Astra Clément-Bayard was a French manufacturer of

dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

s. In 1908 the French industrialist

Adolphe Clément-Bayard Gustave Adolphe Clément, from 1909 Clément-Bayard (22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928), was a French entrepreneur. An orphan who became a blacksmith and a ''Compagnons du Tour de France, Compagnon du Tour de France'', he went on to race and m ...

, who had already made a fortune manufacturing cars, motorcycles and bicycles, diversified into the aviation industry. His first project was a lens-shaped

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

Louis Capazza Louis Henri Capazza (1862–1928) was a French semi-professional balloonist. He was born in Bastia, Corsica on January 17, 1862. , ''...which a Corsican named Capazza, coming from the town of Bastia, has invented...'' He lived in Belgium from 18 ...

, which was never built. He then collaborated with the

Société Astra ''Société Astra des Constructions Aéronautiques'' was a major French manufacturer of balloons, airships, and aeroplanes in the early 20th century. It was founded in 1908 in aviation, 1908 when Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe purchased Édouard Surco ...

(Société Astra des Constructions Aéronautiques) on the manufacture of a more conventional craft. Astra were responsible for the manufacture of the

envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a shor ...

, and Clement-Bayard took responsibility for the

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

and engine. After this collaborative effort the company started manufacturing the envelopes as well, at a new factory in La Motte-Breuil built in anticipation of orders from the French Army, who had decided to commence airship operations. The Clément-Bayard No.1 airship was offered to the French government but was too expensive so it was bought by

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

for the Russian army. In 1910 the '' Clément-Bayard No.2'', piloted by Maurice Clément-Bayard, was the first airship to cross the Channel, travelling over in six hours. The army ordered three. The company was bought by

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

in 1922. The

airship hangar Airship hangars (also known as airship sheds) are large specialized buildings that are used for sheltering airships during construction, maintenance and storage. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a s ...

in La Motte-Breuil is still maintained by Clément-Talbot Ltd.

Clément-Bayard dirigibles

Seven Clément-Bayard airships were completed.Hydro Retro, Clément-Bayard, pdf (French) Clément-Bayard, sans peur et sans reproche par Gérard Hartmann
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* N° 1 was long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 115 hp engines. First flew on 28 October 1908. * N° 2 was long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 120 hp engines. Top speed 54 km/h. First flew on 1 June 1910. * N° 3 ''Dupuy de Lôme'', long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 120 hp engines. First flew on 1 May 1912. * N° 4 ''Adjudant Vincenot'', long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 120 hp engines. Top speed 49 km/h. First flew in 1911. * ''Adj Vincenot'' modified, metres long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 120 engines. Top speed 53 km/h. First flew on 13 August 1913. * N° 5 livré à la Russie, long, wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 130 hp engines. First flew on 9 February 1913. * ''Montgolfier'', long, 12.2 metres wide, capacity, powered by 2 Clément-Bayard 90 hp engines. Top speed 60 km/h. First flew on 31 July 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement-Bayard Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Manufacturing companies established in 1908 Brass Era vehicles Airships French companies established in 1908 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1922 1922 disestablishments in France

Clément-Bayard dirigibles

See also

References