Wassmer was a French specialized woodworking company formed by Bernard Wassmer in 1905. It later became an aircraft manufacturer specializing in gliders. It was bought out by

Issoire Aviation Issoire Aviation, established in Issoire, France, 30 km (19 mi) from Clermont-Ferrand, is an aircraft manufacturer founded in 1978 to take on the work of Wassmer Aviation. It was rebuilt by Philippe Moniot in 1995 and is today a subsid ...

, a subsidiary of Siren, in 1978.

Aircraft production

The company entered into aircraft production in 1955 when it produced under licence a batch of Jodel D.112 two-seater aircraft at its factory at Issoire. The company also produced the single-seat WA-20 and two-seat WA-30 gliders. In 1959 the company produced the WA-40 Super IV a four-seat touring aircraft. In 1972 in co-operation with Siren they formed a joint company Consortium Europeén de Réalisation et de Ventes d'Avions (CERVA) to build a metal variant of the WA4/21, itself a variant of the WA-40. The components for the

Cerva CE.43 Guépard The Cerva CE.43 Guépard is a 1970s French four/five seat cabin monoplane produced by Cerva. Design and development The Cerva CE.43 Guépard (English: Cheetah) is an all-metal version of the Wassmer WA.4/21. The WA.4/21 prototype first flew in M ...

were manufactured by Siren at Argenton-sur-Creuse and final assembly, equipment fitting and flight testing was carried out by Wassmer at Issoire. The company also co-operated with the CE-75 sailplane. In a move-away from the traditional woodworking heritage of the company it soon developed the ability to produce plastic or composite construction which led to the WA-50 series of four-seat aircraft. The company's last aircraft design was the WA-80 Piranha a two-seat trainer which was a scaled-down version of the WA-50. With both the WA-80 and different variants of the WA-50 in production the company had working capital problems. A receiver was appointed in 1977, and production was stopped. On 1 February 1978 Issoire Aviation, a company set up by Siren, bought the assets of Wassmer and used the former Issoire factory to build gliders and to continue to support Wassmer products.

Wassmer aircraft

* Jodel D.112 & D.120 (license-production) *

Wassmer WA-20 The Wassmer WA 20 Javelot ( en, Javelin) and its very similar successors the WA 21 Javelot II and WA 22 Super Javelot are single seat gliders built in France in the 1950s and 1960s. Well over a hundred were sold as club aircraft and over fifty ...

Javelot *

Wassmer WA-26 Squale The Wassmer WA 26 Squale ( en, Shark) is a single seat, 15 m (49 ft 3 in) span competition glider, designed and produced in France in the late 1960s. It has wooden wings and a glass fibre fuselage. The Wassmer WA 28 Esp ...

Wassmer WA-28 The Wassmer WA 26 Squale ( en, Shark) is a single seat, 15 m (49 ft 3 in) span competition glider, designed and produced in France in the late 1960s. It has wooden wings and a glass fibre fuselage. The Wassmer WA 28 Espa ...

Espadon *

Wassmer WA-30 The Wassmer WA-30 Bijave is a French two-seat advanced training glider designed and built by Wassmer Aviation of Issoire. Design and development The WA-30 Bijave is two-seat development of the Wassmer WA-21 Javelot II and the first Bijave flew ...

Bijave *

Wassmer WA-40 The Wassmer WA-40 Super 4 Sancy is a French single-engined light aircraft of the 1960s and 70s. A single-engined low-winged monoplane with retractable nosewheel undercarriage, variants include the more powerful WA 4/21 Prestige and the WA-41 Balado ...

Super IV/Baladou/Prestige *

Wassmer WA-50 The Wassmer WA-51 Pacific is a French four-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Société Wassmer. Different-powered variants include the Wassmer WA-52 Europa and the Wassmer WA-54 Atlantic. It was the world's first composite material-bui ...

Pacific/Europa/Atlantic *

Wassmer WA-80 The Wassmer WA-80 Piranha is a French two-seat low-wing cabin monoplane trainer designed and built by Société Wassmer. Based on the same construction as the company's WA-50 four-seater, the WA-80 was a scaled down version. The prototype, regi ...

Piranha

Cerva aircraft

* Cerva CE.44 Cougar * Cerva CE.45 Léopard * Cerva CE.75 Silene

References

* * {{Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France