Nieuport 15

The Nieuport 15, called the Nieuport XV in contemporary sources, was a French bomber of the First World War, scaled up from the two-seat Nieuport 14. The larger machine was built in the summer of 1916 and its first prototype was ready for testing in November of that year. It was powered by a single water-cooled Renault 12F V-12 piston engine of 160 kilowatts and carried a crew of two. Its performance proved disappointing, and in December 1916 it was declared obsolete. The British showed some interest and ordered 70 aircraft, but after their own tests also proved disappointing every order was eventually cancelled, so the type was rejected and never entered service.