Hanriot HD.2
{{Short description|French WW1 biplane floatplane fighter aircraft}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=HD.2, H.29 |image=French Navy Hanriot HD.2 floatplane on the water.jpg |caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=Floatplane fighter |national origin=France |manufacturer=Hanriot |designer= |first flight={{start date and age|1917}} |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user=Aéronautique Maritime |more users=United States Navy |produced= |number built= |developed from=Hanriot HD.1 |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Hanriot HD.2 was a biplane floatplane fighter aircraft produced in France during the First World War that was used after the war for testing the use of aircraft from warships.
Development
The design was based on that of the HD.1, but was a purpose-built floatplane. It had larger tail surfaces and a shorter wingspan with greater area. Like its predecessor, though, it was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span. The prototype had a twin pontoon undercarriage, with a small third pontoon under the tail. The third pontoon was later discarded on production machines, though.
Operational history
The HD.2 was developed specifically as an interceptor to defend flying boat bases, but soon was used as an escort fighter to protect French reconnaissance flying boats. The United States Navy also bought 10 examples with wheeled undercarriages, designated HD.2C.
Both the French and United States navies used these aircraft in early experiments in launching fighters from warships. The United States Navy replicated the French trials where a HD.1 had been launched from a platform built atop one of the turrets of the battleship Paris and built a similar platform on the USS Mississippi to launch a HD.2 from. The French Navy converted some of their HD.2s to wheeled configuration and used them for trials on the new aircraft carrier Béarn.
A final experiment in launching a HD.2 from a ship was carried out in 1924 with two new-built examples designated H.29. An unorthodox launching system was developed where the aircraft were equipped with three small pulley-wheels, one on each tip of the upper wing, and one at the tip of the tail fin. These ran along metal rails that had been attached to project horizontally from the mast of the battleship Lorraine. This did not work as hoped, succeeding only in depositing the aircraft into the water below. Further trials were discontinued.
Variants
File:French Navy Hanriot HD.2 on beaching gear.jpg
;HD.2: floatplane fighter with Clerget 9B engine
;HD.2C: HD.2 with wheeled undercarriage (10 built for USN, plus 2 converted from HD.2 by French Navy)
;HD.12: fitted with wheeled landing gear, powered by a 170-hp (127-kW) Le Rhône 9R rotary piston engine. (1 built)
;HD.27: powered by a 180-hp (134-kW) Hispano-Suiza 8Ac engine. (1 built)
;H.29: powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8Ab engine and fitted for launch from a warship (2 built)
Operators
Specifications (HD.2)
File:USN Hanriot HD.2C converted into a landplane on the battleship USS Mississippi's turrent.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = met
|crew=one pilot
|length m=7.00
|length ft=23
|length in=0
|span m=8.51
|span ft=27
|span in=11
|height m=3.10
|height ft=10
|height in=2
|wing area sqm=18.4
|wing area sqft=198
|empty weight kg=495
|empty weight lb=1,092
|gross weight kg=700
|gross weight lb=1,540
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Clêrget 9B
|eng1 kw=100
|eng1 hp=130
|max speed kmh=182
|max speed mph=113
|range km=300
|range miles=186
|ceiling m=4,800
|ceiling ft=15,750
|armament = *2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns
}}
See also
References
{{Commons category}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=469 }}
- {{cite book |title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing|location=London |pages=File 896 Sheet 11}}
{{Hanriot aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1910s French fighter aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft