Joseph Le Brix
Joseph Le Brix | |
|---|---|
 Left to right: René Mesmin (1897-1931), Joseph Le Brix (1899-1931), and Marcel Doret (1896-1955) standing in front of theDewoitine D.33Trait d'Union IIin 1931. | |
| Born | 22 February 1899 Baden,Morbihan,France |
| Died | 12 September 1931(aged 32) Ufa,Soviet Union |
| Buried | Baden, Morbihan, France |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/ | French Navy |
| Years of service | ?- 1931 |
| Rank | Capitain de corvette |
| Battles/wars | Rif War |
| Awards | Croix de Guerre(France) Legion of Honor(France) Distinguished Flying Cross(United States) |
Joseph Le Brix(22 February 1899 - 12 September 1931) was a French aviator and acapitaine de corvette(lieutenant commander) in theFrench Navy.He is best known for an around-the-world flight he made as copilot and navigator in 1927-1928 which included history's first flight across theSouth Atlantic Ocean,and for record-setting nonstop long-distance flights he made or attempted between 1929 and 1931.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Le Brix was born on 22 February 1899 inBaden,Morbihan,in theBrittanyregion of northwesternFrance.[1]
Early career[edit]
Le Brix enrolled in the French naval academy, theÉcole Navale,inBreston 2 April 1918 and completed his basicseamanshiptraining aboard the academy'straining ship,theFrench Navyarmored cruiserJeanne d'Arc.After graduating from the academy, he served aboard the armored cruiserJules Michelet.He then began training as anaval aviatorin 1924, and qualified as anaerial observerandnavigatorin September 1924. Promoted tolieutenant de vaisseau( "ship-of-the-line lieutenant" ), he received hispilot's licensein March 1925.[1]
By August 1925, Le Brix was serving inFrench Naval Aviation'sEscadrille(Squadron) 5.B.2 and taking part in theRif War,flying missions overSpanish Moroccoin aFarman F.60 Goliath.He flew geographic survey missions over theSahara Desertin southernFrench Moroccountil 1927, pioneering the use of maritime navigation techniques not yet in wide use aboard aircraft. For his service, he was awarded theCroix de Guerreand theLegion of Honor.[1]
Flight around the world[edit]
By October 1927, Le Brix was acapitain de corvette( "corvette captain," the equivalent of alieutenant commander). On 10 October, he and the French aviatorDieudonné CostesleftParisin theBreguet 19 G.R.Nungesser-Colito attempt a trip around the world, with Costes as pilot and Le Brix as copilot and navigator. Their first leg was a flight toSaint Louis,Senegal,where they landed on 11 October. The second leg was the world's first nonstop aerial crossing of theSouth Atlantic Ocean,flying from Saint-Louis toPort Natal,Brazil,on 14–15 October. The two men then visited every country inSouth Americabefore flying north acrossPanamaandMexicoto theUnited States,reachingWashington, D.C.,on 6 February 1928. By this time, their friendship had broken down, to the point that they almost had a fistfight during a reception hosted by the French ambassador in Washington.[1]
Despite their growing dislike for one another, the two men pushed on, flying across the United States toSan Francisco,California.There they boarded a ship to cross thePacific Oceanby sea. Arriving inTokyo,Japan,they resumed their flight, stopping inFrench Indochina,India,French Syria,andGreecebefore completing their trip with an arrival before an enthusiastic crowd atParis–Le Bourget Airportin Paris on 14 April 1928. The trip had covered 57,410 kilometers (35,652 miles) by air in 338 flight hours over 187 days with 43 stops. Le Brix's relationship with Costes was ruined, however; upon arrival at Paris–Le Bourget, Le Brix supposedly said sharply, "Finally I am no longer the servant of Costes."[1][2]
The round-the-world flight made Le Brix one of France's most famous aviators. Le Brix and Costes were both awarded theDistinguished Flying Crossby a special act of theCongress of the United Stateson 2 May 1928 in recognition of their achievement.[3]
After completing the around-the-world trip, Le Brix became an instructor at the flight school of theÉcole Navalein Brest, training pilots for both French Naval Aviation and theFrench Army's air service, theAéronautique Militaire.[1]
France-Saigon flight attempts[edit]
Now rivals, Le Brix and Costes planned to set out in early 1929 in separate attempts to become the first pilot to fly from Paris toSaigoninFrench Indochinain fewer than five stages. Le Brix secretly set out first, taking off in February in theBernard 197GRfromIstres,France, with his copilotAntoine Paillardand mechanic Camille Jousse. They had already reachedTunisinFrench Tunisiawhen Costes learned of their departure and angrily decided to take off in his own aircraft even though its engine was not yet ready for the flight; the engine failed soon after Costes took off and he crashed into a forest near Paris, although he survived. Meanwhile, Le Brix, Paillard, and Jousse flew 11,220 kilometers (6,968 miles) toBurmabefore having to crash-land in tidal waters 30 miles south ofMoulmeinon 26 February 1929, wrecking the Bernard 197GR and Jousse breaking a leg.[4]: 115 [1]
Le Brix made a second attempt to fly from France to Saigon in December 1929. Taking off in aPotez 34on 16 December withMaurice Rossias copilot, he again got as far as Burma, flying 10,500 kilometers (6,521 miles) in 72 hours of flight time before the two men had to bail out over therain foreston 22 December 1929 after encountering severe weather.[1]
Closed-circuit records[edit]
In June 1931, Le Brix,Dewoitinechief pilotMarcel Doret,and mechanic René Mesmin broke the record for the longest flight over a closed circuit, flying theDewoitine D.33Trait d'Union,funded by the French billionaireFrançois Coty.In a 70-hour nonstop flight from Istres that lasted from 7 to 10 June, they flew 10,372 kilometers (6,441 miles). They also set eight other closed-circuit records, including for flight duration and speed.[1]
Paris-Tokyo flight attempts and death[edit]
Le Brix, Doret, and Mesmin decided to follow up their success by usingTrait d'Unionto attempt the first non-stop flight between Paris andTokyo.Taking off from Paris–Le Bourget Airport on 12 July 1931, they had made it to the vicinity ofLake BaikalinSiberiawhen the aircraft's engine iced up. Le Brix and Mesminparachutedto safety, and Doret crash-landed the plane into the treetops of a Siberian forest. All three men survived unharmed.[1]
Undaunted, the men decided to make a second attempt, departing Paris–Le Bourget Airport on 11 September 1931 in a second Dewoitine D.33 namedTrait d'Union II,hoping to beat their competitors,Paul CodosandHenri Robida,who took off the same day in theBreguet 19 TF Super BidonPoint d'Interrogationalso intending to fly nonstop to Tokyo; Codos and Robida, however, were forced to land atDüsseldorf,Germany,after only a few hours. Flying on, Le Brix, Doret, and Mesmin were overUfain theSoviet Unionon 12 September when the aircraft's engine failed and they decided to bail out. Doret jumped first, parachuting to safety. Mesmin apparently had trouble with his parachute and could not follow, so Le Brix stayed with the airplane rather than leave Mesmin alone on board. The D.33 crashed and caught fire, killing both Le Brix and Mesmin.[1]
France honored Le Brix with a state funeral atNotre Dame Cathedralin Paris on 25 September 1931. He was buried in his native Baden.
The crash ofTrait d'Union IIand death of Le Brix prompted theFrench governmentto refuse clearance to any French aviator who wished to attempt to set a nonstop long-distance record with a flight that took him or her beyond the borders ofMetropolitan France.Until it lifted the ban in 1933, French aviators were forced to attempt to set such records only on closed-circuit courses within Metropolitan France.
Commemoration[edit]
In January 1932, the French aviatorsLucien Bossoutrotand Maurice Rossi named theBlériot 110they used to set several nonstop flight distance recordsJoseph Le Brixin Le Brix's honor.[1]Rennes–Saint-Jacques Airportalso was named for him, as was a school in Baden,[1]and a bridge in the town ofBonois named Pont Joseph Le Brix. Streets in Baden,Nantes,Lorient,Bourges,Toulouse,Tours,Marseille,Vannes,Pontivy,andSaint-Avé,among others, bear his name, as does a plaza inLangueux.
The Passions and Wings museum in Baden is dedicated to Le Brix and his biography, and a memorial plaque in his honor is mounted on the façade ofCollège Jules Simonin Vannes, where he was a student.[1]
The French NavyfrigateLe Brix(F715),which served as aweather shipwhile in commission from 1948 to 1958, was named in Le Brix's honor.
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- Donald, David, ed.The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.ISBN0-7607-0592-5.
