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From: Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
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Subject: Hanriot HD.1
Date: 7 Feb 2017 08:50:31 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanriot_HD.1
The Hanriot HD.1 was a French World War I single-seat fighter aircraft. Rejected
for service with French squadrons in favour of the SPAD S.7, the type was
supplied to the Belgian and the Italian air forces with whom it proved highly
successful. Of a total of about 1,200 examples built, 831 were in fact produced
by Italian companies under licence.
The Hanriot company produced a series of pioneering monoplanes pre-war, but had
the HD.1 was produced in 1916.
The type was a conventional fighter with the general characteristics of a
typical Sopwith type, being strongly but lightly built, and combining clean
cabane strut arrangement as the Sopwith two-seater. It had a flat lower wing,
though the top wing had quite sharp dihedral.
On the power of its 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhone rotary engine it was not
outstandingly fast, but it was very manoeuvrable and proved popular with pilots
as a safe and pleasant aircraft to fly. To maintain a competitive climbing and
altitude performance it was usual practice to restrict armament to a single
synchronised Vickers gun, although there was provision for a second gun, and one
was occasionally fitted. In French built aircraft the gun (or guns) were fitted
to the sides of the cockpit, and were accessible to the pilot without their
but welcome feature, even if its origins lay in the form of the cabane struts.
Italian-built versions, however, mounted a single machine gun centrally.
Role
Biplane fighter aircraft
Manufacturer
Hanriot
Designer
Pierre Dupont
Introduction
June 1916
Primary users
Corpo Aeronautico Militare
Aviation Militaire Belge
Number built
about 1200
Variants
Hanriot HD.2
The new type was ordered into production as a possible replacement for the
with the SPAD S.7 in the French air service. Some were supplied to the French
Hanriots were converted to, or built as, floatplanes with enlarged tail
surfaces.
The bulk of early production, however, was diverted to the Belgians, who
notoriously had to make do with aircraft unwanted by their allies. With the
Belgian fighter squadrons the HD.1 proved surprisingly successful, and the type
remained the standard Belgian fighter for the rest of the war. Willy Coppens,
the top Belgian ace of the war was the most successful HD.1 pilot. At least one
of his machines was experimentally fitted with an 11mm Vickers machine-gun for
use in balloon busting, something at which Coppens excelled. Most of his
victories were balloons and many were claimed while flying various HD.1s. These
aircraft remained in use until the late 1920s.
The type was also supplied in small numbers to the Italians who manufactured it
in quantity, and used it to replace not only Nieuports but also SPADs in their
service. The type was considered (by the Italians) to be a better all-round
fighter than even the SPAD S.XIII and it became the standard Italian fighter,
equipping 16 of the 18 operational Italian fighter squadrons by November 1918.
Surplus Italian-built Hanriots were used by several countries postwar, including
the Swiss.
The U.S. Naval Aircraft Factory built (or possibly modified/converted) 10 HD.1s
in the immediate postwar years. These were mainly used as trainers, although
could be fitted with twin guns, and at least one machine had a hydrovane and
flotation bags of the type developed for the Royal Navy.
Specifications (HD.1)
General characteristics
Crew: one, pilot
Length: 5.85 m (19 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 8.70 m (25 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.94 m (9 ft 7.5 in)
Empty weight: 407 kg (895 lb)
Loaded weight: 605 kg (1,331 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 652 kg (1437 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 184 km/h (99 knots, 114 mph)
Range: 550 km (297 nm, 342 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,400 m (21,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.1 mins to 2,000 m (7,600 ft); 11 mins to 3,000 m (9,840 ft)
Armament
Belgian machines.
*
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