Société d'Aviation Letord
Émile Letord founded Société d'Aviation Letord. This company built reconnaissance bomber-fighters, large biplane bombers, and a sesquiplane for WWI.
These were made to order for the Section Technique de l'Aéronautique (STAe), which was created 1916 as part of the l'Établissement(s) d'Aerostation Militaire Français de Chalais-Meudon. While G and 2dG say these Letord aircraft were designed by the head of STAe, Col. Jean-Baptiste-Émile Dorand, it may be that they were designed and built by Letord to the specifications of the STAe. Also built three experimental aircraft 1919-1923.
E. Letord established on the grounds of l'Etablissement(s) d'Aerostation Militaire Francais de Chalais-Meudon to produce balloons and dirgibles for aerostation.
There was a branch of the company in the Lyon area, at Villeurbanne, in the southeast of France.[1][2][3]
The first airplanes by this company followed designs of other manufacturers, notably Dorand and Nieuport.[4] The designs and manufactured airplanes are referred to with "Let." and a number following. The Let.1 was a three-seat biplane with twin engines. It first flew in 1916. The design was "attributed" to Emile Dorand. The aircraft could fly 100mph with a range of 220 miles up to 16,000 feet altitude. The early models had Hispano-Suitza 8A engines. Later ones had Lorraine-Dietrich engines. The French air force ordered 1500 for WWI, but only about 300 were made, and they were no longer made after the war.[5] The company continued at least into the 1920s.[4]
Sources
- Gunston, 1993, p180-181
- Gunston, 2005, p281
- SD176
References
| Names | Société d'Aviation Letord, Avions E. Letord, Établissements Letord |
|---|---|
| Country | FR |
| City | Meudon; Chalais-Meudon; Villeurbanne; French Army Aérostation at Chalais-Meudon |
| Affiliations | |
| Keywords | WWI |
| Started aero | 1908? 1910? |
| Ended aero | |
| Key people | Émile Letord |
| Wikidata id | Q17118153 |
