Compagnie Gabriel Voisin
Encyclopedia
Voisin was a French
aircraft
company, one of first in the world. It was established in 1906 by two brothers, Gabriel Voisin
and Charles Voisin
, but it was continued only by Gabriel after the death of Charles Voisin in 1912; the full official company name became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. VoisinGunston, 1993, says the full name was "Aéroplanes G. Voisin". On the other hand the avions-voisin.org webpage specifies the name as "Société Aéroplanes Voisin, Société Anonyme". (Aeroplanes G. Voisin public limited company
). It created the Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I
.
During World War I
, it became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III
. Later on, Gabriel Voisin switched to design and production of exceptional automobiles under the name Avions Voisin
.
forming in 1905 the company Ateliers d' Aviation Edouard Surcouf, Blériot et Voisin. Gabriel Voisin bought out Louis Blériot and on 5th November 1906 established with Charles the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin (Flying Machines of Voisin Brothers). The company was based at Billancourt
, near Paris
; "this was the first commercial aircraft factory in Europe". Early Voisin gliders and powered heavier-than-air planes were noted but not fully successful. The company's trademark became the pusher biplane design. Their great breakthrough came with the Voisin-Farman I
of 1907, a machine designed and built by Voisins and paid by Henri Farman. It became the first European aircraft to complete a one-kilometer flight.
In 1910, the company built an experimental military aircraft, exhibited at the Paris Air Show
, but not put into production. More notable was that same year's Voisin Canard, used as a seaplane
with the world's first aircraft carrier
. Some eighty aircraft had been built by 1912, when Charles was killed in a motor accident.
, before it was replaced by the Type LA or Voisin III
design. A large number of Voisin IIIs followed, production increasing with the outbreak of the First World War. The Voisin III was followed by improved Type LB and Type LBS, or Voisin IV and Voisin V
aircraft. The larger Type LC, Voisin VII, followed in 1916, but was not a success and only a hundred were built.
Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, it became apparent that the French aviation industry could not produce aircraft in sufficient numbers to meet military requirements. Manufacturers from various other fields became aviation subcontractors, and later license-builders. The earliest such partnership was between Louis Breguet and Michelin
. Gabriel Voisin was late to this field, although his designs were produced in quantity by Russian licensees. By 1918, Voisin was involved with the Voisin-Lafresnaye company, a major constructor of airframes, and the Voisin-Lefebvre company, a major builder of aircraft engines.
Following the Voisin VII came the more powerful, and more successful, Type LAP and Type LBP, known as the Voisin VIII. This was the French army's main night bomber in 1916–1917, with over one thousand built. The Voisin IX, or Type LC, was an unsuccessful design for a reconnaissance aeroplane, which lost out to the superior Salmson 2
and Breguet 14
. The Voisin X, Type LAR and Type LBR, was the Voisin VIII with a more reliable Renault
engine in place of the previous Peugeot
design. Deliveries were much delayed, but some nine hundred were built by the end of the war.
The last significant Voisin design, the Voisin XII, was successful in trials in 1918, but with the end of the war, no production was ordered. Unlike previous Voisins, the Voisin XII was a large, twin-tractor-engined biplane night bomber, rather more elegant than previous, boxy Voisins.
machine and autoclave
, into the battlefield. Eight hundred pounds (360 kg) of equipment could be carried in under-wing pannier
s.
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
company, one of first in the world. It was established in 1906 by two brothers, Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin was an aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained , circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing. It was flown by Henry Farman on January 13, 1908 near Paris, France...
and Charles Voisin
Charles Voisin
Charles Voisin was an early aviation pioneer. He was the younger brother of Gabriel Voisin, also an aviation pionieer.-Biography:...
, but it was continued only by Gabriel after the death of Charles Voisin in 1912; the full official company name became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. VoisinGunston, 1993, says the full name was "Aéroplanes G. Voisin". On the other hand the avions-voisin.org webpage specifies the name as "Société Aéroplanes Voisin, Société Anonyme". (Aeroplanes G. Voisin public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
). It created the Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I
Voisin-Farman I
The 1907 Voisin biplane was the first successful powered aircraft designed by aeronautical engineer and manufacturer Gabriel Voisin. It was used by the French aviator Henri FarmanBorn in France to British parents, Henry Farman took French nationality in 1937 to make the first heavier-than-air...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III
Voisin III
-Survivors and replicas:There is a Full-scale replica of the Voisin III La on display at the Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver, WA near Portland Oregon-References:* * archived from www.caedmon.n-yorks.sch.uk* archived from www.csd.uwo.ca...
. Later on, Gabriel Voisin switched to design and production of exceptional automobiles under the name Avions Voisin
Avions Voisin
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin.Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the South West of Paris.Former...
.
Breakthrough in European aviation
Gabriel had previously collaborated with fellow aviation pioneer Louis BlériotLouis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
forming in 1905 the company Ateliers d' Aviation Edouard Surcouf, Blériot et Voisin. Gabriel Voisin bought out Louis Blériot and on 5th November 1906 established with Charles the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin (Flying Machines of Voisin Brothers). The company was based at Billancourt
Billancourt
Billancourt is a commune in the Somme department in northern France....
, near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; "this was the first commercial aircraft factory in Europe". Early Voisin gliders and powered heavier-than-air planes were noted but not fully successful. The company's trademark became the pusher biplane design. Their great breakthrough came with the Voisin-Farman I
Voisin-Farman I
The 1907 Voisin biplane was the first successful powered aircraft designed by aeronautical engineer and manufacturer Gabriel Voisin. It was used by the French aviator Henri FarmanBorn in France to British parents, Henry Farman took French nationality in 1937 to make the first heavier-than-air...
of 1907, a machine designed and built by Voisins and paid by Henri Farman. It became the first European aircraft to complete a one-kilometer flight.
Designs of 1909-1914
In 1910, the company built an experimental military aircraft, exhibited at the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
, but not put into production. More notable was that same year's Voisin Canard, used as a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
with the world's first aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. Some eighty aircraft had been built by 1912, when Charles was killed in a motor accident.
Voisin designs in World War I
The Type L, or Voisin I, was developed for the French Army's 1912 trials. It performed successfully, and some seventy were built in France, and a small number in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, before it was replaced by the Type LA or Voisin III
Voisin III
-Survivors and replicas:There is a Full-scale replica of the Voisin III La on display at the Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver, WA near Portland Oregon-References:* * archived from www.caedmon.n-yorks.sch.uk* archived from www.csd.uwo.ca...
design. A large number of Voisin IIIs followed, production increasing with the outbreak of the First World War. The Voisin III was followed by improved Type LB and Type LBS, or Voisin IV and Voisin V
Voisin V
The Voisin V was a French pusher-type bomber aircraft of World War I.-Development history:The Voisin III had proved a successful bomber, but its payload was limited by the Salmson M9 engine, which produced only 120-hp...
aircraft. The larger Type LC, Voisin VII, followed in 1916, but was not a success and only a hundred were built.
Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, it became apparent that the French aviation industry could not produce aircraft in sufficient numbers to meet military requirements. Manufacturers from various other fields became aviation subcontractors, and later license-builders. The earliest such partnership was between Louis Breguet and Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
. Gabriel Voisin was late to this field, although his designs were produced in quantity by Russian licensees. By 1918, Voisin was involved with the Voisin-Lafresnaye company, a major constructor of airframes, and the Voisin-Lefebvre company, a major builder of aircraft engines.
Following the Voisin VII came the more powerful, and more successful, Type LAP and Type LBP, known as the Voisin VIII. This was the French army's main night bomber in 1916–1917, with over one thousand built. The Voisin IX, or Type LC, was an unsuccessful design for a reconnaissance aeroplane, which lost out to the superior Salmson 2
Salmson 2
|-References:* Davilla, James J., & Soltan, Arthur M., French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, Connecticut: Flying Machines Press, 1997. ISBN 0-9637110-4-0...
and Breguet 14
Breguet 14
-See also:-References:*Tomasz J. Kowalski, Samolot Breguet 14, TBiU no.197, Warsaw 2002, ISBN 83-11-09461-6...
. The Voisin X, Type LAR and Type LBR, was the Voisin VIII with a more reliable Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
engine in place of the previous Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
design. Deliveries were much delayed, but some nine hundred were built by the end of the war.
The last significant Voisin design, the Voisin XII, was successful in trials in 1918, but with the end of the war, no production was ordered. Unlike previous Voisins, the Voisin XII was a large, twin-tractor-engined biplane night bomber, rather more elegant than previous, boxy Voisins.
Voisin X ambulance variant
In 1918, a Voisin X (No. 3500) was used to create the Voisin 'Aerochir' ('Ambulance'). The aircraft was capable of flying a surgeon, together with an operating table and support equipment, including an x-rayX-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
machine and autoclave
Autoclave
An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...
, into the battlefield. Eight hundred pounds (360 kg) of equipment could be carried in under-wing pannier
Pannier
A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from the Old French, from Classical Latin, word for bread basket....
s.
Post World War I
After 1918, Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry in favor of automobile construction under the brand Avions VoisinAvions Voisin
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin.Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the South West of Paris.Former...
.