Passion

Book. “Breguet, a century of aviation”

A work retracing the epic saga of a major player in aviation, in existence since before the First World War, and whose aircraft contributed to shaping the French Air Force.

A work retracing the epic saga of a major player in aviation, in existence since before the First World War, and whose aircraft contributed to shaping the French Air Force.

A book that sheds light on an important part of France’s history. That is how we could view this work, which tells the unabridged version of the story, with all its discoveries, inventions, innovations, and joint efforts. Breguet, is in some ways the story of Louis, its founder, who worked to launch a business activity that was still in its early stages at the start of the 20th Century – aviation. We begin in 1909, the year in which the inventor, who was born in 1880, introduced his first aircraft: the Breguet Type 1. Many others would follow, including the Breguet XIV, with 6,000 models produced, and which was instrumental to the French victory in 1918, in addition to helping airmail service get off the ground.

The 1920s were the years when aviation really took off, and Breguet became an indispensable player in the industry, notably building factories in Le Havre and Nantes. Then came the 1930s, bringing with it the advent of the Front Populaire and therefore the nationalization of all major players in French aviation – including the Société d’études aéronautiques (SEA), the predecessor of Dassault Aviation, and Breguet. Shortly before the Second World War, Breguet bought out Latécoère, and produced a bomber (the BR.693), though this was not enough to stave off defeat against Nazi Germany.

The war ended and Breguet resumed its business activities, notably with the Breguet 763, which was later used by Air France to connect France and North Africa. But financial concerns began to surface, especially after the death of Louis in 1955, though this did not stop the company from taking part in the Jaguar and Alpha Jet programs, among others. However, the end came in 1969, when the company was bought out by Marcel Dassault, whose company would soon be called: “Avions Marcel Dassault – Breguet Aviation”. From one legend to another…

Book. “Breguet, un siècle d’aviation.” Author: Emmanuel Breguet. Publisher: Privat. ISBN: 2708992325.