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The Clément-Bayard No.1, Bayard-Clément was a French military

semi-rigid airship A semi-rigid airship is an airship which has a stiff keel or truss supporting the main envelope along its length. The keel may be partially flexible or articulated and may be located inside or outside the main envelope. The outer shape of the ai ...

of 1908 developed by

Astra Clément-Bayard Astra Clément-Bayard was a French manufacturer of dirigibles. In 1908 the French industrialist Adolphe Clément-Bayard, who had already made a fortune manufacturing cars, motorcycles and bicycles, diversified into the aviation industry. His fir ...

, which was founded by industrial entrepreneur

Adolphe Clément-Bayard Gustave Adolphe Clément, known from 1909 Clément-Bayard (; 22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928), was a French entrepreneur. Despite being orphaned, he became a blacksmith and a ''Compagnons du Tour de France, Compagnon du Tour de France.'' He ...

, in response to a French Army decision to experiment with airship operations.

Société Astra ''Société Astra des Constructions Aéronautiques'' was a major French manufacturer of balloons, airships, and aeroplanes in the early 20th century. It was founded in 1908 in aviation, 1908 when Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe purchased Édouard Su ...

was contracted to build the envelope, while Clément-Bayard built the gondola and engines itself. The envelope's distinctive design featured four large lobes at the aft end, intended to provide directional stability. Testing commenced on 29 October with

Henry Kapferer Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

at the controls. By the end of the year, the airship had made nearly thirty flights, including long-range cross-country sorties of up to , breaking the national aerial endurance and speed records. In 1909 the airship was offered for sale to the French government, with an asking price of FF 500,000. However, this was considered too expensive, and the offer was declined. Later that year, Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

decided to buy it for the Russian army. On 23 August, it was demonstrated to a Russian military delegation in Paris where it was piloted by

Louis Capazza Louis Henri Capazza (1862–1928) was a French semi-professional balloonist. He was born in Bastia, Corsica on January 17, 1862. , ''...which a Corsican named Capazza, coming from the town of Bastia, has invented...'' He lived in Belgium from 18 ...

firstly to a record altitude of 1,200 m (4,000 ft) and then hours later to a new record of 1,550 m (5,080 ft). Upon landing, however, Capazza cut power to the engines before the ground handlers had full control of the craft. A gust of wind carried it into a grove of trees, lacerating the envelope and resulting in it sinking into the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

, but it was salvaged and repaired, and went on to serve with the Russian Army under the name ''Berkut'' ("Eagle").

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement-Bayard No.1 1900s French military reconnaissance aircraft Airships of France Aircraft first flown in 1908

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