Hanriot HD.2
French WW1 biplane floatplane fighter aircraft
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.
The public source identifies “Hanriot HD.2” as french WW1 biplane floatplane fighter aircraft. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hanriot, French and biplane.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hanriot HD.2”, the useful work is to connect “french WW1 biplane floatplane fighter aircraft” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 8, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3126896. The Library of Congress control number is sh2012004438. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hanriot HD.2”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hanriot HD.2 primary sources, Hanriot HD.2 archive and Hanriot research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hanriot HD.2”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hanriot HD.2” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.