Guy du Merle (1 January 1908 – 6 June 1993) was a French

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

and writer. He was the first director-general of the ''

École nationale de l'aviation civile École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' (French civil aviation university).

Biography

Du Merle was born in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. A graduate from the ''

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' (X 27) and the ''

École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' (Supaéro 32), he began his career as an air military engineer in the military air center from 1933 to 1935 and

on more than hundred types of aircraft,

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

and gliders, including, with Captain Rozanoff, the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

and the

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

captured by the Republicans in Spain in 1938. In 1945 he became director of the aerospace department, until 1948. Meanwhile, from 1940 to 1950, he taught the

aerospace manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

at '' SUPAERO''. In 1948, he became the first director of the ''

'' (French civil aviation university), a position held until 1951 and the appointment of his successor, Gilbert Manuel. A roundabout of the city of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

bears his name.

Bibliography

* Guy du Merle, ''Construction des avions'', Souchier, 1942, 283 p. * Guy du Merle, ''Construction des avions'', Dunod, 1947, 857 p. * Guy du Merle, ''Aviation quand tu nous tiens'', 23 p.,

, 1986Aviation quand tu nous tiens... (version anglaise)
* Académie nationale de l'air et de l'espace and Lucien Robineau, ''Les français du ciel, dictionnaire historique'', Le Cherche midi, June 2005, 782 p. ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merle, Guy Du 1908 births 1993 deaths 20th-century French male writers French aerospace engineers French aviators French male writers French test pilots École Polytechnique alumni Supaéro alumni Corps de l'armement Directors of the École nationale de l'aviation civile