddenly, unexpectedly, he came. And what a magazine! It had three WWI aircraft at once. It was a clumsy German Fokker E III, French Moran-Saulnier MS-3L and Nieuport 17. My delight knew no bounds. School was abandoned, although I had to attend classes.
I sat over the magazine for several days until I assembled all three planes. It was a real passion that swept over my head. I came running from school, had a quick lunch and turned on the radio. At three o’clock in the afternoon, the Voice of America radio station began its programs in Russian. It was one of the few sources of information that I trusted. And so my afternoon passed, stretching out until midnight. The radio went silent, and I went to bed tired and sleepy, thinking about the construction of my planes tomorrow.
My God, how did we live?!
