Levasseur

Savaş Düzeni · Uçak üreticileri Fransa

Levasseur

Société Pierre Levasseur Aéronautique

A Paris propeller maker turned builder of naval biplanes designed to float when they ditched, best remembered for the White Bird that vanished over the Atlantic with Nungesser and Coli.

1910Kurulan
FeshedilmişDurum
8Kayıtlardaki uçaklar
ÜlkeFransaKurulan1910KurucularPierre LevasseurMerkez OfisParisDurumFeshedilmiş
Hikaye

Levasseur: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Propellers from the rue de Javel

Pierre Levasseur entered aviation at 19, showing a helicopter propulsion device at the first Paris aero show in 1909. In a small workshop on the rue de Javel he began carving wooden propellers, and by 1911 Levasseur propellers drove aircraft by Blériot, Nieuport and Deperdussin. In 1913 he built other people’s designs, including the Tubavion of Ponche and Primard, described by French Wikipedia as the world’s first attempt at an all-metal aeroplane. By the 1918 Armistice he had produced 350 SPAD fighters, wings for FBA flying boats and more than 1,500 propellers.

Aircraft that could swim

Between the wars Levasseur became a specialist supplier to the French Navy. His biplanes had a trademark safety feature: a watertight, boat-shaped fuselage and jettisonable undercarriage, so a crew could put down on the sea and float, though not take off again. The PL.2 torpedo bomber, designed with Blackburn, was the first type to serve aboard France’s first aircraft carrier, Béarn, and the PL.4, PL.7 and PL.10 followed it onto the deck. The PL.7s were still aboard, thoroughly obsolete, in 1939.

The White Bird

Levasseur’s fame came from a failure. In 1927 the firm modified a PL.4 into the PL.8 for the war ace Charles Nungesser and navigator François Coli, who were chasing the Orteig Prize for the first non-stop Paris to New York flight. Painted white, with Nungesser’s skull-and-coffin emblem, L’Oiseau Blanc left Le Bourget on 8 May 1927 and was never seen again. Its jettisoned undercarriage is the only confirmed relic. Pierre Levasseur died in Paris in 1941.

A Paris propeller maker turned builder of naval biplanes designed to float when they ditched, best remembered for the White Bird that vanished over the Atlantic with Nungesser and Coli.Levasseur · verified 2026-10-03
Bir bakışta

Levasseur in numbers

Şirket

Kısacası
Founded 1910

  • Set up in Paris by Pierre Levasseur, initially making propellers
  • Built designs by others from 1913
  • Supplier of carrier aircraft to the Aéronavale

Üretme

En çok bilinen yönü
PL serisi deniz çift kanatlı uçakları

  • 350 SPAD fighters and 1,500-plus propellers in the First World War
  • PL.4, PL.7, PL.10 carrier aircraft; PL.8 L’Oiseau Blanc

Bugün

Şimdi
Feshedilmiş

  • Founder Pierre Levasseur died in 1941

L’Oiseau Blanc’s undercarriage is displayed at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace.

Sayılar

SPAD fighters built under licence
3501914–1918
Propellers built
more than 1,5001914–1918
Own types for the French Navy
about 15
uçak

Every notable Levasseur aircraft

Uçak Rol İlk uçuş İnşa edildi Durum Not
SPAD fighters (licence) Savaşçı 350 Emekli
Levasseur PL.2 Carrier torpedo bomber Emekli Designed with Blackburn; first type aboard the carrier Béarn
Levasseur PL.4 Carrier reconnaissance 1926 40 Emekli
Levasseur PL.7 Carrier torpedo bomber 1928 46 Emekli Still aboard Béarn in 1939
Levasseur PL.8 Long-distance record aircraft 1927 2 Emekli L’Oiseau Blanc, lost 8 May 1927
Levasseur PL.10 Carrier reconnaissance 1929 63 Emekli
Levasseur PL.15 Torpedo floatplane 1932 17 Emekli
Levasseur PL.400 Artillery observation / liaison 1939 Emekli
Yerler, insanlar, kayıtlar

Where Levasseur built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrikalar

  • Rue de Javel workshop · Paris, 15th arrondissement — First propeller workshop; replaced in wartime by a site at place Félix-Faure

İnsanlar

  • Pierre Levasseur · founder (1890–1941) — Propeller maker and naval aircraft builder
  • François Denhaut · chief pilot of the flying school — Later known for the first flying boat
  • Émile Farret · chief engineer — Worked on the PL.8 with Nungesser and Coli

Rekorlar ve ilkler

  • PL.2 was the first aircraft type to equip the carrier Béarn, 1926
Zaman çizelgesi

Levasseur, year by year

1909

Pierre Levasseur exhibits at the first Paris aero show and buys the Fernandez licence

1910

Société Pierre Levasseur Aéronautique set up in Paris

1911

Levasseur propellers fitted to Blériot, Nieuport and Deperdussin aircraft

1913

Builds the Tubavion all-metal aircraft for Ponche and Primard

1918

War ends with 350 SPADs and 1,500-plus propellers delivered

1926

PL.2 joins the carrier Béarn

1927

L’Oiseau Blanc leaves Le Bourget and disappears

1929

PL.10 first flies; 63 built

1941

Pierre Levasseur dies in Paris

Sorular ve Cevaplar

Everything people ask about Levasseur

Who built L’Oiseau Blanc?
Levasseur of Paris, which modified its PL.4 naval biplane into the PL.8 for Nungesser and Coli in 1927.
Why did Levasseur aircraft have boat-shaped fuselages?
So naval crews could jettison the wheels and float after ditching; the aircraft could not take off from water.
What did Levasseur make before aircraft?
Propellers, which by 1911 were used by leading makers such as Blériot and Nieuport.
Which Levasseur aircraft served on the carrier Béarn?
The PL.2, PL.4, PL.7 and PL.10.

Tura devam edin

Around Levasseur

FransaAérospatialeFransa'nın devlet havacılık devi Concorde'u üretti, Airbus'ın kurucu ortaklarından oldu, Ariane'i yönetti, Squirrel ve Puma helikopterlerini ve Exocet'i üretti - sonra da ortadan kayboldu...Aérospatiale sayfasını okuyun.FransaAirbus HelikopterleriFransız ve Alman rakiplerin bir araya gelmesiyle oluşan Avrupa'nın helikopter devi, şu anda dünyanın sivil helikopterlerinin yaklaşık yarısını üretiyor ve bir zamanlar bir helikopterini park halinde bırakmıştı...Airbus Helikopterleri sayfasını okuyun.endeksTüm uçak üreticileriSavaş düzeninde yer alan ve geçmişte kullanılan tüm hava araçlarını üreten şirketler.Listeyi aç
Kaynaklar ve Daha Fazla Okuma

Her bilgi kontrol edildi.

Doğrulama tarihi: 2026-10-03.