Édouard Nieuport was the owner of a small company which produced spark plugs and magnetos for the automobile industry, and he became involved with aviation through working on the electrical equipment of Henri Farman's Voisin biplane.

Initially the undercarriage consisted of a single central skid attached to the fuselage by two inverted V struts, bearing a transverse leaf spring with a wheel on each end.

When first flown the tail surfaces consisted of a semicircular horizontal stabiliser mounted on top of the rear of the fuselage, behind which was a universally-jointed assembly combining a rectangular elevator with a pair of rudders.

Late examples were available with the modern arrangement as a factory option, using the pedals to control the rudder, as was used on the contemporary Blériot and Deperdussin aircraft.

[3] [4] Most examples were used by individuals, however a small number were purchased by military air arms including: Data from "Nieuport II N".