J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)

Labourdette-Halbronn H.T.1 and H.T.2

  The Labourdette-Halbronn H.T.1 and H.T.2 were designed as torpedo bombers. They were the result of a collaboration between Lieutenant de Vaisseau Halbronn of the Section Technique de la Marine, who designed the plane, and Labourdette, who built it. It had twin hulls and triplane wings with a backward stagger. There were two bays of struts splayed outwards. Halbronn's design had wings of unequal length, the lower wing shortest. The H.T.1 was built in 1918 and flew in April 1919. It had two 200-hp Hispano-Suiza engines mounted on the top of the middle wing. A gunner could be accommodated in the nose of each hull, positions providing them excellent fields of fire. The pilot was situated in a raised nacelle which sat astride the two hulls. The torpedo was carried between the twin fuselages. A horizontal stabilizer connected the two hulls at the tail and at the end of each fuselage was a rounded fin and rudder. Apparently the power supplied by the two engines was felt to be insufficient as two additional aircraft, designated H.T.2,were built with two 350-hp Lorraine engines. Tests were conducted at the naval base at Saint Raphael and continued until 1922. Due to the armistice, no further examples were ordered. An officer of the RNAS who examined the prototype was impressed enough by the twin-hull design that he recommend an example be obtained for study; however, no machines were purchased by the British.


Labourdette-Halbronn H.T.1 Flying Boat with Two 200-hp Hispano-Suiza Engines
   Wing area 100 sq. m
   Empty weight 2,000 kg; loaded weight 3,200 kg
   Maximum speed: 125 km/h
   Armament: two machine guns and a torpedo
   One built