Nieuport-Delage NiD 48

Overview

The Nieuport-Delage NiD 48 was a single-engine parasol wing light fighter aircraft designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Nieuport-Delage. It was designed for a French 1926 light fighter competition. Unlike many Nieuport designs of the period, the NiD 48 was not a sesquiplane but a monoplane, its wing mounted like those of the sesquiplanes over the fuselage in parasol wing configuration. It bore a resemblance to the NiD 42, except it lacked an ancillary wing, had smaller dimensions and was only half of the loaded weight. Both of the flightworthy NiD 48s built were powered by Hispano-Suiza upright V-12 water-cooled engines, with a 298 kW (400 hp) 12Jb in the first prototype and a 373 kW (500 hp) 12Hb in the second, the NiD 48bis. Aft of the engine, the fuselage had a circular cross-section that tapered into the tail unit. It had a single-seat open cockpit that was located underneath the trailing edge of the wing. Performing its maiden flight during early 1929, a total of three airframes were completed, two of which were airworthy. During official trials, the aircraft’s performance was not markedly better than that of the much heavier Nieuport-Delage NiD 62, except for its climb rate. As the NiD 62 was already closer to production, it was decided to discontinue work on the NiD 48. One of the prototypes was subsequently used for training purposes for a time before being retired during the 1930s.