Hubert Le Blon (21 March 1874 – 2 April 1910) was a French automobilist and pioneer aviator. He drove a steam-powered

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

in Sicily. At the Vanderbilt Cup races on Long Island he competed for the USA driving a

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Vanderbilt Cup - profile of Hubert Le Blon
/ref> Within weeks of setting a new aviation speed record in Egypt he died during an exhibition flight at

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

, Spain. His first aircraft design, the "Humber monoplane (Le Blon type)", was displayed at the Olympia ''Aero Exhibition'' in 1910.

Biography

Hubert le Blon was born at

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

, Paris, (or possibly

Liancourt Liancourt () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Population See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France. The communes cooperate in the followin ...

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

) on 21 March 1874. His wife, Madame Motann Le Blon, shared his passion for motoring, regularly accompanying him as

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

in his races, and watching during his flying exploits. Public statements in 1903 declared: "Madame Le Blon of Paris, has accompanied her husband on most of his record runs. he... has entered her new Serpollet for the Nice races, in the coming spring, and hopes to travel at ninety miles per hour thereon."Graces Guide - British Industrial History. Notes on 1903 Motorists
/ref>Targa Florio Info. Profile of the 1906 Inaugural race
/ref> Le Blon Frères of

, Paris, manufactured "Le Blon" and "Lynx"

voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers t ...

s from 1898 until possibly 1900..

Sporting career

Le Blon raced a

Gardner-Serpollet Gardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 20th century. Léon Serpollet is credited with inventing and perfecting the flash boiler in the late 1800s.New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,Graces Guide - British Industrial History. Profile of Hubert_Le_Blon
/ref> whilst others, including contemporaneous newspapers have no mention of him competing.''Le Petit Journal'' 30 June 1901 - Berlin Arrivals
/ref>''Le Petit Journal'' 01 July 1901 - Final Results
/ref>). In the 1902 Paris Grand Prix (or Paris-Arras-Paris) he finished 13th in the same

Gardner-Serpollet Gardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 20th century. Léon Serpollet is credited with inventing and perfecting the flash boiler in the late 1800s. (This race is sometimes known by its post-facto rename of ''VIII Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.'') In 1904 he was fifth in the Circuit des Ardennes held at Bastogne circuit, in a Hotchkiss. He participated at the Arras Speed Trials in a Serpollet steamer.Gardner Engine Forum - PDF - Summer 2003, Issue 4
/ref> In 1905 he was hired to race French Hotchkiss and Panhard cars, and in several races his wife acted as his

. In 1906 he drove a Hotchkiss in both the world's first Grand Prix at Le Mans in France and at the inaugural

in Sicily. In 1906 he was selected by the

Thomas Motor Company E. R. Thomas Motor Company was a manufacturer of motorized bicycles, motorized tricycles, motorcycles, and automobiles in Buffalo, New York between 1900 and 1919. Motorized bicycles, tricycles, and motorcycles In 1896, E.R Thomas (1850 – 193 ...

to race as an unpaid amateur at the American Elimination Trial for the Vanderbilt Cup, having been an employee of the French branch of E. R. Thomas Motor Co. His second place qualified for the five-car American Team, but at the main Vanderbilt Cup race he only completed nine laps. His riding mechanic was Marius Amiel.The Pittsburgh Press - 10 November 1906 French Driver Very Highly Thought Of.
/ref> In 1907 he drove a De Luca-Daimler in the 2nd Targa Florio, finishing 20th, 1 hour 13 minutes after the winner

Felice Nazzaro Felice Nazzaro (4 December 1881 – 21 March 1940) was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907, and 1913. His European wins in 1907 r ...

. On 2 July he was badly injured when he crashed his

Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

on the 4th lap of the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France at

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

. This led to a long period of convalescence.Motorsport Memorial, Profile of Hubert Le Blon
/ref>

Aviation

1910 Humber monoplane (Le Blon Type) - designed by Hubert Le Blon

By 1909, like many other racers of the era, Le Blon became fascinated by aviation. He enrolled at the pilot training school of pioneering French aviator

Léon Delagrange Ferdinand Marie Léon Delagrange (13 March 1872 – 4 January 1910) was a sculptor and pioneering French aviator, ranked as one of the top aviators in the world. Early years Léon Delagrange was born on 13 March 1872 in Orléans, France, the ...

, learning to fly the Bleriot XI monoplane. Delagrange died three months before Le Blon, in an accident similar to the one that would kill Le Blon.Library of New Zealand. Progress, Volume V, Issue 8, 1 June 1910, Page 270. Death of Le Blon.
/ref> In 1909 Le Blon competed at the Spa aviation meeting in September–October before travelling to Doncaster, England, where he was the "first aviator to take-off at the first ever Air Show in Great Britain", held at the venue of the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

. He rapidly became "as well known as Bleriot" for his skilled, daring and courageous flying, winning the Bradford Cup for the fastest ten laps of the course in his Blériot monoplane. He further endeared himself to the public on 25 October when he after taking off in very strong winds was hurled at the crowds by a strong gust, but manoeuvred to skim over the crowd, stall and then crash-land in a crowd-free area. His renown as an aviator increased when, in February 1910, he set a new five-kilometre record of 4 minutes 2 seconds in his Bleriot XI monoplane at the Héliopolis International Air Meeting near

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, Egypt. Le Blon's first aircraft design, the Humber monoplane (Le Blon type), was displayed at the ''Aero Exhibition'' at Olympia, London in 1910. Although the project showed creative ingenuity – he planned to sit astride it like a horse – the death of Le Blon led to its termination.Flying Machines. HUMBER monoplane (Le Blon Type)
/ref>

Death

Le Blon drowned in a crash landing into the sea on 2 April 1910 while flying in stormy weather at Ondarreta Beach,

, Spain, where he had been performing exhibition flights since 27 March. He was reportedly circling the Royal Palace of Miramar at about 140 feet when the

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, An ...

engine failed; as he attempted to glide back to land, a wing's wire "stay" snapped whereupon the plane flipped and crashed into the sea upside down, possibly colliding with some rocks. His wife was among the crowd that was watching. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' headlined the story thus:The New York Times. 2 April 1910. According to official documents the cause of death was "drowning" although his body was injured in the impact. The official cause of the crash was attributed to "fracture of one of the wing stay wires when running into a gust of wind". His death was reported as the sixth person in history to die in an aeroplane accident. He was awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the

Aéro-Club de France The Aéro-Club de France () was founded as the Aéro-Club on 20 October 1898 as a society 'to encourage aerial locomotion' by Ernest Archdeacon, Léon Serpollet, Henri de la Valette, Jules Verne and his wife, André Michelin, Albert de Dion, ...

in 1910."By the Way," ''U.S. Air Service'' Magazine (February 1920), p25National Library of New Zealand, Progress, The Scientific New Zealander. Death of Le Blon. Progress, Volume V, Issue 8, 1 June 1910, Page 270
/ref> At his funeral in San Sebastián the streets were lined with troops, shops were closed, and thousands followed his coffin to the railway station where it was transported to Paris.National Library of New Zealand, Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12762, 7 April 1910, Page 3, Death of M. Le Blon - San Sebastian Funeral
/ref>

Results

References

Other sources

Cited by Motorsport Memoria

*Book ''A History of Aeronautics'' by E. Charles Vivian, Book Jungle, 2009, . *Magazine "Progress" (Wellington, New Zealand), issue of 1 June 1910, article "Death of Le Blon", page 270, retrieved by websit

*Magazine Flight, issue of 9 April 1910, retrieved by websit

*Website The New York Times - Archive, issue 3 April 1910, article "AERONAUT IS DASHED TO DEATH ON ROCKS; Le Blon, Once *Famous Motorist, Was Circling Spanish Royal Palace at San Sebastian.", pag

*Website Fundación Aérea de la Comunidad Valenciana, Aircraft Recovering - Bleriot XI Project, pag

*Website The GEL Motorsport Information Page by Darren Galpin, pag

and pag

*Website ww.gdecarli.it by Guido de Carli, chapter "Results: Jimmy Piget's Archives - Killed (or deceased when active) drivers", compiled by Jimmy Piget, page http://www.gdecarli.it/Risultati/Piget/2005/7%20-%20killed.pdf . *Website Mediatheque Ville Le Mans, pag

*Website Le Mans & Formula 2 Register by Stefan Örnerdal, pag

Cited by Darren Galpin of Team Dan: *Ian Morrison: Guinness Motor Racing - The Records *Ian Morrison: Guinness Book of Formula One *Nigel Mansell: My Autobiography, Collins Willow *Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide To International Motor Racing *Timothy Collings: Schumacher, Bloomsbury *Steve Small: The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who, Volumes 1 and 2 *Alan Henry: The Turbo Years, Crowood *Alan Henry: Damon Hill, On Top of the World, PSL *Mike Lang: Grand Prix! Vol 4, 1981–84, Haynes *Doug Nye: History of the Grand Prix Car 1966-91, Hazleton *Doug Nye: History of the Grand Prix Car 1945-65, Hazleton *Doug Nye and Geoff Crammond: Classic Racing Cars, Haynes *Paul Lawrence and Peter Stow: Castle Combe - The First 50 Years, TFM *William Body: The History of Motor Racing, Book Club Associates *Ivan Rendall: The Power and the Glory, BBC Books *Paul Sheldon: A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing, vols 1, 5 and 6 *Janos Wimpffen: Time and Two Seats, Motorsport Research Group *Autosport Magazine *Motorsport Magazine

External links

Txintxua Films. Hubert Le Blon The last flight of Hubert Le Blon. The last moments in the life of a man who dreamed with dragonflies when he was a child and died being a pioneer of acrobatic flights.Amazon, Prints of Hubert le Blon, in his Gardner-Serpollet steam car, Nice, 1903. from Heritage-Images. Hubert le Blon, in his Gardner-Serpollet steam car, Nice, 1903. Gardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 1900s. A print from La Vie au Grand Air, 18 November 1903. Hubert le Blon,Leon Serpollet,Unknown (creator), Nice Nice, Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur, France
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Blon, Hubert 1874 births 1910 deaths Sportspeople from Paris French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Aviation pioneers Aviation history of France Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Spain French aviation record holders Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1910