Yvonne Jourjon (13 September 1899 - 4 September 1985) was a pioneering French pilot and flight instructor. She was the first woman flight instructor in France.
Early life
Yvonne Albine Jourjon was born in
Besançon on 13 September 1889.
In 1924, she obtained her parachuting licence and, in 1932, joined the Union des pilotes civils de France. The following year, she passed her aeroplane pilot's licence.
Flying career
Jourjon initially learned parachuting, and received her parachuting certificate in 1924. In 1932, she joined the Union of Civil Pilots of France and in the following year earned her pilot licence.
On 24 September 1934, she flew with
Madeleine Charnaux
Madeleine Charnaux by Bourdelle
Madeleine Charnaux (18 January 1902 – 10 October 1943) was a French war correspondent, sculptor, designer and aviator. She was the first woman in the Roland Garros pilots’ club.
Biography
Madeleine Charnaux ...
, who was attempting to break a women's altitude record flying a
Miles Hawk with a 105 hp
De Havilland Gipsy III
The de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled four-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland DH.60 Moth light biplane. Initially developed as an upright 5 litre (300 ...
engine. They succeeded, reaching 4,990 meters (16,371 feet) but the record only stood until 22 November when Marthe de Lacombe reached 5,632 metres in a
Morane-Saulnier 341. In 1935, she won the Douze heures d'Angers with Marthe de Lacombe.
In 1936, she qualified as a flying instructor at the Aéro-club d'Ile-de-France.
In 1937, she beat the women's altitude record for light aircraft in a
Farman Mosquito.
In 1945, she became second lieutenant in the air force on the base of Châteauroux, then on that of
Kasba Tadla
Kasba Tadla ( ar, قصبة تادلة, Qaṣba Tadla; Berber: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ) is a town in Béni-Mellal Province, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco. According to the 2004 census it has a population of 200
,898. The highest temperature ev ...
in Morocco.
At the end of
World War II
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 opposin ...
Jourjon was chosen by
Charles Tillon
Charles Joseph Tillon (3 July 1897 – 13 January 1993) was a French metal worker, Communist, trade union leader, politician and leader of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45).
Tillon was born into a working-class family and trai ...
, a French government minister, to form a corps of female military pilots in the French army.
["Women pilots who contributed to the glory of French aviation: Maryse Bastie, 3,000 flight hours; Maryse Hilz, who holds the altitude record of Villacoublay; Yvonne Jourjon, first woman air instructor;" da "Free France, Volume 8" del 1945, p. 92]
In 1970, Jourjon was recognised by the
International Aeronautical Federation
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
for her contribution to the aviation industry.
Yvonne Jourjon died on 4 September 1985 in
Ivry-sur-Seine.
Commemoration
In 2010, the town of
Avrillé, Vendée named a street after Jourjon.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jourjon, Yvonne
1899 births
1985 deaths
French aviation pioneers
Flight instructors
French women aviators
French aviation record holders
French women aviation record holders
20th-century French women
People from Ivry-sur-Seine
People from Besançon