Figure 1.-- This is Robert. He was part of the ZYX24 ream composed of Piroux, Zissou, Georges, Louis, and Dédé. They attempted a take off in Rouzat (September 1910). They were one of several teams working on aviation in pre-World War I France. Roberrt was chosen to be the polit because he was the lighest. The photographer was Jacques-Henri Lartigue who was fascinated with speed, especially auto racing. But was also interested in aviation. Click on the image to see how the launch went.

One of the most active countries in the early history of aviation was France. Some of the designs which followed the Wright brothers were rather fancifal. Aviation for some reason sparked an interest in the French soul. France emerged as a leader in the aviation industry. It had active designers and was the first country where independent companies were formed to building aircraft. Much of this is well known, but there were others that are largely lost to history. Gabriel Voisin and Ernest Archdeacon's organized the Syndicat d'Aviation (1905). Voison's early planes were not very successful and could not compete with the Wright flyers. Gradually Voison and other designers improved their designs. Voison built planes during the War not only for France, but also Belgium, Britain and Russia. Henri Farman also established an aircraft plant begining with a Voison plane. His plant began production (1909). He perfected controls and added a 50-horsepower Gnôme rotary engine. His plane would be the most widely used aircraft in the years before World War I. Farman partnered with his brother Maurice creating the Société Henri et Maurice Farman. The Farnham plant was the largest aircraft plantvin the world and as a result, their planes were the most widely used during the war. They produced both reconnaissance planes and bombers. Louis Breguet began with 'gyroplanes' (1907), but soon turned to fixed-wing aurcraft. The French military was unsure what to do with aircraft, but began develping a aviation wing (1909). The French French National Assembly passed a law creating Aeronautics an official part of the French Army, alonwith the four long-standing branches of the French Army, infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers (1912). This was largely a shot in the dark given the fragil craft available at the time at their limited capabilities. Edouard de Niéupor founded the Société Anonyme des Establissements Nieuport (1910). It was another important French aircraft company. A Nieuport plane was one of three planes chosen by the French Air Forces (1911). The plane was the first aircraft fitted with a permanently installed machine gun (1912).

Created: 3:01 AM 9/14/2024
Last updated: 3:01 AM 9/14/2024