A French Pioneer â€˜South of the Borderâ€™ Part I

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bleriot Without a doubt, the Bleriot XI monoplane was one of the most revolutionizing aircraft of the Twentieth Century. Designed and built by the famous French pioneer, Louis Bleriot, it became a staple in the early days of aviation when, with his inventor at the controls, it managed to cross the English Channel on the morning of July 25th 1909. The amazing feat placed Bleriot and France atop of the nascent aeronautical world. Commencing in the fall of 1909, this deceptively flimsy-looking aircraft was the object of attention bfor many countries in the world. Surprisingly, leading the charge to acquire the aeroplane were a hosts of South American nations. This early and substantial interest was mostly influenced by the exploits of Alberto Santos-Dumont. The Brazilian born pilot and adventurer captured the hearts and minds of all who saw him perform daredevil stunts. Much of Latin American was bombarded by tails of his success, and several of his failures in the world of aeronautics.

Much like in the United States and Europe, heavier-than-air flight in Latin America prior to 1914 was viewed as an expression of self achievement. Like an artist stamping his painting with one remarkable canvas, South American pilots were planting their flag in the world of the aircraft one step at the time. Flying and everything involved with it sparked passion in a male-driven Latin America. While it’s relatively easy to associate early flight with wealth and power, there is ample evidence that men of modest means and ample courage were also engaged in the trait. Young men and women too, from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro began to dream about flying. In short, a revolution had begun South of the Border.

It is against this backdrop that the Bleriot XI made his long awaited dÃ©but. The first South America country to receive a XI was Argentina. Following the July 1909 feat, the Buenos Aires government purchased two samples of the airplane. Both fitted with a rudimentary 25 horsepower Gnome engine. Both units departed Marseille for the Argentinean coast aboard the steamer Parana. Accompanying the two Bleriots; three Vosin biplanes and a single Santos-Dumont. On the 2,000 mile trip were some of the biggest names in aviation. Louis Moriaud, Emilio Edwards, George Richet, Henri Bregi and Emile Auburn were all part of the Bleriot-Argentina package.

The two XIs arrived in the austral republic on March 2nd, 1910. Three days later, and with the 29 year-old Auburn at the controls, Argentina had its first Bleriot airborne. The following day, Auburn took the aircraft on what was widely accepted to be South America’s first night flight. Impressed with the new airplane’s performance, the Aero Club Argentino, one of the oldest aeronautical organizations in the Americas, sponsored the continent’s first aviation meet at Villa Lugano, just seven years after the Wright Brother’s experiments at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was a resounding success as the Bleriot joined with a Henri Farman sample to produce one of the most memorable days in the country’s history.

By the middle of November, two more French daredevils, Armand Prevost and Rene Volant, arrived in Argentina with another XI, this time powered by a 25 horsepower Anzani engine. The duo performed stunts all over the country and even ventured outside it when they flew the XI to the city of Concepcion, Uruguay. The flow of Bleriot pilots continued. In the summer of 1910, Bartolomeo Cattaneo, an Italian who resided in Paris, came to Buenos Aires with the intention to teach aviation to the Argentinean capital resident. His first pupil was a young man named Leopoldo Delphyn, who became one of the few locals to actually own a XI.

In mid August Cattaneo was approached by Nicholous Mihanoutch, a Russian-born banker who had resided in Buenos Aires since the turn of the century, to make a demonstration flight across the broad Rio de la Plata from the austral capital to Montevideo, Uruguay. For this ground breaking venture, Delphyn’s XI was fitted with a 50hp Gnome power plant. On September 16th, the Italian took-off from a rudimentary field outside the capital’s suburbs; he made it as far as Real de San Carlos in the Uruguayan province of Colonia, a distance of 58 kilometers, 32 short of his intended objective. Two days later, he managed to complete the journey.

The record breaking attempts continued. On December 1st, 1912, Argentinean Army Corporal, Teodoro Fels, performed the longest, over water flight in history when he flew a XI unit from its first operational home base at El Palomar in the outskirts of the capital, to Montevideo, Uruguay, then on from there to Talas-Berisso and from that point, back to El Palomar, on the third day of his epic adventure, all over the broad estuary of the Rio de la Plata. A total of 150 miles were covered in a time of two hours and twenty minutes. The Corporal wanted to make the return journey the same day, but his plane experienced engine trouble obliged him to delay it for one day. The following morning he made it back to the Bleriot’s base. The unprecedented achievement sparked even more record setting attempts. On January 1911, an Army flying instructor, Alberto Mascias, flew a XI sample at an altitude of 3,000 meter. Leaving the ground at 6:40 in the morning (local time), he climbed steadily to 2,000m, flying in the direction of Lujan. He remained at that altitude for around twelve minutes.

On May 1913, the Bleriot fleet was augmented by two additional units as XI-type 2 arrived in the country. These machines were fitted with a more powerful motor, an 80hp Gnome Omega engine. A year later, and with France and much of Europe involved in the Great War, Argentina stopped receiving Bleriots. Still, two ordered units managed to make the trip to the Land of the Gauchos before 1916. By April 1918, the Army was able to field one full (seven units) squadron of Bleriot. Six more XI were used by the Escuela de Aviacion Militar (Army Aviation School) for training and testing. Nevertheless, by this time attrition and the post war surplus glut of more capable airplanes took their toll. By 1919, only two operational units remained in service. These Bleriots were active due mostly because sentimental reasons amongst the senior cradle at the School who saw them as the source of their initial knowledge about aviation.

The Argentinean affection with the Bleriot XI was expressed in the time-honored fashion of indigenous builder Pablo Castaibert, whose 25hp Anzani powered 1911 monoplane bore an uncanny resemblance to the fabolus French design. Today, a single genuine XI, possible the oldest surviving plane in Latin America, still exist in Argentina. Fitted with a 25hp Anzani engine, it is reportedly to be one of the two airplanes of the type exported to the nation by Mestre et Blage, a French firm, in 1910.

References

Air Power: The men, machines, and ideas that revolutionized war, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II, Stephen Budiansky, Penguins Books 2004
The Way of the fighter, Clarie Chennault, Putman Books 1949
The Complete Story of Latin America, Charles Marison, Penguin Books 1992

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com