.... André Marcel Desoutter (31 January 1894–13 April 1952) was an English

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, who lost a leg in an early flying accident, but went on to a successful career in the aviation industry.

Early life

Desoutter was one of six children of Louis Albert Desoutter, an immigrant French watchmaker, and Philomène Duret. Along with his four brothers, Rene, Charles, Louis and Robert, Marcel trained as a watchmaker.

Aviation career

Learning to fly with the Blériot Company at their

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

works, he passed the flying tests at the age of 17, but could not receive his licence until he was 18, receiving Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate no. 186 on 27 February 1912. He became an instructor, test and demonstration pilot. Desoutter's accident occurred at the London Aviation Meeting held at Hendon Aerodrome at Easter 1913: whilst flying his 50-h.p.

Gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its charac ...

- Blériot on the afternoon of 23 March, the control stick slipped from his hand and the Blériot dived into the ground at the edge of the aerodrome. Desoutter's leg was badly broken, and later had to be amputated above the knee. He was fitted with the standard wooden leg, but his younger brother Charles used his knowledge of aircraft materials to design a new jointed Duralumin alloy leg of half the weight, with which he was able to return to flying. In 1914 the pair formed a company, Desoutter Brothers Limited, at 73 Baker Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, to manufacture the legs. The firm expanded greatly during and after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, and moved to The Hyde, Hendon in 1924, where they manufactured both artificial limbs and the pneumatic portable

Desoutter Tools Desoutter Industrial Tools founded in Great Britain in 1914, now headquartered in France, is an industrial manufacturer providing electric and pneumatic assembly tools. Products and services are sold in more than 170 countries through 20 busi ...

which had been developed initially as a sideline. Marcel married Margaret F. Rust in 1918; they had three children. Marcel Desoutter left the business in 1928 and formed the

Desoutter Aircraft Company The Desoutter Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based in Croydon. It was founded by Marcel Desoutter and produced aircraft during the late 1920s and the 1930s. History The company was formed in December 1928 to manufacture t ...

Ltd. at Croydon to build the Dutch

Koolhoven F.K.41 N.V. Koolhoven was an aircraft manufacturer based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From its conception in 1926 to its destruction in the Blitzkrieg in May 1940, the company remained the second major Dutch aircraft manufacturer (after Fokker). Although ...

three-seat monoplane, renaming it as the Desoutter I. 41 of this type and the improved

Desoutter II Desoutter is a British monoplane liaison aircraft manufactured by Desoutter Aircraft Company at Croydon Aerodrome, Surrey. Design and production In the late 1920s, Marcel Desoutter, a well known pilot, formed the Desoutter Aircraft Company Ltd ...

were produced, but the business folded in 1932 after its main customer,

National Flying Services National Flying Services Ltd was a company aiming to create and manage a large number of airfields and flying clubs around Britain. It relied on government subsidy, and it collapsed when the subsidy was withdrawn in 1934, because the aims had not ...

at London Air Park, Hanworth, went into liquidation. In 1935 Desoutter became a partner with Morris Jackaman in Airports, Ltd., which had been set up to develop Gatwick and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

aerodromes as airports, and was still managing director of the company when he died at his home in Horley, Surrey on 13 April 1952.

References

*''Flight'' magazine, 29 March 1913 *''Flight'' magazine, 2 May 1929 *''Flight'' magazine, 25 April 1952 (Obituary) *Jackson, A J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2''. Putnam, 1973 *''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume15''. Oxford University Press, 2004
The origins of De Soutter Medical
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desoutter, Marcel English aviators English people of French descent 1894 births 1952 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople