René Guilbaud was an early-20th-century French military aviator.

Long-distance flights

Guilbaud was celebrated mainly for long-range flights, by flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

 across Africa in 1926 and 1927, first in a Lioré et Olivier LeO H-190

Lioré et Olivier LeO H-190

-References:*...

 and then in CAMS 37

CAMS 37

-See also:...

.

Disappearance

Guilbaud disappeared in the Barents Sea

Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

 in June 1928, while piloting a Latham 47

Latham 47

|-See also:...

 flying boat in which Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....

 was travelling to join the search the survivors of the crash of the airship Italia

Airship Italia

Airship Italia was a semi-rigid airship used by Italian engineer Umberto Nobile in his second series of flights around the North Pole.-Design and specifications:...

. While debris from his aircraft was subsequently located, no trace has ever been found of the occupants.

External Links

• Page dedicated to Cdt Guilbaud on the site of the Association of Reserve Officers of the French Navy (in French)