Henri Fabre was an engineer trained at l'Ecole Supérieure d'Electricité who made the first seaplane flight in 1910 in an aircraft he designed and built. This collection consists of two manuscript,including entitled Premier Naufrage D'Un Hydravion, by Henri Fabre that contains Fabre's account of flights he made in his seaplanes between 1906 and 1910 as well as information about other seaplanes and flights made in them by other pilots through 1911.
Henri Fabre was an engineer trained at l'Ecole Supérieure d'Electricité who made the first seaplane flight in 1910 in an aircraft he designed and built. Henri Fabre began experimenting with seaplane design in 1906 and patented a system of hollow, wooden floats. After several failed attempts, Fabre succeeded on March 28, 1910 with the 1910 Goeland (Gull) (Canard Seaplane), powered by a Gnome 50 h.p. engine and using the flotation devices he had patented earlier, and made four successful flights and landings from the water on the Étang de Berre. This aircraft was later piloted by Louis Paulhan. Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Gabriél Voisin both used Fabre's floats in their own aircraft. The 1910 seaplane was wrecked in May of that year with Fabre, who was unhurt in the crash, at the controls. Fabre introduced a new version of the Goeland (Gull) (Canard Seaplane) in Monaco in 1911 but it was wrecked there during a series of aquatic races. Fabre subsequently set up a company that supplied his floats to various aircraft manufacturers and also manufactured seaplanes during World War I.
Identifier
NASM.XXXX.0933
Creator
Fabre, Henri.
Date
1966 1980
Provenance
Henri Fabre, Gift, 1966, NASM.XXXX.0933
Extent
0.08 Cubic feet (2 folders)
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of two manuscripts by Henri Fabre. The first, titled Premier Naufrage D'Un Hydravion, is 59 pages long, plus a title page with a preface on the reverse, and is bound inside a glossy cardstock cover with plastic spiral binding. The manuscript is dated March 30, 1966 and is marked No. 16 on the reverse of the last page. Inside the front cover there is a lengthy inscription, in French, from Henri Fabre to the Smithsonian, dated June 2, 1966. The manuscript contains Fabre's account of flights he made in his seaplanes between 1906 and 1910 as well as information about other seaplanes and flights made in them by other pilots through 1911. Most pages are copies of handwritten text and photographs but some pages contain original handwriting. Depicted in the photographs are various aircraft as well as pilots including Fabre, Louis Paulhan, and Glenn Hammond Curtiss. Each page of the manuscript has been translated by an unidentified person and this translation, marked by page number, is included in the collection. There is also a partial copy of the manuscript (starting on page 30) and a complete copy of the translation. The second manuscript, containing handwritten and photographs, appears to be an early partial copy of his book, J'ai vu naître l'aviation, published in 1980.
Arrangement note
Collection is in original order.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Citation
Premier Naufrage D'Un Hydravion and J'ai vu naître l'aviation [Henri Fabre] Manuscripts, NASM.XXXX.0933, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.