Avions Amiot was a former French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed in 1916 by

Félix Amiot Félix Amiot (October 17, 1894 – December 21, 1974) was a French industrialist and aircraft constructor based in Colombes, France. Some of the aircraft models he designed served in the French Air Force during the Second World War. His second i ...

as the Society of Mechanical Drawing and Construction (SECM).

History

Félix Amiot's first aircraft was built in a Paris garage in 1913, but it was not until 1916, during the

First World War 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 ...

, that he became seriously involved in construction. The

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

granted a contract to SECM (french: Société d’emboutissage et de constructions mécaniques), owned by the Wertheimer brothers, Paul and Pierre, together with Félix Amiot. SECM and Amiot functioned as sub-contractors and assemblers only, and did not produce their own designs. After the war, SECM and Amiot constructed light aircraft. In 1929 the company made a large sum of money selling its interest in the

Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (known as ''De Dietri ...

engine company to the government. In 1934, controversially, the Lorraine company, then known as SGA, was sold to Amiot-SECM and Marcel Bloch for a fraction of the price the government had paid five years earlier. As well as SGA, and the original SECM-Amiot works at

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris. The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...

, Amiot controlled the CAN (french: Chantiers aéronautiques de Normandie) at

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. In the early phases of rearmament, Amiot scored a considerable success with the

Amiot 143 The Amiot 143 (sometimes written as 143M or 143 M.5) was a late 1930s French 5-seat ''Multiplace de Combat'' (M.5) designed to meet 1928 specifications for a monoplane capable of day and night bombing, long-range reconnaissance and bomber escor ...

, widely considered one of the ugliest aircraft, along with its contemporary the Potez 542, to have flown. As the pace of rearmament increased in the late 1930s, Amiot scored another success, this time with the elegant

Amiot 354 The Amiot 354 was the last in a series of fast, twin-engine bombers which fought with the French Air Force in limited numbers during the Battle of France. Development The Amiot 350 series originated in the same 1934 requirement as a rival to th ...

bomber. With the fall of Paris in June 1940, Amiot and 3000 of his workers headed south, to the unoccupied zone, where he established a new factory at

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. During the war, Amiot co-operated with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupiers to protect his interests, and those of the exiled Wertheimers, then working in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Amiot became a subcontractor for the

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

company, building 370 aircraft. Licence production of the

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

trimotor continued after the war under the designation Amiot AAC.1 Toucan. Over 400 units were built for the French military and for airline use in France and its overseas territories.Lemesle, 1995

Aircraft

Amiot 110 The Amiot 110, also known as the Amiot-SECM 110, was a French prototype interceptor designed and built in 1929. Development The Amiot 110 was designed as a contender in the so-called "Jockey" lightweight interceptor contest, competing against ni ...

- 1928 * Amiot 110-S (Seaplane) - 1931 * Amiot 120 Series - 1925 * Amiot 140/150 Series - 1931 * Amiot 340/350 Series - 1940 * Amiot AAC.1 Toucan - (Junkers Ju 52)

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Lemesle, André;''Du pionnier de l’aviation au père des vedettes de Cherbourg ou la passionnante aventure industrielle de Félix Amiot (1894-1974),'' Mémoire de la société nationale académique de Cherbourg, vol. 31, 1995. *Patard, Frédéric; ''L’aventure Amiot-CMN, des hommes, le ciel et la mer,'' Éditions des Champs, 1998 {{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France History of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1916 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945 French companies established in 1916 1945 disestablishments in France