Louis Béchereau (July 25, 1880 in Plou, Cher – March 18, 1970 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was a French aeronautical engineer and pioneer of French

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

Biography

After having attended the École nationale professionnelle in

Vierzon Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwe ...

, Béchereau went to the Arts et Métiers in Angers in 1896, and finished his studies in 1901. Before joining the army he took part in a model-making competition organized by '' L'Auto'', taking first prize for a model subsequently manufactured for sale in Parisian department stores. Demobilised in 1902, Béchereau joined a mechanical construction factory in

Bezons Bezons () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Population Transport An extension of the tramway line T2 to Pont de Bezons opened in 2012. With Bezons not served by any stations o ...

where he took part in the development of a prototype car designed by

Clément Ader Clément Ader (2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one ...

. He took a number of trial flights with the Ader Éole or Avion. In 1903 a nephew of Clément Ader in Levallois created the ''Société de Construction d'Appareils Aériens''. In 1909 a client of the firm,

Armand Deperdussin Armand Deperdussin (July 8, 1864 in Liège, Belgium – June 11, 1924 in Paris) was a French industrialist and aviation pioneer. Having established himself as a silk-broker, he became involved in the aviation industry in 1910 after witnessing the ...

, had ordered the construction of an aeroplane that was exhibited in the windows of the

Bon Marché ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

store in Paris. In 1910 Deperdussin founded the ''Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin'' ( SPAD) and appointed Béchereau as chief engineer. From the beginning, Béchereau conceived the idea of ''

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

'' fuselages, which would allow hitherto unthinkable levels of performance. His direct collaborators, Louis Janoir, chief pilot, and André Herbemont, were also graduates of the Arts et Métiers. Béchereau's revolutionary concept allowed the Deperdussin firm to win many prizes, including the famous Gordon Bennett Trophy in 1912 with

Jules Védrines Jules Charles Toussaint Védrines (29 December 1881 – 21 April 1919) was an early French aviator, notable for being the first pilot to fly at more than 100 mph and for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy race in 1912. Biography Jules Védrin ...

at the controls (first flight to achieve 100 mph), and again in 1913 with Maurice Prevost at the controls. In 1911, one of his collaborators was Dutch aviation pioneer

Frederick Koolhoven Frederick (Frits) Koolhoven (11 January 1886 – 1 July 1946) was an aircraft designer in Britain and his native Netherlands. Koolhoven was born in Bloemendaal, Netherlands. After training as an engineer in Liège and Antwerp, he worked from 19 ...

. Following a financial scandal involving the company's founder, Louis Blériot took over the company in 1914 and renamed it ''Société Pour l'Aviation et ses Dérivés'', keeping the initials SPAD. Béchereau remained chief designer and developed numerous models, including the

SPAD S.XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by '' Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Bé ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, when

Georges Guynemer Georges Guynemer (, 24 December 1894 – 11 September 1917 MIA) was the second highest-scoring French fighter ace with 54 victories during World War I, and a French national hero at the time of his death. Guynemer's death was a profound s ...

received his first

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

equipped with a Hispano-Suiza engine on 27 August 1916, he wrote to Louis Béchereau the next day praising the wonders of this new aeroplane. The air combat ace Guynemer thereafter had a long technical correspondence with Béchereau who he called the "ace of constructors" ("''l’as des constructeurs''"). It was Guynemer who later presented Béchereau with the medal of the Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 12 July 1917 in the SPAD works, in the presence of the Minister of War.L’épopée Blériot a décollé à Suresnes (see: 12 juillet 1917 : le jour où … La légion d’honneur à l’usine !
''suresnes-mag.fr'' Octobre 2020, accessed 14 December 2022 (Citation: "''Vous avez donné la suprématie aérienne à votre pays, et vous aurez une grande part dans la victoire. C'est un splendide titre de gloire. C'est avec le sentiment de l'admiration et de la grande reconnaissance que nous vous devons tous, que je vous donne l'accolade.''") Béchereau left SPAD to create the ''

Société des Avions Bernard ''Société des Avions Bernard'' (french: Bernard Aircraft Company) was a French aircraft manufacturer of the early 20th century. History The company was founded in April 1917 by Adolphe Bernard as Etablissements Adolphe Bernard to licence-bui ...

'' (also known as ''Société des trois B'') with Bernard and Marc Birkigt. He also collaborated with the

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

motor company and, in 1931, joined the carriage-builder Georges Kellner to create the Kellner-Béchereau company. On the eve of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he conceived a monoplane, the K.B.E 60, for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

; its development was frustrated by events. The factory was destroyed by bombing in 1942 and the Kellner-Béchereau company was then merged into

Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier (1881–1964) and the Morane brothers, Léon (1885–1918) and Robert (1886–1968). The company was taken over and diversified ...

. Béchereau remained a director until his retirement in 1950.

Decorations

* In 1947, Béchereau was promoted to Officier of the

. * Médaille d'Or of 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, ...

. * He was elected a membre d'Honneur of the Union syndicales des industries aéronautiques * Decorated with the

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal (french: "Médaille de l'Aéronautique") is a state decoration of France established by the decree of February 14, 1945. It is awarded to both military personnel and civilians for outstanding accomplishments related to t ...

in 1950. * 1959 : laureate of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...

and the Prix Arthur du Faÿ. * 1966 : laureate of the Prix Nessim Habif and elevation to the rank of Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur.

Notes

Sources

Article by Frédéric Champlon in ''Arts et Métiers'' magazine, April 2003 (see external links).

External links

Béchereau's life and works (with photos)
on the Gadzarts website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechereau, Louis Aircraft designers Aviation pioneers Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni 1880 births 1970 deaths