Nieuport-Delage NiD 52

The Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 was a French single-engined sesquiplane fighter of the 1920s that served with the Spanish Air Force and was operated by both sides in the Spanish Civil War. Nieuport developed three refined versions of the NiD 42 in 1927, the all-metal NiD 52 and NiD 72 and the mixed construction NiD 62, and the NiD 52 prototype flew in late 1927. France preferred the cheaper NiD 62, but the NiD 52 won a Spanish competition in 1928 and Spain bought a licence to build 125 aircraft at the Hispano-Suiza factory in Guadalajara. Deliveries began in 1930 and production continued until 1933, equipping three fighter units. Heavy accident losses left only 56 when the war broke out on 18 July 1936, and Hispano-Suiza built a further ten from spares for the Republican forces in August and September 1936.