Pierre Deley (1 November 1893 – 27 February 1981), was one of the pioneering pilots for the Aéropostale company. He was born in

Marseillan, Hérault Marseillan (; oc, Massilhan) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. As of , the population of Marseillan is . The port of Marseillan is a protected heritage site, and the altar and organ in the church are also listed. Th ...

, the grand nephew and godson of another Marseillan native,

Pierre Roques Pierre Auguste Roques (28 December 1856 – 26 February 1920) was a French general and creator of the French air force. Biography Born to a modest family in Marseillan, Hérault, his lively intelligence earned him a study grant that allowed hi ...

, the founder of French military aviation. He obtained his fighter pilot's licence in 1917 and finished

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 ...

with six aerial victories. He joined the Pierre-Georges Latécoère's Lignes Aériennes Latécoère company (later to become Aéropostale) in 1923, rubbing shoulders with, among others,

Didier Daurat Didier Daurat (2 January 1891, Montreuil-sous-Bois – 2 December 1969, Toulouse) was a pioneer of French aviation. He was a fighter pilot during World War I, distinguishing himself by spotting the Paris Gun which was pounding Paris. After th ...

Jean Mermoz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, Henri Guillaumet and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. After Mermoz and Guillaumet, he was the third pilot to cross the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, eventually doing so more than 150 times. When Guillaumet disappeared in the Andes, Deley was one of the pilots who searched for him before he was eventually rescued. He created and managed the airport at Port-Étienne, then became station chief at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

airport,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. He was transferred to

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

in 1933 following the company's creation, and posted to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, becoming the company's representative for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and Chile. He died and was buried in his home town of Marseillan.

Film

The 1995 IMAX film '' Wings of Courage'' (director: Jean-Jacques Annaud) traced the career of Guillaumet. The part of Pierre Deley was played by

Ken Pogue Kenneth Pogue (July 26, 1934 – December 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor. Career His first motion picture role in 1973 was in ''The Neptune Factor''. He almost drowned in scuba gear. He worked on stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratford Shakespea ...

External links

Biography on the Latécoère site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deley, Pierre 1893 births 1981 deaths People from Marseillan, Hérault French aviators

Film

Further reading

External links