Hanriot

Order of Battle · Aircraft manufacturers · France

Hanriot

Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie · Lorraine-Hanriot

A racing driver’s aircraft firm built a fighter France turned down; Belgium and Italy took it, and the HD.1 became the mount of Willy Coppens, the war’s greatest balloon buster.

1910Founded
Merged into SNCAC in 1936Status
6Aircraft on record
2Air forces flying its types
Photo: Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
CountryFranceFounded1910FoundersRené HanriotHeadquartersBoulogne-Billancourt, later Carrières-sur-SeineStatusMerged into SNCAC in 1936
The story

Hanriot: the company and the aircraft that made its name

A racing driver takes to the air

René Hanriot raced motor boats and drove for the Darracq car company before he built his first aeroplane in 1907. By 1910 he had a factory and flying school at Bétheny near Reims, and his son Marcel, aged 15, became the youngest holder of a pilot’s certificate. The pre-war monoplanes, with their slender boat-like fuselages, failed at the military trials, and in 1912 Hanriot, facing bankruptcy, sold out to Louis Ponnier.

The fighter France rejected

War gave him a second chance. With Reims behind German lines, Hanriot opened a new factory, Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie, building Sopwith and Salmson types under licence. In 1916 his young engineer Pierre Dupont produced the HD.1 fighter. France preferred the SPAD VII, but Belgium and Italy took it, and it became the standard fighter of both. Willy Coppens, Belgium’s top ace, shot down most of his balloons in HD.1s. About 1,200 were built, 831 in Italy, and Hanriot built some 5,000 aircraft in the war.

Lorraine, nationalisation and the end

René Hanriot died on 7 November 1925. The firm moved to Carrières-sur-Seine, merged with Lorraine-Dietrich as Lorraine-Hanriot from 1930 to 1933, then returned to Marcel’s control and built the H.180 liaison trainer and the H.220 heavy fighter. In 1936 it was swept into Pierre Cot’s nationalisation, and in 1937 it merged with Farman as SNCAC, with Marcel Hanriot among the directors.

A racing driver’s aircraft firm built a fighter France turned down; Belgium and Italy took it, and the HD.1 became the mount of Willy Coppens, the war’s greatest balloon buster.Hanriot · verified 2026-10-03
At a glance

Hanriot in numbers

The company

In short
Founded 1910

  • Founded by racing driver René Hanriot
  • Factories at Bétheny, Boulogne-Billancourt, Carrières-sur-Seine and Bourges
  • 2,000 workers at Boulogne-Billancourt in WWI
  • Nationalised 1936; merged into SNCAC 1937

Production

Best known for
Hanriot HD.1

  • About 5,000 aircraft built in the First World War
  • HD.1 fighter, about 1,200 built incl. licence
  • HD.14 trainer
  • H.180/H.182 liaison trainer, H.220 heavy fighter

Today

Now
Merged into SNCAC

  • Five HD.1s survive in museums, one airworthy in New Zealand

The numbers

Aircraft built in WWI
about 5,000
Workers at Boulogne-Billancourt
2,000WWI
HD.1 total
about 1,200, of which 831 built in Italy
The aircraft

Every notable Hanriot aircraft

Hanriot HD.1Single-seat fighter · first flight 1916 · about 1,200 built

Photos: Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Aircraft Role First flight Built Status Note
Hanriot 1910 monoplane Sport / racing monoplane Retired Slender wooden monocoque fuselage
Hanriot HD.1 Single-seat fighter 1916 about 1,200 Retired Standard fighter of Belgium and Italy; 16 of 18 Italian fighter squadrons by November 1918
Hanriot HD.2 Naval fighter / floatplane Retired Some passed to the US Navy
Hanriot HD.14 Trainer Retired
Hanriot H.180 / H.182 Liaison and training monoplane Retired One of the company’s main successes in the 1930s
Hanriot H.220 Twin-engine heavy fighter Retired Evolved into the SNCAC NC.600
Who flies them

Hanriot aircraft in the world’s air forces

2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Hanriot types. 0 of them still have one in service.

Air force In service Formerly flown
Belgian Air Force Hanriot HD.1
Salvadoran Air Force Early types: TNCA Serie A, Hanriot H.320, Breguet 14, Waco, Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Osprey, Caproni A.P.1, Fairchild M-62, Vultee BT-13, Beech AT-11
Places, people, records

Where Hanriot built, who led it, what it achieved

Factories

  • Bétheny · near Reims — First factory and flying school
  • Boulogne-Billancourt · 84 rue des Moulineaux, Boulogne-Billancourt — Opened for HD.1 demand
  • Carrières-sur-Seine · Carrières-sur-Seine — Main works from 1924

People

  • René Hanriot · founder — Racing driver and boat racer; died 7 November 1925
  • Marcel Hanriot · pilot, later company head — Youngest pilot’s certificate holder at 15; led the firm from 1933
  • Pierre Dupont · designer — Designer of the HD series (also given as Emile Dupont)
  • Willy Coppens · Belgian ace — Top Belgian ace of WWI, most successful HD.1 pilot
Timeline

Hanriot, year by year

1907

René Hanriot builds his first aircraft

1910

Hanriot monoplanes shown at the Brussels salon; company founded

1912

Near bankrupt, Hanriot sells to Louis Ponnier

1914

Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie founded

1916

HD.1 fighter produced

1924

Move to Carrières-sur-Seine

1925

Death of René Hanriot

1930

Merges with Lorraine-Dietrich as Lorraine-Hanriot

1933

Separation; Marcel Hanriot takes over

1936

Nationalised under Pierre Cot

1937

Merged with Farman into SNCAC

The family tree

Before and after Hanriot

Came afterSNCACnationalised 1936, merged with Farman 1937Read the SNCAC page
Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about Hanriot

What was the Hanriot HD.1?
A French First World War single-seat fighter. Rejected by France in favour of the SPAD VII, it became the standard fighter of Belgium and Italy.
Who flew the Hanriot HD.1?
Belgium’s top ace Willy Coppens scored most of his victories, mainly observation balloons, in HD.1s.
What happened to Hanriot?
It was nationalised in 1936 and merged with Farman in 1937 to form SNCAC.
How many HD.1s were built?
About 1,200, of which 831 were built under licence in Italy, mostly by Nieuport-Macchi.

Continue the tour

Around Hanriot

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Sources & Further Reading

Every fact, checked

Verified 2026-10-03.