The Nieuport-Delage NiD 32Rh was a specialized, single-seat fighter developed in France shortly after World War I. It emerged from the NiD 32 family, which was designed to meet a specific French Navy requirement for an aircraft capable of operating from a shipboard or fixed platform. The NiD 32 family first flew in 1920, competing for naval favor against other contemporary designs such as the SPAD S.XV and the Hanriot HD.12.
Produced by Nieuport-Delage—a company that evolved from the 1902 Nieuport-Duplex and the 1909 Société Générale d’Aéro-Locomotion—the NiD 32Rh was an experimental modification. While the broader NiD 32 family saw a total production run of approximately ten aircraft, the NiD 32Rh is described as a "one-off" modification. This specific variant functioned as a technology demonstrator, intended to promote the closely related NiD 29 as a viable carrier-capable mount.
Technical evaluations of the NiD 32 family revealed significant operational shortcomings. In March 1920, the French Navy conducted platform tests which yielded disappointing results; the launch platform was found to be barely capable of supporting the aircraft, even in an unarmed configuration. Due to these failures, the aircraft did not enter wide naval service. While the NiD 32 family's general performance included a maximum speed of 193 km/h, a cruise speed of 150 km/h, and a service ceiling of 6,000 meters, specific engine data for the "Rh" variant is not documented. The family was typically armed with two fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns.
Unlike the NiD 29, which saw extensive service with the French armée de l’air and various international operators, the NiD 32Rh remained a prototype. It saw no documented combat deployment or civil service. The manufacturer, Nieuport-Delage, was eventually absorbed into the nationalized French aircraft industry, leading to the formation of Loire-Nieuport and later contributing to the lineage of Aérospatiale and Airbus. No surviving examples of the NiD 32Rh are known to exist in museums today.