René Couzinet (born 20 July 1904,

Saint-Martin-des-Noyers Saint-Martin-des-Noyers () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Yon has its source in the commune and forms part of its southern border. See also *Communes of the Vendée ...

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

, died 16 December 1956) was a French aeronautics engineer and aircraft manufacturer. The Société des Avions René Couzinet manufactured a range of Couzinet aircraft during the 1920s and 1930s.AeroStories Biographie of René Couzinet. (1904-1956) Glory to forfeiture
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Biography

Couzinet's father was a school teacher, and from a very young age he was fascinated by aviation and observing the flight of swallows. In 1921 he enrolled at the

École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

(ENSAM) (School of Arts and Crafts) at

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(with

Louis Béchereau Louis Béchereau (July 25, 1880 in Plou, Cher – March 18, 1970 in Paris) was a French aeronautical engineer and pioneer of French aviation. Biography After having attended the École nationale professionnelle in Vierzon, Béchereau went to t ...

), where he both graduated and filed several aviation patents. In 1924 he attended the École supérieure de l’aéronautique (Graduate School of Aeronautics). He financed his studies by working in a turbine factory, before joining the French Air Force (''Armée de l'air'') in November 1925, where he became a lieutenant. In 1927, he built the Couzinet 10 ''Arc-en-Ciel'' (''Rainbow'') No 1, a modern shape for its time. It was a three-engined monoplane with thick wings and a tapered body and tailplane, which was characteristic of all ''Arc-en-Ciel''s to follow. Jacques Lacoste, managing director of engine manufacturer

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

, lent him three engines without charge, and additionally he raised a loan of $50,000 US Dollars. The ''Arc-en-Ciels first flight was on 7 May 1928. The aircraft manufacturer

ANF Les Mureaux __NOTOC__ ANF Les Mureaux (full name: Les Ateliers de Construction du Nord de la France et des Mureaux) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded in Les Mureaux in 1918 as Les Ateliers des Mureaux building aircraft under license. Significant produ ...

agreed to take charge of the first prototype, with Couzinet consulting, making observations and studies. The leading French engineer

Albert Caquot Albert Irénée Caquot (1 July 1881 – 28 November 1976) was considered the "best living French engineer" for half of a century. He received the “ Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)” (military honor) and was Grand-croix of the Légion d ...

was also involved with the project. In 1928, he built the Couzinet 27, a four-seater which crashed during trials on August 8, 1928. The mechanic

Lanet Lanet is a commune in the Aude department in south-western France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Ameri ...

was killed immediately, the pilot

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died a few days later, and Manuel Gianoli survived. On 17 February 1930 a fire destroyed the workshops of Émile-Louis Letord at

Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...

, losses these included a twin tri-motor engined Couzinet 20 and a Couzinet 27 ''Arc-en-Ciel II''.Aerostories. René Couzinet - from glory to decline
/ref> Couzinet Arc-en-Ciel

The Couzinet 33 ''Biarritz'', a four-seater passenger plane, made its first flight on 25 November 1931. From March 6 to April 5, 1932, it completed the first air link from France to

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piloted by Charles de Verneilh Puyraseau, Max Dévé second pilot and radio operator, and Emile Munch mechanic. The crew were unharmed by its rough landing at Tontouta Nouméa but it was dismantled and shipped back to France by sea. The ''Biarritz'', repaired and equipped with more powerful engines, went on to perform in

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, including a flight carrying

Pierre Cot Pierre Jules Cot (20 November 1895, in Grenoble – 21 August 1977, Paris), was a French politician and leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s. Born in Grenoble into a conservative Catholic family, he entered politics as a ...

, the French air minister, between

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

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, as well as to make several flights in Africa, including to the

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. Returning from

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, it crashed at

Blaisy-Bas Blaisy-Bas () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 Communes of France, communes of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, ...

in the

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124. The Couzinet 70 ''Arc-en-Ciel III'' made its first flight on 11 February 1932. On 16 January 1933, piloted by

Jean Mermoz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

and accompanied by Couzinet himself, he crossed the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

from Saint-Louis,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, to

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, in less than twelve hours. Their triumphant return to

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 ...

on 21 May 1933 was greeted by 15,000 people, and the aircraft was then operated by

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

until 1937. All the aircraft retained the same three-engined layout but were never fully accepted by the officials of the French aeronautics industry. In 1933, separated from

, Couzinet was on the verge of bankruptcy so the research agency was integrated with the Breguet Aviation (Société anonyme des ateliers d’aviation Louis Breguet) in Villacoublay. In 1952 he released photographs of a model for his

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

, the Couzinet RC-360. A

vertical takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...

aircraft (VTOL) that used two contra-rotating discs powered by three engines. A second model was designed with six Lycoming engines (180 hp each) and one

Marcel Dassault Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Ferdinand Bloch; 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in aircraft manufacturing. Early life and education Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, he was the young ...

Viper

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

.René Couzinet's RC-360 -L'Aérodyne (1952) - ''Flying saucer''
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Family

In 1936, he married Gilberte (née Chazottes) the widow of aviator

Death and commemoration

During

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 ...

he emigrated to

and was responsible for the technical direction of their national aviation policy. On return to France he found most consultancy opportunities were closed to him, and his many futuristic projects, hydrofoil and vertical take-off aircraft, did not progress beyond concepts and models. In despair, on 16 December 1956 he killed both himself and his wife Gilberte. He is buried in the cemetery of

Bagneux Bagneux may refer to: Communes in France *Bagneux, Aisne * Bagneux, Allier *Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine * Bagneux, Indre * Bagneux, Marne * Bagneux, Meurthe-et-Moselle * Bagneux-la-Fosse, Aube Other * Bagneux British Cemetery, département of the Somm ...

, Paris. The '' '' at

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Napo ...

is named ''Aérodrome René-Couzinet''. The Collège René Couzinet at

Chantonnay Chantonnay () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Lay flows southwestward through the commune and forms part of its eastern and southern borders. Climate Chantonnay ha ...

is named in his honour.

References

Bibliography

*Jean Mermoz, My Flights, Flammarion, 1937, pp. 108–109 *Emmanuel Caloyanni, René Couzinet Lindbergh At Mermoz, Gesture Publishing, 2001, *Alexander Couzinet Mermoz-Couzinet or shattered dream of Aéropostale, Atlantica editions, Biarritz, 2000, *↑ Emmanuel Chadeau, The aviation industry in France 1900–1950, Blériot Dassault, Paris, Fayard, 1987

External links

René Couzinet's RC-360 -L'Aérodyne (1952)Biographie de René CouzinetHistoire des 'arcs en ciel' pdf 1 sur 2 sur hydroretro.netHistoire des 'arcs en ciel' pdf 2 sur 2 sur hydroretro.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couzinet, Rene 1904 births 1956 deaths People from Vendée People from La Roche-sur-Yon Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Aviation pioneers French aviators French aerospace engineers Aviation history of France Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni