Pierre-Georges Latécoère (; 1883–1943) was a pioneer of aeronautics. Born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, he studied in the

École Centrale Paris École Centrale Paris (ECP; also known as École Centrale or Centrale) was a French grande école in engineering and science. It was also known by its official name ''École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures''. In 2015, École Centrale Paris mer ...

and, 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 ...

, started a business in aeronautics. He directed plants that made planes and opened the first

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

s that operated from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. Pierre-Georges Latécoère was the founder of the aeronautical industry in Toulouse. As the son of the owner of a sawmill in Bagnères-de-Bigorre in the Pyrenees, he took an early interest in technology. In 1903, after an outstanding secondary school career he began his degree at the Parisian Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures. On returning to the Pyrenees he modernized his father's firm, specializing in the manufacture of railway wagons. Thus, during the First World War, the profits from government contracts allowed him to set up a large, modern factory in the Toulouse suburb of Montaudran. Before doing so, he had also produced a rush order of 600 Salmson aircraft, which the army urgently needed. Having become an aeronautical enthusiast, he decided to create the company Société des lignes Latécoère (later known as Aéropostale), carrying mail from France to Morocco, Senegal and South America - the first aircraft being flown by such well-known pilots as Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. Finally, he started manufacturing aircraft in his own name, and notably the great seaplanes such as the

Latécoère 631 The Latécoère 631 was a civil transatlantic flying boat built by Latécoère, the largest ever built up to its time. The type was not a success, being unreliable and uneconomic to operate. Five of the eleven aircraft built were written off in ...

. The Latécoère company still exists in 2014.

References

Reference:

Jean-Marc Olivier Jean-Marc Olivier is a French historian born in 1961 in the town of Champagnole ( Jura). Biography and career Olivier received the French agrégation in history and is a professor of contemporary history at the University of Toulouse. He was ...

, "Latécoère, un industriel visionnaire", in ''Midi-Pyrénées patrimoine'', hors-série n° 2, "Toulouse des avions et des hommes", November 2010, pp. 14–25. {{DEFAULTSORT:Latecoere, Pierre-Georges 1883 births École Centrale Paris alumni 1943 deaths Aviation in France