Marcel Dassault (; born Marcel Ferdinand Bloch; 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in

aircraft manufacturing An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of Aircraft design process, designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a hi ...

. He was also involved in politics, serving intermittently over more than three decades in both houses of the

French Parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

from 1951 until his death in 1986.

Early life and education

Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, as the youngest of the four children of Adolphe Bloch, a doctor, and his wife Noémie Allatini. His parents were Jewish. He was educated at the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a secondary school in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. Founded in 1803, it is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inc ...

in Paris. After studies in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, he graduated from the Breguet School and Supaéro. At the latter school, Bloch was classmates with a Russian student named Mikhail Gurevich, who would later become instrumental in the creation of the MiG aircraft series.

Career

Bloch worked at the French Aeronautics Research Laboratory at

Chalais-Meudon Chalais-Meudon is an aeronautical research and development centre in Meudon, to the south-west of Paris. It was originally founded in 1793 in the nearby Château de Meudon and has played an important role in the development of French aviation. ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and invented a type of

aircraft propeller In aeronautics, an aircraft propeller, also called an airscrew,Beaumont, R.A.; ''Aeronautical Engineering'', Odhams, 1942, Chapter 13, "Airscrews". converts rotary motion from an Aircraft engine, engine or other power source into a swirling slips ...

subsequently used by the French army during the conflict. In 1916, with Henry Potez and Louis Coroller, he formed a company, the '' Société d'Études Aéronautiques'', to produce the SEA series of fighters. In 1928, Bloch founded the aircraft company '' Société des Avions Marcel Bloch'', which produced its first aircraft in 1930. In 1935, Bloch and Henry Potez entered into an agreement to buy '' Société Aérienne Bordelaise'' (SAB). In 1936, the company was nationalized as the '' Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud Ouest'' (SNCASO). Bloch agreed to become the delegated administrator of the Minister for Air. During the

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during World War II, France's aviation industry was virtually disbanded, other than the compulsory manufacturing, assembly, and servicing of German designs. In October 1940, Bloch refused to collaborate with the German occupiers at Bordeaux-Aéronautique and was imprisoned by the

Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

. In 1944, the Nazis deported Bloch to the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

, as punishment for refusing to co-operate with their regime. He was tortured, beaten, and held in solitary confinement. In the meantime, his wife was interned near Paris. Bloch was detained at Buchenwald until it was liberated on 11 April 1945. By the time of his return to Paris, he was disabled to such an extent that he could barely walk. He was advised by his doctors to settle his affairs, as they did not expect him to recover his health. After the war, he changed his name from Bloch to Bloch-Dassault and in 1949 to Dassault. This name derived from 'Chardasso', the ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'' used by his brother, General Darius Paul Bloch, when he served in the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. The pseudonym was a play on ''char d'assaut'', French for "assault tank".''Char d'assault'' colloquially means "battle tank" in French, but a word-for-word translation would be "assault wagon". ''D'assault'' simply means "for assault" or "for attack". In 1971, Dassault acquired Breguet, forming ''Avions Marcel Dassault–Breguet Aviation'' (AMD–BA).

Personal life

In 1919, Bloch married Madeleine Minckès, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish family of furniture dealers. They had two sons, Claude and

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

. After changing his name to Dassault, he converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1950. In July 1952, Dassault acquired the Paris landmark buildings now known as Hôtel Marcel Dassault, dating from 1844, at nos. 7 and 9 rond-point des Champs-Élysées (at the corner of the avenue des Champs-Élysées and

avenue Montaigne The Avenue Montaigne () is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Origin of the name The Avenue Montaigne was originally called the Allée des Veuves ("Widows' Alley") because women in mourning gathered ...

), from the Sabatier d'Espeyran family. The building at no. 7 has been used since 2002 by the auction house

Artcurial Artcurial is a French auction house which has its headquarters at the historic Hôtel Marcel Dassault in Paris. History The Artcurial art gallery was created in June 1975 by François Dalle, then CEO of L'Oréal, at 9, Avenue Matignon. Artcuria ...

, which had further alterations made under the direction of architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. While no. 7 has been sold, no. 9 is still used by the ''Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault''. 1930 Marcel Dassault

In 1973, Dassault was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.

Death and legacy

Dassault died at

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

in 1986 and was buried at the

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery () is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), which was closed in 1802. ...

in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...

Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 – 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ...

, Marcel's younger son, became CEO of ''Avions Marcel Dassault'', which was restructured as '' Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault'', reflecting its broader interests. In 1990, the aviation division was renamed

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...

. In 1991, the '' rond-point des Champs-Elysées'' in Paris was renamed the ''rond-point des Champs-Elysées-Marcel-Dassault'' in his honour.

In popular culture

In ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

'' book ''

Flight 714 to Sydney ''Flight 714 to Sydney'' (; originally published in English as ''Flight 714'') is the twenty-second volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1966 to Novembe ...

'', Dassault is parodied as the aircraft construction tycoon Laszlo Carreidas – "the millionaire who never laughs" – who offers Tintin,

Captain Haddock Captain Archibald Haddock (French: ''Capitaine Archibald Haddock'') is a character in the comic book series ''The Adventures of Tintin''. He is Tintin (character), Tintin's best friend, a seafaring captain in the Merchant Navy or Merchant Mar ...

and

Professor Calculus Professor Cuthbert Calculus ( , meaning "Professor Tryphon Sunflower") is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is Tintin (character), Tintin's friend, an absent-minded profess ...

his personal jet, the Carreidas 160, to travel to Sydney.

Notes

References

External links