Nieuport 17 of Escadrille Lafayette.

[Sparky]

Can anyone tell me whether the Nieuport 17 was armed with a synchronized MG and the wing top mounted MG together on one aircraft, I am looking at the Escadrille Lafayette in particular. If it is armed with one MG which one would it be?
Any info would be welcomed thanks

[Black Sheep One]

Here is some info I found on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuport_17

[Dom S]

The combination was pretty rare, but the Lafayette escadrille were the big exception - a significant number of Lafayette aircraft (roughly half at a guess) had a Lewis gun mounted at least some of the time, as well as the standard Vickers. In other squadrons anything other than the single Vickers was unusual, but for the Lafayettes both Vickers and Lewis was commonplace.

(In British service, standard armament was a single Lewis, as we had problems with the synchronisation gear, but for the French the norm was a single synchronised Vickers, and no Lewis gun.)

[Chris Maes]

Sparky,

I did a bit of research on the subject when I was putting together my own Escadrille Lafayette flight. Here is what I currently have:

Aircraft Type: Pilot: Armament: Markings:
1. Nieuport 16 Prince (B) 1x Lewis Dark Green overall w/ White die with 1 pip on sides
2. Nieuport 17 Luffbery/Thenault (A)Lewis + Vickers Silver w/ 3 red horizontal stripes near tail
3. Nieuport 17 Soubiran (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver w/ Red/Blue (or Black) fuselage band, "S" monogram and Red/White/Blue (l to r) tail surfaces
4. Nieuport 17 W. Haviland (B) Vickers Silver w/ White fuselage band

If I ever do any more Nie. 17s, I will probably add the following:

5. Nieuport 17 Clyde Balsley (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ Green(?) fuselage band and White star on sides
6. Nieuport 17 E. Parsons (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ double Blue fuselage bands and block letters "E C P" on sides
7. Nieuport 17 Genet (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ no discernible personal markings
8. Nieuport 17 Unknown (B) Lewis Silver overall w/ fuselage panel behind cockpit/left side cut out for photo recon camera (apparently a unique aircraft)

Chris

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Are the personal markings on the Nieuports in the film Flyboys from historic aircraft or just made up for the main part? Otherwise you have a good number to follow from the film.

[Sparky]

Sparky,

I did a bit of research on the subject when I was putting together my own Escadrille Lafayette flight. Here is what I currently have:

Aircraft Type: Pilot: Armament: Markings:
1. Nieuport 16 Prince (B) 1x Lewis Dark Green overall w/ White die with 1 pip on sides
2. Nieuport 17 Luffbery/Thenault (A)Lewis + Vickers Silver w/ 3 red horizontal stripes near tail
3. Nieuport 17 Soubiran (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver w/ Red/Blue (or Black) fuselage band, "S" monogram and Red/White/Blue (l to r) tail surfaces
4. Nieuport 17 W. Haviland (B) Vickers Silver w/ White fuselage band

If I ever do any more Nie. 17s, I will probably add the following:

5. Nieuport 17 Clyde Balsley (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ Green(?) fuselage band and White star on sides
6. Nieuport 17 E. Parsons (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ double Blue fuselage bands and block letters "E C P" on sides
7. Nieuport 17 Genet (A) Lewis + Vickers Silver overall w/ no discernible personal markings
8. Nieuport 17 Unknown (B) Lewis Silver overall w/ fuselage panel behind cockpit/left side cut out for photo recon camera (apparently a unique aircraft)

Chris

There's alot of aircraft Chris, Thanks for the info .
A few pictures, would be brilliant, or where you got your info from.
I'm looking to paint a few aircraft from this Escadrille.

Neil.

[Dom S]

This is decidedly the last word on the subject:

http://www.windsockdatafilespecials....yette-47-p.asp

When I did my Nieuport decal sheet, it was pretty much the only source needed for the Lafayette aircraft.

[Chris Maes]

Sparky,

I found all of the above by searching the internet, usually by searching images for "Lafayette Escadrille" or "Escadrille N. 124" or "Nieuport 17, Escadrille Lafayette" or similar. Then, I will usually do a search by pilot name/aircraft type to see if I can get anything else. Wings Palette is another great source. Really, it is all about learning how to utilize a search engine and persistence. Luck, comes in handy, as well. Hope I didn't insult your intelligence

Chris

[Sparky]

Sparky,

I found all of the above by searching the internet, usually by searching images for "Lafayette Escadrille" or "Escadrille N. 124" or "Nieuport 17, Escadrille Lafayette" or similar. Then, I will usually do a search by pilot name/aircraft type to see if I can get anything else. Wings Palette is another great source. Really, it is all about learning how to utilize a search engine and persistence. Luck, comes in handy, as well. Hope I didn't insult your intelligence

Chris

Chris,
I just did a basic search of "Lafayette Escadrille", but the other topics, including the pilot Name I have yet to try. I think I may lack the luck and the persistence required to sift out the infomation, hence my asking my fellow "Dromers".
No insult taken

Neil