LÉON MORANE 1885-1918 BIOGRAPHY

LÉON MORANE c.1913 Courtesy of Russell Naughton THE PIONEERS

Frenchman Claims World's Aviation Record - Havre, Aug. 29, 1910 Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: August 29, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 9-4-03.      "In a flight in a monoplane here today, Leon Morane, a Frenchman, ascended to a height of 6,692 feet. At first it was claimed he went up 6,889 feet but on a revision of the figures the judges found that he had reached only 6,692 feet. They claim, however, that this constitutes a world's record as the flight of J. Armstrong Drexel, the American aviator, of 6,752 feet they assert has never been officially ratified. Mr. Drexel's flight was made at Lanark, Scotland, August 12. He used a Bleriot monoplane. The contention of the judges that Morane's flight of 6,692 feet constitutes a world's record is not borne out by the certificate issued August 20 by Kew observatory, which after testing the barograph carried by Mr. Drexel in his Lanark flight, gave him a record of 6, 752 feet." Bob Davis

 

LÉON MORANE Libray of Congress Collection

GERMANY - CAPTURED FRENCH PLANE - SPORT TYPE Libray of Congress Collection

 

Meeting d'Aviation de la Bale de Seine via email from Philippe Schmitz, 12-20-04 Hello,      Beween Aug 25 and Sep 6, 1910, in Trouville (France, Channel coast, were my father's family used to spend their holidays), an aeronautic meeting took place. On that occasion, a serie of old postcards was printed (some of those are currently on sale on ebay.com). I have one of these items, sent to my aunt which represents Léon Morane, standing with a suit and hat. A small poem is also printed on the lower part of the card. I could scan it and send it for you if you wish. Regards Ph Schmitz

 

Meeting d'Aviation de la Bale de Seine TROUVILLE - LE HAVRE du 25 Août au 6 Septembre 1910

2 - L'Aviateur Léon MORANE      Pilote du mônoplan Blériot

SONNET                In the airs, Morane by spreading his wings of the most perfect curves makes a marvelous drawing. Made himself tipsy by the infinity, under the blazing light, he wants of the blue sky conquer the tiny parts. Sharing the atmosphere with the swallows, He slips in the azure as fast as they can go, He get sometimes so high that we all say farewell, So close of the Lord it seems he wants to dwell What a warm welcome he gets on our poor planet when he lands, victorious hero coming from the celest ! Winged knight all over nimbused with glory. While the crowd's rumour comes to him so loudly he distinctly can ear a sort of melody As if playing an immense lyre one was singing the intense pleasure He magisterially got from the skies. Photo and translation of poem                 courtesy of Philippe Schmitz, 12-20-04

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Leon Morane", using the Google search engine, (9-11-03), you will find about 49 links.At the top of the list is the following.

Léon (1885 -1918) et Robert Morane (1886-1968) et Raymond Saulnier (1881 - 1964)      This page on Russell Naughton's "THE PIONEERS" website, offers a comprehensive review of the life of:       "Léon Morane, his brother Robert, who with their friend Raymond Saulnier formed the Sociètè Anonyme des Aèroplanes Morane-Saulnier on October 10, 1911 at Puteaux (Paris region).".      The webpage offers photographs of the many types of aeroplanes which were produced by the Morane-Saulnier company, along with descriptive texts. It also offers many relevant links to other sites of interest. You can access the website by clicking on the title above.

Le monoplan Morane piloté par Védrines      Longueur 6m, envergure 9m50, surface 14m, poids 200kg à vide, poids monté avec moteur Gnôme 50HP, 100 litres d'essence, 35 litres d'huile, porte carte, boussole, altimètre et aviateur 430kg. Le refroidissement du moteur placé à l'avant est assuré par le fait qu'il n'a pas de tôle devant lui. Chariot d'attérissage tout spécial, il n'a ni tenders, ni ressorts de rappel. Les roues ne sont pas orientables. Patins très courts      Length 6m, scale 9m50, surface 14m, weight 200kg with vacuum, weight assembled with engine Gnôme 50HP, 100 liters of gasoline, 35 liters of oil, carry chart, compass, altimeter and aviator 430kg. The cooling of the engine placed at before is ensured by the fact that it does not have a sheet in front of him. Very special carriage of attérissage, it has neither tenders, nor return springs. The wheels are not directional. Very short shoes Collection of Denís Fauvel

Le monoplan Morane piloté par Védrines      This page, on the website of Denís Fauvel, is one of ten pages, each of which offers many images of postcards which feature pioneer French aviators. On it you will find the image of the Morane monoplane, seen above, and two other images, one of the Morane-Saulnier monoplane and one of the Morane-Borel monoplane.      This is a really remarkable resource and you should plan to visit each of the other nine pages so as to enjoy the many other postcards.      My sincere thanks go to Denís for his courtesy in allowing me to use images from his website to enhance the pages on my site. You can access his site by clicking on the title above.

If you wish to pursue your study of his career, you can visit any of the other sites which are revealed in the Google search.

 

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