The Nieuport 28 first flew in the summer of 1917. Produced originally for the United States and France, the single-seat fighter, equipped with two forward-firing 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns, reached a maximum speed of 121 mph. The most famous Nieuport 28 unit, wearing the 'hat-in-ring' insignia, was flown by top US ace, Eddie Rickenbacker in World War I. Following the war, the Nieuport 28 was used by the French postal service to fly mail internationally during a postal strike, and by the US Navy for experimental purposes.