Ludovic Arrachart (15 August 1897,

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

- 24 May 1933, Maisons) was a French

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. His long-distance flights made him a pioneer of intercontinental aviation. He notably beat two world records : first flying a

Breguet 19 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

from Étampes to

Villa Cisneros Dakhla ( ar, الداخلة, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, es, Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative reg ...

in Africa in February 1925 and flying a

Potez 28 The Potez 28 was a French aircraft designed in the 1920s to set distance records, built in both sesquiplane and monoplane versions. Only two were completed but both set several long distance records. Design and development The Potez 28, known ...

from Paris to

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

in Iraq (in 1926, with his brother Paul) in June 1926. He enlisted in the French Army at the outbreak of

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 ...

, serving in the 35th Infantry Regiment. Wounded twice, he was promoted to Sergeant in 1916, before being declared unfit for duty in the infantry and transferring to the Armée de l'Air as an observer in 1917, and qualifying as a pilot in 1918. He commanded a squadron based in Alexandretta, Syria, from 1919 to 1922, and was assigned to the Commission trials (1923–25). In June 1924 he won the

Michelin Cup The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long distance flight made in aeroplanes. The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually fo ...

long-distance flying competition. He died on 24 May 1933 when his

Caudron C.362 The Caudron C.362 and the almost identical C.366 were single-seat racing aircraft built in 1933 by Caudron to compete in the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe competition. Design The C.362 and C.366 were single-seat, low-wing monoplanes with a fixed u ...

suffered an engine failure during preliminary trials for the

Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe The Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe was an international aeronautical speed competition instituted on 25 August 1909 by the French oil magnate Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe. The race was reinstated three times through the years at the initiative of the ...

. A street was named after him in the

8th arrondissement of Lyon The 8th arrondissement of Lyon is one of the 9 arrondissements of Lyon. Geography Quarters * Le Bachut * Monplaisir Ville * Monplaisir La Plaine, usually known as La Plaine * Mermoz Nord * Mermoz Sud * Les États-Unis * Le Transvaal * Laënnec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrachart, Ludovic 1897 births 1933 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France French aviation record holders People from Besançon Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1933