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Chalais-Meudon is an aeronautical research and development centre in
Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...
, to the south-west of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. It was originally founded in 1793 in the nearby
Château de Meudon Meudon Castle, also known as the Royal Castle of Meudon or Imperial Palace of Meudon, is a French castle located in Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the edge of a wooded plateau, the castle offers views of Paris and the Seine, as we ...
and has played an important role in the development of French aviation.


Balloons

The story of aviation at Chalais-Meudon starts in October 1793 when the French Public Safety Committee ordered the construction of an
observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...
capable of carrying two observers. The old royal grounds at
Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...
were allocated for this work, with the Château de Meudon chosen as the centre, with
Nicolas-Jacques Conté Nicolas-Jacques Conté (4 August 1755 – 6 December 1805) was a French painter, balloonist, army officer, and inventor of the modern pencil. He was born at Saint-Céneri-près-Sées (now Aunou-sur-Orne) in Normandy and distinguished himself for ...
as director. Two French Balloon Corps balloon companies had already been created, and the new organisation's role was to build balloons and train their pilots and operators. The first balloon, the ''Entreprenant'', was built within four months, and on 31 October 1794, the National School of Ballooning was created, with Conté as its director. Many other balloons were then built in a short period, including, in 1795, '' l’Intrépide'' which, with the First Balloon Company, was captured by Austrian troops in 1796, and is now on display at the Austrian Military Museum in Vienna - the oldest aircraft in Europe. They were all spherical hydrogen balloons with a diameter of at least . Conté himself had improved production methods for hydrogen and the treatment of the gas bags. In 1798
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
sent one of the balloon companies in one ship to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. It was sunk by the British at
Aboukir Abu Qir ( ar, ابو قير, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus, Egypt, Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located o ...
and all the equipment was lost. The two balloon companies were disbanded soon afterwards, and work on balloons at Meudon ceased. In 1877, balloons had regained their importance after their successful use in the
Siege of Paris (1870–71) Siege of Paris may refer to: * Siege of Paris (845), the Viking siege by Reginherus, possibly Ragnar Lodbrok * Siege of Paris (885–886), the Viking siege by Rollo * Siege of Paris (978), by Otto II of Germany *Siege of Paris (1429), by Charles VI ...
.
Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...
, the Minister for War, who had himself escaped from Paris by balloon, created a commission of air communications, and Colonel
Charles Renard Charles Renard (1847–1905) born in Damblain, Vosges, was a French military engineer. Airships After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 he started work on the design of airships at the French army aeronautical department. Together with A ...
was put in charge of military ballooning. In 1877, he became director of the '' l'Etablissement Central de l'Aérostation Militaire'' (Central Establishment of Military Ballooning), and he created corps of balloonists, with a research centre at Meudon. This was a new development in the grounds of the château and on the edge of the forest of Meudon. It included a hexagonal lake, the Étang de Chalais, hence the location was named Chalais-Meudon. A large series of buildings was planned. It included the Research Laboratory for Military Ballooning which became the Military Aeronautical Laboratory. The Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878 had a huge Great Gallery of Machines, designed by Henri de Dion. Renard brought the structure to Chalais-Meudon for use as a balloon store and workshop. It was named Hangar Y (all buildings at the site were allocated a letter) and the building nearest to it, which was used for the production of hydrogen, was named Building Z. Hangar Y has dimensions of: length , width , height . Balloons continued to be developed and built here, with great expansion of balloon manufacturing during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Balloon parks were created, with steam winches used to move the balloons, and most of the components were built on site, including wicker baskets and hydrogen generators. Especially important at that time were the Caquot balloons, produced for all the allied countries. The designer,
Albert Caquot Albert Irénée Caquot (1 July 1881 – 28 November 1976) was considered the "best living French engineer" for half of a century. He received the “ Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)” (military honor) and was Grand-croix of the Légion d ...
went on to plan the Chalais-Meudon wind tunnel and to propose the aviation museum (see below). Balloon production ended in 1918.


Airships

Hangar Y was at first used for balloons, but Renard soon started work on
airships An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air Powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding a ...
, which the building could also accommodate. This was therefore the world's first airship hangar, and one of very few that remain in Europe. The first airship to be built was ''La France''. In building it, Renard collaborated with
Arthur Constantin Krebs Arthur Constantin Krebs (16 November 1850 in Vesoul, France – 22 March 1935 in Quimperlé, France) was a French officer and pioneer in automotive engineering. Life Collaborating with Charles Renard, he piloted Timeline of aviation - 19 ...
, one of France's most notable inventors. Its first flight was on 9 August 1884. Taking off from outside Hangar Y, it flew over Villacoublay before returning and landing safely at its takeoff point, a flight of about taking 23 minutes. This was the first ever fully controlled closed-circuit flight by a flying machine. It was propelled by an electric motor, but the batteries were so heavy that even the designers recognised that it was, at the time, a dead end, and after a further six successful flights, its development was abandoned. Another airship was built here in 1895, named the ''Général Meusnier'' after
Jean Baptiste Meusnier Jean Baptiste Marie Charles Meusnier de la Place (Tours, 19 June 1754 — le Pont de Cassel, near Mainz, 13 June 1793) was a French mathematician, engineer and Revolutionary general. He is best known for Meusnier's theorem on the curvature o ...
who had a concept for a dirigible balloon in 1784. Neither project flew. There was a lot of airship activity in the early 20th century. In 1901
Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais, 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 l ...
based his Number 6 airship here. Many airships visited for demonstrations or testing, including those from the Lebaudy brothers. Their ''Patrie'' was here in 1906–7, followed by ''La République'' in 1908–9.


Airships built by the Military Airship Factory 1912 - 1918

Data from The army found that airships were becoming decreasingly useful during WWI, and on 1 January 1918 all airships were transferred to the navy. Construction and delivery of the CM series for the navy was completed, but CM.6 to CM.8 had also been ordered, but were not built. The last airship to use Hangar Y was the Voliris 900. This modern commercial airship, long, was assembled, inflated and given a public presentation here in 2002. It was then dismantled and moved to
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...
for flight testing the following year.


Kites

Émile Dorand Jean-Baptiste Émile Dorand (14 May 1866 – 1 July 1922), was a French military engineer and aircraft designer. Early career Émile Dorand was born in Semur-en-Auxois in eastern France. He attended the École Polytechnique from 1886 to 1888 ...
was a balloonist and engineer, who had been at Chalais-Meudon since 1907 and was appointed head of the Military Aeronautical Laboratory. After that closed, he was appointed as the first director of the
Service Technique de l'Aéronautique The ''Service technique de l'aéronautique'' (STAé) was a French state body responsible for coordinating technical aspects of aviation in France. Formed in 1916 as the Section technique de l'aéronautique the STAé continued until 1980 when its ...
(STAé) on 28 February 1916. This was still based at Chalais-Meudon, and he continued with one of his interests –
kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
s. He had developed ever-larger kites, capable of supporting a man, and some were powered, with a ''nacelle'' (fuselage structure) which was suspended underneath large wings, and which had a steerable engine and propeller at the front. While these showed some promise, and kites were being used by the army, the concepts were being overtaken by other ideas, so the interest in kites only lasted from around 1908 to 1916, by when all kite equipment had been returned to Chalais-Meudon, never to be used again.


Aircraft

One of the earliest experiments with aeroplanes at Chalais-Meudon was conducted by
Victor Tatin Victor Tatin (1843–1913) was a French engineer who created an early airplane, the ''Aéroplane'', in 1879. The craft was the first model airplane to take off using its own power after a run on the ground. The model had a span of and weighed . ...
who in 1879 developed a model
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, with a
wing span The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
of , powered by a
compressed air engine A pneumatic motor (air motor), or compressed air engine, is a type of motor which does mechanical work by expanding compressed air. Pneumatic motors generally convert the compressed air energy to mechanical work through either linear or rotary ...
. Tied to a central pole in a circular track it took off and flew for about entirely under its own power - the first model aeroplane ever to do so. From 1902 to 1905 Renard invited several aviation experimenters to have devices built or tested at Chalais-Meudon. They included Léon Levavasseur,
Ernest Archdeacon Ernest Archdeacon (23 March 1863 – 3 January 1950) was a French lawyer and aviation pioneer before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He commissioned a copy of the 1902 Wright No. 3 glider but ha ...
and
Ferdinand Ferber Louis Ferdinand Ferber (8 February 1862 – 22 September 1909) was a French Army officer who played an important role in the development of aviation during the early 1900s. Although his aircraft experiments were belatedly successful, his early ...
. In 1910 the laboratory acquired around 20 aircraft and started training military pilots. More facilities for research and testing were installed, including test benches and wind tunnels. Marcel Bloch worked at the laboratory during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, developing a propeller named the ''Éclair'' and, with
Henry Potez Henry Potez (Méaulte, 30 September 1891 – Paris, 9 November 1981) was a French aircraft industrialist. He studied in the French Aeronautics School '' Supaéro''. With Marcel Dassault, he was the inventor of the Potez-Bloch propeller which, aft ...
who was the Dorand's assistant at the STAé, and Louis Coroller, formed a company, the ''
Société d'Études Aéronautiques The ''Société d'Études Aéronautiques (SEA)'' ("Society for Aeronautical Studies") was a French aircraft manufacturer founded in 1916 by Henry Potez, Marcel Bloch, and Louis Coroller at Suresnes. Having been established amid the First Wo ...
'' to produce the SEA series of fighters. On 12 January 1918 Commander Caquot replaced Colonel Durand as director of the STAé. At the end of WWI the STAé itself moved to the
Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...
, about to the north-east of Chalais-Meudon, taking some of the research activities with it, but retaining some activities at Chalais-Meudon. Its activities continued between the wars, but with only a small flying field available much of the aircraft testing was moved to the nearby Villacoublay airfield about to the south-west, and the rest of the aircraft testing, and some other research activities went to Issy. During the occupation of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, German researchers used the facilities, including the Great Wind Tunnel, for testing their own aircraft and interesting captured French designs such as the
Payen PA-22 The Payen PA-22 was a French experimental aircraft designed by Nicolas Roland Payen. The aircraft had an unconventional design: it had a set of delta wings, in front of which were a set of short conventional wings. It had a fixed front land ...
. In 1946, the engine testing service moved back to Chalais-Meudon and became the ''Centre d'Essai des Moteurs et Hélices'' (CEMH).


Wind Tunnel

In 1929 Albert Caquot began planning for what was then the largest wind tunnel in the world. It was designed by Antonin Lapresle, who was a colleague of
Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
who had built two wind tunnels with great success in Paris in 1909 and 1912. Building started in 1932 and it was completed in 1934. It was capable of testing complete aircraft up to span. Built of reinforced concrete, it was powered by six fans of each, and airspeeds could reach . Named the S1Ch wind tunnel, and also called ''La Grande Soufflerie'' (The Great Wind Tunnel), it has been used for testing cars and buildings, as well as aircraft including the
Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach number, Mach 2 ...
, the Caravelle and
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
. It closed in 1977 and is preserved as a historic monument.


Museum

In 1919, Albert Caquot proposed the setting up of an aeronautical museum, and items were collected at Issy-les-Moulineaux and at Chalais-Meudon, with many items preserved from the balloon, engine and aviation activities that had taken place at those locations. The items were soon gathered into the balloon basket hangar at Chalais-Meudon, which opened to the public in 1921. The ''Museé de l’Air'' was the world's first aviation museum, and the collection constantly grew. After WWII the decision was made to move the crowded museum to larger premises. With the building of the
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
at Roissy, Le Bourget Airport had an increasing amount of space available, and the collection was gradually moved there. The process started in the early 1970s, and the new museum opened to the public in 1975. The Chalais-Meudon museum was finally closed in 1981. Now renamed the '' Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace'', it continues to thrive at Le Bourget.


Modern use

In 1946, the STAé was replaced by the ''Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales'' (
ONERA The Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) is the French national aerospace research centre. It is a public establishment with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out application-oriented research to supp ...
), and it took over most of the Chalais-Meudon site, where it remains to this day. Hangar Y was designated a historic monument in 1982, but has fallen into disrepair. Some maintenance has taken place, and there are plans for it to be restored to become the European Centre for Balloons and Airships and a cultural and education centre.


References

{{authority control Aerospace research institutes Aeronautics organizations Military research installations Aviation history of France Balloons (aeronautics) Airships Wind tunnels Aircraft hangars Aerospace museums in France 1793 establishments in France