__NOTOC__ The Blériot 5190 was a French

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

mail plane A mail plane is an aircraft used for carrying mail. Aircraft that were purely mail planes existed almost exclusively prior to World War II. Because early aircraft were too underpowered to carry cargoes, and too costly to run any "economy class" ...

of the 1930s, a large

parasol-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplane (aeronautics), multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowe ...

monoplane flying boat. It was of slightly unusual design, with a low-profile hull and the crew compartment housed in the thick pylon that supported the wing. The four engines were arranged with three along the leading edge of the wing, and the fourth on the centreline of the trailing edge. It was constructed for a French government contract to carry airmail to South America. The first example, christened ''

Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier- ...

'' flew on 3 August 1933 and by the end of 1934 had completed two proving flights across the South Atlantic, with

Lucien Bossoutrot Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

at the commands and the future French Admiralty Chief of Staff

Henri Nomy Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

as flight engineer. In February 1935 with Aéropostale's only other transatlantic mailplane, the

Latécoère 300 The Latécoère 300 series of aircraft were a group of civil and military flying boats. They were manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Latécoère in the 1930s. A single Latécoère 300 was built; it was flown for the first time in 193 ...

'' la Croix du Sud'', out of commission for maintenance, the ''Santos-Dumont'' entered service. From then until April, she carried all of France's transatlantic mail at the rate of one crossing per week until rejoined by ''la Croix du Sud'' and a new

Farman F.220 The Farman F.220 and its derivatives were thick-sectioned, high-winged, four engined monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works. Based on the push-pull configuration proven by the F.211, design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prot ...

named '' Le Centaure''. As part of this small fleet, the ''Santos-Dumont'' continued in this role until June 1937. Altogether, by that time, she had made 38 crossings of the Atlantic. In the meantime, the French government had ordered a further three 5190s from Blériot, and the company had borrowed heavily in order to build the aircraft. Suddenly, the contract was cancelled without explanation or compensation, forcing the firm into bankruptcy.

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...

himself died of a heart attack soon afterwards, on 1 August 1936.

Operators

; * Aéropostale

Specifications

Bleriot 5190 3 view l'Aerophile January 1933

References

*
aviafrance.com

External links

Historic video footage of Blériot 5190 taking off and in flight
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleriot 5190 5190 1930s French mailplanes Flying boats Parasol-wing aircraft Four-engined push-pull aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Alberto Santos-Dumont