Émile Louis Letord, sometimes spelled ''Letort'', (1880–1971) was a French industrialist and pioneer aeroplane manufacturer who founded the Société d'Aviation Letord from the ''Letord and Niepce'' workshops at

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

, near Paris. In 1909 Letord and Niepce built their first aircraft, a monoplane, at their workshops on rue de Paira at

. In 1910 they were commissioned to build a

Farman Farman Aviation Works () was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rational ...

type biplane by Colonel Dorand, director of the Service technique de l'aéronautique (STAé) at

Chalais-Meudon Chalais-Meudon is an aeronautical research and development centre in Meudon, to the south-west of Paris. It was originally founded in 1793 in the nearby Château de Meudon and has played an important role in the development of French aviation. ...

. Letord went on to build the Dorand AR.1 and 2 and the three-seater armed reconnaissance Letord 1. Letord also undertook sub-contract work for major aircraft manufacturers such as

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

. Some 1,500 aircraft were ordered by the

Aéronautique Militaire The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

between all the variants, with something like 300 actually produced before the end of the war. On 17 February 1930 a fire destroyed the workshops and aircraft at Meudon, these included a twin tri-motor engined Couzinet 20 and a

Couzinet 27 Couzinet may refer to: People * Émile Couzinet (1896-1964), French film director * René Couzinet (1904-1956), founder of French aerospace manufacturer * Maurice Couzinet, actor * David Couzinet, rugby union player Industry * Société des Av ...

''Arc-en-ciel II''.Aerostories. René Couzinet - from glory to decline
/ref> Letord is associated with around 40 patent applications for improvements to aircraft design between 1919 and 1953, and some patents on other topics. Some of the applications are shared with Marcel Letort, Camille Letort and

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 ...

.Letord's patents
listed by Google Patents

References

Bibliography

* La Conquete de L'Air. Un Pionier Inconnu : Emile -Louis Letord, l'Avionneur de Meudon, By Albert Henri, 1982. ''(The Conquest of the Air. An unknown pioneer : Emile-Louis Letord, the Aviator of Meudon.)''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letord, Emile Louis 1880 births 1971 deaths Businesspeople from Paris French aviation pioneers Aviators from Paris French aerospace engineers Aviation history of France