Robert Morane, (10 March 1886,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 28 August 1968, Paris) and his brother Léon Morane (11 April 1885, Paris – 19 October 1918, Paris) were French aviation pioneers.

Career

Léon obtained his ''brevet'' (flying licence) on 19 April 1910 in a Blériot, and that June, he took part in ''la Grande Semaine d'aviation de Rouen''. On 5 October 1910, Léon and Robert Morane made a trial flight, aiming to win le prix Michelin d'aviation, which required a journey between

and sommet du

Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is far from the edge of any tectonic plate. ...

in less than 6 hours. Their attempt failed when, having set off from

Issy Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

in a Gnôme 100 hp- powered Blériot, they crashed near

Boissy-Saint-Léger Boissy-Saint-Léger () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Transport Boissy-Saint-Léger is served by Boissy-Saint-Léger station on Pa ...

, both being seriously injured. (Accessed 13 June 2017) After this accident, Leon received a visit from his childhood friend Raymond Saulnier, and a year later, on 10 October 1911, they created the Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes Morane – Saulnier, with Robert Morane as test pilot. (Accessed 13 June 2017) Its registered office was at Paris and the factories were at

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan ...

. In 1910, Léon was the first person to fly at ; he also set the altitude record, at . Léon died during the epidemic of 'Spanish' flu in October 1918. After the

First World War 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 ...

the factory was dedicated primarily to production of trainers and fighter aircraft, including, notably: a single seater with canopy (1924), the MS 230 trainer which sold 1100 examples (1930), and the M.S.405/MS 406, a single seat fighter of all-metal construction, powered by a Hispano-Suiza 860 hp engine (1936–1937). Robert founded the Morane-Saulnier flight school, where the pilots

Maurice Tabuteau Maurice Tabuteau (1884–1976) was a pioneering French aviator and racing driver. He set multiple international aviation records for both speed and distance in 1910 and 1912. Tabuteau also won the Michelin Cup The Michelin Cup refers to a number ...

and Marcel Brindejonc des Moulinais trained. The brothers are buried at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morane, Robert and Léon 20th-century French engineers Engineers from Paris Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in France