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Hanriot HD.1

1916 WORLD WAR 1

History

Despite being of French origin, Hanriot HD. During World War I, a biplane was widely used by the Belgian and Italian Air Forces. The French government passed Pierre Dupont's original design and switched to another design, offering Hanriot products to desperate Belgians and Italians, who quickly passed the plane's test with flying colors. The Hanriot's design has proven easy to control and flexible in its class, and is an excellent shooting platform that has spawned aces such as Belgian Willy Coppens.

About 1,200 Hanriot HDs. 1 aircraft was eventually produced.

While the Hanriot Company began developing several notable monoplanes in the 1900s, they eventually turned to the safety of licensed production aircraft at the start of World War I (1914-1918). In particular, the company was commissioned to produce the Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter, a two-seat multipurpose biplane for British and French air service, of which nearly 6,000 would be produced from April 1916. He managed to make the impressive Hanriot HD before Hanriot closed his creative office. 1 1916 model for Air France service.

However, the French were confident in the capabilities of the SPAD S. VII, which appeared in May 1916, and rejected the HD. 1. In its place is HD. 1 Found buyers in willing Belgian and Alitalia service - they accepted the type in June 1916.

HD design. The 1 is traditional and bears some resemblance to the Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter that Hanriot designed. The body design is light but rock solid, with clean lines, a rounded front end connecting the engine and a flat body. Wings are unequal span biplane assemblies fitted with parallel struts.

The upper span is wider and has a distinct V shape, the lower span is shortened and the design is straight. The engine is housed in a metal-cased front compartment and features a Le Rhone 9J rotary engine with a relative average of 110 hp. The engine drives a large two-bladed wooden propeller.

The landing gear is fixed and controlled by two single-wheel main landing gear legs, assisted by a simple wooden tail skid at the rear. The fuselage tapers towards the empennage, which is topped with a rounded vertical fin and an angled horizontal plane. The primary weapon is a 1 x 7.7mm Vickers air machine gun, although a second one can be mounted, adding weight and performance specs. Both sat right in front of the pilot's seat, easily accessible in traffic jams.

The machine gun is connected to the propeller by a breaker gear, which provides synchronized fire through rotating blades.

Belgium lacks a durable military aircraft industry and often sees them receiving a number of designs rejected or discontinued by the superpowers Britain and France. This is how Aviation Militaire Belge found itself with a new and completely modern HD. 1 in some numbers, and the design proved reliable and competent enough against the Germans. As it turns out, this guy is so effective on HD.

1 survived their frontline roles for the remainder of the war, producing the nation's highest-scoring ace Willie Corpence (37 kills). Coppens is also the leading scorer of all HD. 1s served during the war.

The Italians also received their Hanriot HD. 1 Like the Belgians, they excel against their opponents when they use their aircraft as their main front mount. About 16 of the 18 available Italian military fighter squadrons consisted of HD. 1s to November 1918 - the last month of the war.

Italians prefer HD. 1 On the Nieuport and SPAD available at the time, and began to license production of French aircraft by Nieuport-Macchi in Varese, Italy. Of the 1,200 copies available, about 831 are in HD. 1 aircraft produced at the Italian factory proved its value to Alitalia services.

In practice, Hanriot HD. 1 is correct. This guy has no less than three Belgian squadrons (9th, 10th and 11th Escadrilles). HD. 1 has been used in a variety of ways, including interception, reconnaissance, reconnaissance, balloon destruction, and ground attack.

The Italians began using the aircraft in the summer of 1917, with an initial delivery of 100, before local licensed production began. The Belgian commissioned the HD-1 in August 1917, and it quickly became the mount of choice for ace Willie Corpence. Coppens also earned the nickname "Balloon Buster" for his ability to destroy flammable enemy observation balloons in a blue Hanriot aircraft during wartime. The Italians did quite well, as on December 26, 1917, 11 German reconnaissance planes were shot down and the Italians flew their HD with no casualties.

1 second.

After all, the French Navy has some HD inventory. 1s, although the US Navy also put this type into service, but only a few years after the war (as did the Swiss Air Force). Ecuador and Paraguay are the only other notable operators of this excellent plane, but these are just a few of the hundreds that ended up in service. The Belgians held Hanriot HD.

In a sense, they fought it as a front line until 1926.