Hanriot HD.2

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=HD.2, H.29


caption=
type=Floatplane fighter
national origin=France
manufacturer=Hanriot
designer=
first flight=avyear|1917
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user="Aéronautique Maritime"
more users=United States Navy
produced=
number built=
variants with their own articles=The Hanriot HD.2 was a fighter aircraft produced in France during the First World War. The design was based on that of the HD.1, but the HD.2 was a purpose-built floatplane with enlarged tail surfaces and wings of shorter span but greater area. Like its predecessor, though, it was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span. The prototype had twin pontoon undercarriage, with a small third pontoon under the tail, but this latter feature was discarded on production machines.

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 undercarriage, 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

HD.2

* 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)

H.29

* H.29 - HD.2 with Hispano-Suiza 8Ab engine and pully wheels for launch from warship (2 built)

Minor Variants

HD.12

*HD.12 - Single-seat fight prototype. The aircraft was fitted with wheeled landing gear, powered by a 170-hp (127-kW) Le Rhone rotary piston engine. Only one HD.12 was ever built.

HD.27

*HD.27 - Powered by a 180-hp (134-kW) Hispano-Suzia 8Ac engine. Only one was ever built.

Operators

;FRA;USA

pecifications (HD.2)

aerospecs
ref=
met or eng?= met

crew=one pilot
capacity=
length m=7.00
length ft=23
length in=0
span m=8.51
span ft=27
span in=11
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=3.10
height ft=10
height in=2
wing area sqm=18.4
wing area sqft=198
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=495
empty weight lb=1,092
gross weight kg=700
gross weight lb=1,540
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Clerget 9B
eng1 kw= 100
eng1 hp= 130
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=182
max speed mph=113
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=300
range miles=186
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=4,800
ceiling ft=15,750
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6= aircontent
see also=
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References

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