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.
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.
Hanriot in numbers
Společnost
- Stručně řečeno
- 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
Výroba
- Nejznámější pro
- 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
Dnes
- Teď
- Merged into SNCAC
- Five HD.1s survive in museums, one airworthy in New Zealand
Čísla
- 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
Every notable Hanriot aircraft
Photos: Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
| Letadlo | Role | První let | Postavený | Postavení | Poznámka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanriot 1910 monoplane | Sport / racing monoplane | V důchodu | Slender wooden monocoque fuselage | ||
| Hanriot HD.1 | Jednomístný stíhač | 1916 | asi 1 200 | V důchodu | Standard fighter of Belgium and Italy; 16 of 18 Italian fighter squadrons by November 1918 |
| Hanriot HD.2 | Naval fighter / floatplane | V důchodu | Some passed to the US Navy | ||
| Hanriot HD.14 | Trenér | V důchodu | |||
| Hanriot H.180 / H.182 | Liaison and training monoplane | V důchodu | One of the company’s main successes in the 1930s | ||
| Hanriot H.220 | Twin-engine heavy fighter | V důchodu | Evolved into the SNCAC NC.600 |
Hanriot aircraft in the world’s air forces
2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Hanriot types. 0 z nich stále má jeden v provozu.
| Letectvo | V provozu | Dříve létal |
|---|---|---|
| Belgické letectvo | Hanriot HD.1 | |
| Salvadorské letectvo | Rané typy: TNCA Serie A, Hanriot H.320, Breguet 14, Waco, Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Osprey, Caproni AP1, Fairchild M-62, Vultee BT-13, Beech AT-11 |
Where Hanriot built, who led it, what it achieved
Továrny
- 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
Lidé
- 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
Hanriot, year by year
René Hanriot builds his first aircraft
Hanriot monoplanes shown at the Brussels salon; company founded
Near bankrupt, Hanriot sells to Louis Ponnier
Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie founded
HD.1 fighter produced
Move to Carrières-sur-Seine
Death of René Hanriot
Merges with Lorraine-Dietrich as Lorraine-Hanriot
Separation; Marcel Hanriot takes over
Nationalised under Pierre Cot
Merged with Farman into SNCAC
Before and after Hanriot
Everything people ask about Hanriot
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Who flew the Hanriot HD.1?
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Around Hanriot
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Ověřeno 2026-10-03.