Raymonde de Laroche (22 August 1882 – 18 July 1919) was a French pilot, thought to be the first woman to pilot a plane. She became the world's first licensed female pilot on 8 March 1910.
She received the 36th
aeroplane pilot's licence issued by the Aeroclub de France, the world's first organization to issue pilot licences. At the time, pilot licences were only required for pilots operating aircraft for commercial purposes.
Early life
Born on 22 August 1882 in
Paris, France
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 ...
, as Elise Raymonde Deroche, Raymonde De Laroche was the daughter of a plumber. She had a fondness for sports as a child, as well as for motorcycles and automobiles when she was older. As a young woman she became an actress and used the stage name "Raymonde de Laroche". She was inspired by
Wilbur Wright's 1908 demonstrations of powered flight in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and was personally acquainted with several aviators, including artist-turned-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 ...
, who was reputed to be the father of her son André. Due to all of these inspirations De Laroche was determined to take up flying for herself.
Achievements in aviation
In October 1909, de Laroche appealed to her friend, aviator and aeroplane builder
Charles Voisin
Charles Voisin (12 July 1882 in Lyon – 26 September 1912 in Belleville-sur-Saône) was an early aviation pioneer from France. He was the younger brother of Gabriel Voisin, also an aviation pioneer.
Biography
Charles joined his brother in ...
to instruct her in how to fly. On 22 October 1909, de Laroche went to the Voisin brothers' base of operations at Chalons, east of Paris. Voisin's aircraft could seat only one person, so she operated the plane by herself while he stood on the ground and gave instructions. After she mastered taxiing around the airfield, she lifted off and flew .
De Laroche's flight is often cited as the first by a woman in a powered heavier-than-air craft; there is evidence that two other women, P. Van Pottelsberghe and
Thérèse Peltier
Thérèse Peltier (1873 – 1926), born Thérèse Juliette Cochet, was a French sculptor and early aviation pioneer. Popularly believed to have been the first ever female passenger in an airplane, she may also have been the first woman to pil ...
, had flown the previous year with
Henri Farman
Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
and Delagrange respectively as passengers but not as pilots.
[Early Aviators – Peltier Biography]
/ref>
Decades later, aviation journalist Harry Harper wrote that until de Laroche made her celebrated flight on the Voisin, she had only flown once, for a short hop, as a passenger; when she first took the controls, Charles Voisin expressly forbade her to attempt a flight; and after taxiing twice across the airfield, she took off, flying "ten or fifteen feet high" and handling the controls with "cool, quick precision".
Although Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made ...
wrote, "... my brother asentirely under her thumb", the story of de Laroche as a headstrong woman making the flight after scant preparation and against Voisin's orders almost certainly romanticises what took place. ''Flight'' magazine, a week after the flight, reported: "For some time the Baroness has been taking lessons from M. Chateau, the Voisin instructor, at Chalons, and on Friday of last week she was able to take the wheel for the first time. This initial voyage into the air was only a very short one, and ''terra firma'' was regained after ."[''Flight'', page 695, 30 October 1909.]
/ref> ''Flight'' was also responsible for bestowing the title "Baroness" upon de Laroche, as she was not of noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Great B ...
birth. ''Flight'' added that on the following day she circled the flying field twice, "the turnings being made with consummate ease. During this flight of about four miles (6 km) there was a strong gusty wind blowing, but after the first two turnings the Baroness said that it did not bother her, as she had the machine completely under control."[
On 8 March 1910,] de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot licence when the Aero-Club of France issued her licence #36 of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
'' (International Aeronautics Federation or F.A.I.).
De Laroche participated in aviation meetings at Heliopolis in Egypt as well as Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
. During the show in St. Petersburg, she was personally congratulated by Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
. There, she was presented once again as "Baroness" de Laroche. Thereafter, the title became commonly used.
In July 1910, de Laroche was participating in the week-long airshow at Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
in France. On 8 July, her aeroplane crashed, and she suffered such severe injuries that her recovery was in doubt, but two years later, she was fit again and had returned to flying. On 26 September 1912, she and Charles Voisin were involved in an automobile crash. Voisin was killed, and she was severely injured.[Early Aviators – Charles Voisin Biography]
/ref>
On 25 November 1913 de Laroche won the Aero-Club of France's Femina Cup
The Femina Cup or ''Coupe Femina'' was an award of 2000 francs established in 1910 by Pierre Lafitte, the publisher of French women's magazine ''Femina'', to honour women pilots. This French challenge was opened to women aviators only.
About ...
for a non-stop long-distance flight of over 4 hours duration.
During World War I, as flying was considered too dangerous for women, she served as a military driver, chauffeuring officers from the rear zones to the front under fire.
In June 1919 de Laroche set two women's altitude records,[University of Houson, "Engines of our Ingenuity, No. 1813: Raymonde de Laroche", undated article by John H. Lienhard]
retrieved on 27 March 2008. one at ; and also the women's distance record, at .
Death and legacy
On 18 July 1919, de Laroche, who was a talented engineer, went to the airfield at Le Crotoy
Le Crotoy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Crotellois''.
History
Isabella of France, queen consort of England, and her son (later Edward III of England) embarked fro ...
as part of her plan to become the first female test pilot. She co-piloted an experimental aircraft (whether she flew this is not known); on its landing approach the aeroplane went into a dive and crashed, killing both de Laroche and the co-pilot.
There is a statue of de Laroche at Paris–Le Bourget Airport
Paris–Le Bourget Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) is an airport located within portions of the communes of Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, Dugny and Gonesse, north-northeast of Paris, France.
Once Paris's principal ...
in France.
From 6 to 12 March 2010, to celebrate the Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots, women pilots from eight countries on three continents used 20 types of aircraft to establish a new world record: 310 girls and women introduced to piloting by women pilots in one week.
Women of Aviation Worldwide Week
Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week is a global aviation awareness week for girls of all ages observed to mark the anniversary of the world’s first female pilot licence (March 8, 1910). The week is a call to address gender imbalance in the air and ...
is held annually during the week that includes 8 March, which marks the anniversary of Raymonde de Laroche's pilot licence.
References
External links
Early Aviators – De Laroche Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laroche, Raymonde de
1882 births
1919 deaths
Aviation pioneers
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France
Aviators from Paris
French baronesses
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
French aviation record holders
French women aviation record holders
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1919