By: Gérard Hartmann Translation: Rob Mulder The seaplane LeO H-24 is the culmination of a brilliant series of studies undertaken at Lioré et Olivier first at Levallois and then Argenteuil by Marcel Riffard, Edmond Benoit, Paul Asancheeff, Jean Poitou, Stephi Konovaitchoukoff and Sébastienne Guyot. These studies lead to an ultramodern monoplane with an enclosed cabin accommodating ten passengers, and was to replace the small H-19 on Mediterranean routes of Air Union. Between 1929 and 1936 the project H-24 was revised several time and gives rise to a series of eight variants of remarkable seaplane. It was built in a total of...
STAR and the Nieuport-Delage 641
By: Rob Mulder and in co-operation with Robert Espérou and Régis Biaux For: www.europeanairlines.no A small airliner for a small airline company was the Nieuport-Delage 641, also known as Ni-D 641. This high-winged single-engine aircraft saw limited service in France and operated two international air services for the Société de Transports Aériens Rapide - STAR. Here is a short review of the use of the aircraft in France. The firm Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport But first a short review over the production of civil airliners constructed by the Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport. Edouard de Nieport, commonly known as...
Fleet list of Compagnie Aérienne Française – CAF (1919-1937)
Fleet list of Compagnie Aérienne Française – CAF (1919-1937) Compelled by: Robert Ésperou For: www.europeanairlines.no Abbreviations: b/u = Broken up Canx = cancelled from the register c/n = Constructor’s Number dbr = Destroyed between repair f.u. = Fate unknown In = Date aircraft was taken in use / or registered Regn = Registration Little is known about this French airline company. But it was one of the first companies founded in France. It operated a large fleet with a great mixture of different types. Robert Ésperou has been so kind to send the Fleet information to us and we have...
Fleet of day Société Anonyme Air Bleu
Fleet of day Société Anonyme Air Bleu (1935-1937) By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no Under the leadership of Beppo de Massini the Société Anonyme Air Bleu was founded in Paris on May 23, 1935 with a stock capital of 5 million French Francs. He became the manager director of the company and found Didier Daurat prepared to accept the function of Director of Exploitation. The reason for use of the company name Société Air Bleu was that airmail letters were on blue paper, popularly called les petits bleus (the small blue ones). The company operated with success a number of airmail...
Towarzystwo Komunikacji Lotniczej Aero Spólka Akcyjna – S A Aero (1925-1928)
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no The start of the company In the spring of 1921 the Franco-Romanian airline company Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aérienne – CFRNA opened the air service Wien – Praha – Warszawa operated in connection with the service to and from Strasbourg and Paris. The route to Poland was also opened to secure the French influence in the new eastern European countries. But the initiatives after the liquidation of the Polish airline company Aero Targ Spólka Akcyjna were kept alive in Poznań and in February 1925 the Towarzystwo Komunikacji Lotniczej Aero Spólka Akcyjna (Company of the Communication...
Société Anonyme Air Bleu (1935-1937)
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no One of the most interesting airline companies of pre-War Europe was the Air Bleu. It was formed as an airmail carrier and started up as a private venture. Its history forms an important part of French civil aviation. One of the main advantages of the aircraft was its high speed compared with the automobile and later also train. The first idea after the Great War was to set up European airmail service that should be operated by the military. Gradually the civilian airline companies managed to take over the service and soon air services were...
Société des Transports Aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest – STASO (1919-1920) and Compagnie Franco-Bilbaïne de Transports Aéronautiques – CFB (1920-1923)
By: Rob Mulder For: www.europeanairlines.no Société des Transports Aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest – STASO (1919-1920) One month after the Armistice the casinos of Biarritz started to think about a way to attract the wealthy millionaires of France to Biarritz again. They scheduled the opening of the casinos in May 1919 and the managers of the casinos decided to work together and finance the formation of a small airline company. The Société des Transports Aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest - STASO (the Transport Aeronautic Company of the Southwest) was the third airline company to be founded in France (after the Lignes Aérienne Farman and...
Iberia and the Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland I
By: Rob Mulder For www.europeanairlines.no The foundation of Iberia Foreign airline companies operated the first air routes in Spain. Two French airline companies started services between France and Spain. Latécoère opened a through service along the Mediterranean coast to Northern Africa, while Société des Transports Aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest – STASO and its successor Compagnie Franco-Bilbaïne de Transports Aéronautiques – CFB operated a service from Bayonne to Bilbao and later to Santander in the north-western parts of Spain. In Spain only one air service was operated. On October 15, 1921 the Compañia Española de Tráfico Aéreo – CETA opened an airmail...