Élisabeth Lion (1904 – 9 January 1998) was a French aviator who broke world altitude records and long-distance flying records. She was one of the five women who were selected to train as French military pilots after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

Lion was born in Balan, in Ardennes, France and grew up in Sedan. In 1914 the family moved to

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the A ...

and then to Paris. In 1934 she earned her pilot license.

Flying career

In 1936 she competed in the Douze Heure d'Angers competition. She won the women's division of the competition and finished second in the general division. In the same year she won the

Hélène Boucher Hélène Boucher (23 May 1908 - 30 November 1934) was a well-known French pilot in the early 1930s, when she set several women's world speed records and the all-comers record for 1,000 km (621 mi) in 1934. She was killed in an accident ...

Cup in the Paris-Cannes air race. In December 1937, Lion beat the women's altitude record by reaching 6,410 meters while flying a Caudron C600 Aiglon monoplane. Days later, she also broke world records in the crew category and the 2-litre category. In March 1938, Lion completed a non-stop tour of France in 10 hours and 15 minutes and in April she completed a Paris-Tunis-Paris (3500 km) flight in 18 hours and 15 minutes. In May 1938, Lion flew a journey of 4,063 km from

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location Is ...

, France, to

Abadan, Iran Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bound ...

, flying for 21 hours and breaking Amelia Earhart's women's distance record of 3,940 km set in 1932. Lion's record was short-lived - another French female aviator,

Andrée Dupeyron Andrée Dupeyron (née Mailho) (19 October 1902 – 22 July 1988) was a French woman civil and military aviator who broke distance records in the 1930s and flew for the Free French Air Force and the Premier corps de pilotes militaires féminins. ...

, beat Lion's record by 250 km in the following days. A few weeks later, in June, Lion flew 4,250 km from Istres to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

, Senegal, in 21 hours and 20 minutes, in an attempt to beat Dupeyron's journey. On December 29, 1938,

Guy La Chambre Guy La Chambre (June 5, 1898, in Paris – May 24, 1975) was a French politician. He served as Minister of Merchant Marine in 1934 and Minister of Air from 1938 until 1940. Life Guy La Chambre was born on June 5, 1898 into a prosperous fa ...

, the French Minister of Air, presented Lion with the rank of

Chevalier of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. In 1944-45,

Charles Tillon Charles Joseph Tillon (3 July 1897 – 13 January 1993) was a French metal worker, Communist, trade union leader, politician and leader of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45). Tillon was born into a working-class family and trai ...

, the newly appointed Minister of the Air decided to create the

Premier corps de pilotes militaires féminins Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(corps of female military pilots), and invited thirteen pilots, including

Maryse Bastié Maryse Bastié (27 February 1898 – 6 July 1952) was a French aviator who set several international records for female aviators during the 1930s. Early life She was born Marie-Louise Bombec in Limoges, Haute-Vienne; Bastié's father died wh ...

Maryse Hilsz Maryse Hilsz (7 March 1903 – 30 January 1946) was a French aviator known for high altitude and endurance flights. She served with the French Resistance during World War II and died in an air crash in 1946. Life In 1933 she shared the Fédér ...

Élisabeth Boselli Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Juliette Boselli (11 March 1914 – 25 November 2005), was a French military and civilian pilot. She was the first female fighter pilot to serve in the French Air Force, and held eight world records for distance, altitud ...

Anne-Marie Imbrecq Anne-Marie Jeanne Imbrecq (18 June 191128 November 2005) was a nurse, parachutist, and French civil and military aircraft pilot active in Europe and Africa during World War II. Biography Anne-Marie was the daughter of Paris lawyer Joseph Imbre ...

and Lion to train at

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Ch ...

. The training flights were halted in February 1946, however, due to a fatal accident on January 30 which killed Hilsz, a mechanic, a radio operator and another flying officer.

Commemoration

In 2017, the town of

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

in Ardennes named a street in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion, Elisabeth People from Ardennes (department) 1904 births 1998 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour French aviation record holders French women aviation record holders 20th-century French women