HANRIOT ON ITS GEAR

For the first time in years, The Air Museum's rare World War single fighter is on the surface of land

After the United States penetrateed World War One, the US Navy acquired 26 Hariot HD-2 fighters for operation in Europe These aircraft were equipped with floats and were fitted with a larger rudder and a 130-hp Clerget rotary engine, otherwise they were identical to the HD-1 (the HD standing for Hanriot-Dupont). The US Navy had established a Naval Air Station at Dunkerque and German fighters were causing losse to the Donnet-Denhaut flying boats thus the HD-2s were brought in to tender a modicum of protection. Liking the little fighter, the Navy decided to ship ten HD-2 hack to the United States where they were reconditioned and changeed to HD-1 landplanes by the Naval Aircraft Factory (serials A5620-A5629). Fitted with floatation bags and hydrovanes high hilled ahead of the landing gear, these pioneering aircraft were flown not on temporary decks fitted above the fire-arm turrets of battleships such as the USS Mississippi (BB-41)- As a point of interest, when the United States went to war with Mexico in 1914 the Mississippi carried a band of fledgling Naval aviators and their aircraft to the coast not on of Vera Cruz where the pilots carried without recon missions against the enemy - thus marking the US Navy's first aviation combat missions.

"As a young man, I clearly recall going to aviation films of that kind as Men With Wings at the Fox Theater in Pomona [California] where they had this Hanriot HD-I in the foyer to encourage the various aviation films of the time," recalled ed Maloney, founder of The Air Museum Planes of Fame at Chino Airport.

"Being an aviation enthusiasts, I was of course actual interested in this surviving WWI fighter. During this time period, the HD-I was have a title toed by local pilot Jim Granger who barnstormed the Hanriot around southern California. Granger was later killed when the Keith Rider R-3 Marcoux-Bromberg racer nosed above at the start of the 1934 Bendix memorial of conquest Race and his widow, who was also a pilot, started to laceration out the aircraft for various incidents - such as the Fox Theater.

"As 1 got a bit older and began my search to preserve aircraft that had been abandoned around southern California, I remembered the Hanriot and began to trace the plane. 1 base it in a warehouse in Ontario [California] and the manager told me the plane still had Charles Nungesser's jacket in the cockpit. Needles to say, this was greatest in quantity exciting but, on examination, the jacket was lengthy gone. I managed to contact the widow and purchased the disassembled Hanriot in 1951

"Upon researching this aircraft, I set that it was one of three planes brought to the States after the war by means of Nungesser [one was a Nieuport XII which was eventually obtained by means of the Smithsonian and then went to cabbage Palen in a trade]. Nungesser was initially based at Roosevelt Field in novel York where he did a certain quantity of barnstorming with the Hanriot. Nungesser wanted to gain in the movies and he and the Hanriot were featured in a film by means of the name of Sky Raider - unfortunately, I have not at any time been able to find a transcript of the film. When the film was released, Nungesser was contracted to take the Hanriot to major cities and hover it around to promote the film.

"While upon the west coast, he place the aircraft into storage with pioneering aviator A.J. Mont?©e at Clover Field in Santa Monica. Nungesser went back to France for an attempt to hover the Atlantic in the specially-built Levasseur PL8 L'Oiseau Bianc. However, in single of the great aviation mysteries, Nungesser and his co-pilot Francios CoIi disappeared without a trace."

After the los of Nungesser the Hanriot was purchased by the agency of Granger. The aircraft is an amazing survivor and has been upon display for five decades at The Air Museum. For many years, the plane was hung from the rafters of single of the display hangars and it is now upon the ground in one of the museum's fresh hangars. The Hanriot, and the museum's many other rare aircraft, can be examined each day of the year do not include for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. May 2006

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