Henry Potez (

Méaulte Méaulte () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D329 road, some northeast of Amiens. Population Personalities * Henry Potez (1891–1981), aeroplane maker, w ...

, 30 September 1891 – Paris, 9 November 1981) was a French aircraft industrialist. He studied in the French Aeronautics School '' Supaéro''. With

Marcel Dassault Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Ferdinand Bloch; 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in aircraft manufacturing. Early life and education Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, he was the young ...

, he was the inventor of the Potez-Bloch

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

which, after 1917, have been set on most of all Allied planes of World War I. In 1919, he founded his own company, Aviations Potez, that, between the wars, built many planes and seaplanes, in factories which were at that time considered the most modern in the world. He bought the

Alessandro Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, A ...

company in 1923. Many Potez planes, such as the Potez 25, 39, 54, 62, 63, were an international success, setting world records. Over the course of twenty years, 7,000 planes left the production lines. Forty prototypes were designed and more than twenty passed to production - this was remarkable at that time. In 1936, his factories, considered to be strategic, were

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

by the French

Front populaire The Popular Front (french: Front populaire) was an alliance of French left-wing movements, including the communist French Communist Party (PCF), the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and the progressive Radical-S ...

government. After the Second World War, Potez purchased the firm purchased a controling interest in Air-Foulg which produced the ''Magister'', a two-seat two engine

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

, which was a big success. Launched in 1952 and better known as

Fouga Magister Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...

, this aircraft was used by many Air Forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potez, Henry French aerospace engineers Supaéro alumni 1891 births 1981 deaths Businesspeople in aviation 20th-century French businesspeople 20th-century French inventors

See also

References