The Nieuport 27 was the last of its type to be flown by the French, Italian, and British airmen in World War I. The small and agile Type 27 was an important aircraft flown by many famous French flyers during the last two years of the war.

The trend in fighter design was turning to the faster, stronger, and more heavily-armed aircraft, such as contemporary SPAD.

Many Type 27 scouts were acquired by the United States to be used as single-seat trainers before the pilots went on to fly the more complex, heavier SPADs in combat.

The Museum of Flight's Nieuport Type 27 was built by Carl Swanson and Jerry Thornhill during 1980. Created to fly, the builders decided to construct the plane's structure from steel tube rather than wood and installed a Gnome 165-horsepower rotary engine. On the outside, the machine is visually an almost exact replica in every respect to the famous Nieuport scout.

The Museum's example carries the markings of a British unit, the famous Number One Squadron, which held a phenomenal combat record during the last two years of the war, flying many Nieuport aircraft types.