The Reims Military Aviation Competition (French: ''Concours militaire d'aviation'') was a military aviation competition held in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

in October 1911 that was organized by the French Army, with the purpose of trialling the performance of new aircraft for potential use by the French military. Although a number of aeronautical records were beaten during the competition, there were also a number of crashes and fatalities. It began on Friday October 6, 1911.

Background

Aircraft manufacturers that exhibited at ''Le Grand Concours d'Aviation Militaire'' at

in October 1911 hoped to attract orders from the French military. Organized by the French Army, this competition required that the aircraft and engines be fully built in France, and be able to fly without stop on a closed circuit of 300 km with a 300 kg load (not including oil, water and fuel) at a speed of more than 60 km/h. Additionally, they were to be 3-seaters, and be able to take-off and land from unprepared surfaces. The first prize was 700,000 francs plus additional sums for increases in speed over 60 km/h, as well as a commitment by the military to purchase 10 aircraft. The competition attracted the major French aircraft manufacturers of the time, including Blériot, Breguet, Deperdussin,

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 ...

Hanriot Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie. or simply 'Hanriot' was a French aircraft manufacturer with roots going back to the beginning of aviation. Founded by René Hanriot in 1910 as ''The Monoplans Hanriot Company Ltd.'', the company survived in differ ...

, R.E.P. and

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 ...

Results

At the conclusion of the Reims military competition of November 1911, results were declared as follows: #

Charles Weymann Charles Terres Weymann (2 August 1889 – 1976) was a Haitian-born early aeroplane racing pilot and businessman. During World War I he flew for Nieuport as a test pilot and was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Early years ...

with a

Nieuport IV The Nieuport IV was a France, French-built sporting, Trainer (aircraft), training and Surveillance aircraft, reconnaissance monoplane of the early 1910s. Design and development Societe Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport was formed in 1909 by ...

G monoplane powered by a 14 cylinder Gnome engine of 100hp. It covered the 300 km course in 2h33min at a mean speed of 117 km/h. #

René Moineau René Moineau (August 11, 1887 – October 5, 1948) was one of the French pioneers of aviation and an inventor in various branches of aeronautics and fluid mechanics. A pilot and engineer at Bréguet, he designed his own plane, the Salmson-Moinea ...

with a Breguet G 3 biplane powered by a 14 cylinder Gnome engine of 140 hp, 3h09, averaging 95 km/h. #

Maurice Prévost Lucien Maurice Prévost, known as Maurice Prévost, (22 September 1887 in Reims – 27 November 1952) in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French pioneer aviator, best remembered for winning the first Schneider Trophy race in 1913, and the Gordon Benne ...

with a Deperdussin Type B "Sport", powered by a Gnome 100hp engine. Prévost achieved an average speed of 89 km/h.

Background

Results

References

Further reading