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Raymond Vanier

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Raymond Vanier
AERIEN-1971-2a22a22a1368386817.jpg
Born(1895-08-06)6 August 1895
Orléans, Loiret, France
Died15 August 1965(1965-08-15) (aged 70)
Paris, France
Resting placeCimetière Père-Lachaise, Paris
NationalityFrench
Known forChief pilot of Air Bleu, 1935. First night-flying pilot of the French Postal Airlines. Head of Postal Department, Air France, 1948 - 1959.
AwardsCroix de Guerre (Military Medal) of France with eight citations Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur
Aviation career
Famous flightsNatal to Rio De Janeiro - pioneering night flight in tropical storms, May 1930
Air forceAéronautique Militaire France World War I
RankSous-Lieutenant

Raymond Lucien Vanier (6 August 1895 – 15 August 1965) was a pioneering French aviator. Vanier played a key role in the development of French and Spanish civil aviation, despite being less well-known to the general public than Jean Mermoz, Henri Guillaumet or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.[1]

Career

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Vanier was born in Orléans. During the First World War, he began as an NCO in the artillery before transferring to become a fighter pilot on 15 March 1917.[2] He gained a strong reputation and was highly decorated. After the end of the war, in 1919, Vanier was hired as a pilot for the newly developing airline of Pierre-Georges Latécoère, Aéropostale, which was based in Toulouse. He became its station manager in Málaga, and then in Barcelona. In the same year, he opened up Spanish routes, and beginning in 1927 set up connections to South America.

On 30 August 1933, Air France was created when Aéropostale merged with Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA), and Société Générale des Transports Aériens (SGTA).[3] Vanier's first task for the new airline was to determine an appropriate location in Cape Verde for a new airfield, which would serve as an emergency landing location for the Company's aircraft flying the Dakar-Natal route.[4] In 1934, he determined that a plot of land in Praia, Santiago, would be most appropriate. The current international airport is only a few hundred metres away from the original site chosen by Vanier.[4]

In 1935, Vanier was appointed the chief pilot of Air Bleu.[5] In 1939, he piloted the first night-time postal flights for the airline, until they were shut down by World War II.[6] In 1945, he was integral to restarting these flights, this time for Air France.[6] In 1948, Vanier was appointed head of the postal department of Air France.[5] He worked there until his retirement in February 1959.[5]

Vanier broke the record for emergency landings, saving a number of his comrades. He is mentioned with humour in a biography of Saint-Exupéry, arriving at the scene of one of the latter’s many crashes. Routes he instigated have continued to operate in Spain, Morocco, the Sahara, and throughout South America.

Vanier was named a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in September 1923, an Officer in March 1935 and a Commander in July 1952.[7] He is buried in Division 3 of the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.[8]

Founder of Barcelona International Airport

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On 25 December 1918, Latécoère took off from Toulouse - Montaudran and arrived after a 2h 20min flight in Barcelona, landing on the Can Tunis racetrack, used since 1910 for air shows. After this flight, Latécoère outlined the need for Barcelona to have adequate facilities to receive and refuel Aéropostale aircraft. The Volateria airfield, located in the town of El Prat de Llobregat, was initially chosen. It had been used since 1916 by the Pujol Comabella Hereter School of Aviation and included the school’s workshops. On 7 January 1919, Beppo de Massimi signed a cooperation agreement with the workshops at Hereter. But in December 1919, following a disagreement over the financial conditions of using Volateria, Raymond Vanier, then Chief of Aerodromes for Latécoère, was charged with finding another suitable location nearby.

In March 1920, a new location was chosen. 800 metres long, it was on a floodplain, in very poor condition and lacking facilities. It was drained and flattened, then gradually equipped with workshops, hangars, telephone and radio telegraph. Later, night-time lighting was installed and in 1932 a passenger terminal was opened. Known as "El Frances Camp", it in turn bore the names in Spanish "Aerodromo Latécoère", "Aerodromo of Aeropostale," then "Aerodromo Air France." The land that made up the original site is now fully covered by the Barcelona International Airport.

Night-time postal flights (La Postale de nuit)

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As chief pilot of Air Bleu, Vanier was the pilot of the first French night-time postal service flight, which took place on 10 May 1939, using a two-engine Caudron Goéland. The flight left Paris in the afternoon and featured stop-overs in Bordeaux and Mont de Marsan before arriving at the final destination of Pau the following morning.[6] However, the initial success of the night-time postal flights was cut short, as the German military banned night flights in France after the Franco-German Armistice of 22 June 1940.[6]

After the end of World War II, Air France was charged with reinstating night-time postal flights.[6] Vanier worked alongside Didier Daurat, who was the first Director of the new domestic airmail department within Air France, the Centre d’exploitation postal métropolitain (CEPM), to restart services.[9] On 26 October 1945, the Paris-Bordeaux-Mont de Marsan-Pau night-time postal route was reinstated, followed on 2 July 1946 by a Paris-Lyon-Marseille-Nice service.[6]

"Our crews are the only ones in the world to take off every night, whatever the weather, and whatever the visibility. On occasions where others give up, the men of the Postale carry out their unsung tasks and nothing can stop their daily rounds." - Raymond Vanier[10]

Autobiography “Tout pour la ligne”

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The summary published in the 2006 re-edition of Vanier’s autobiography is as follows: ″Many books have been devoted to the pioneering of aviation in France. Often these are written a posteriori by researchers, journalists or novelists, exalting their heroic exploits. “Tout pour la ligne” on the other hand, was written by a pioneer himself. According to his personal notes, Raymond Vanier speaks directly with modesty and rigor of his working day life of more than forty years. He describes the history of the establishment of regular and reliable commercial airlines. His book is written in a spare style making us re-live the story with simplicity and passion.″[11]

Vanier's tomb in Père-Lachaise - Division 3, portrays a bas relief of his portrait and his awards.

References

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  1. ^ Anon. "Curriculum Vitae Raymond Vanier". Fondation Pierre-Georges Latécoère, Paris. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  2. ^ Vanier, Raymond; Bordes, François (2017). Raymond Vanier, journal d'un pilote de guerre, 1914-1918: transcription des notes journalières de la guerre de Vanier Raymond, engagé volontaire pour la durée de la guerre. Carbonne: Loubatières. ISBN 978-2-86266-751-5.
  3. ^ "Notre histoire : Legend". corporate.airfrance.com. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  4. ^ a b Faria D, Dobson A, Monteiro A, Nuno Rodrigues L, eds. (2019-07-23). L'aviation et son impact sur le temps et l'espace [Aviation and its impact on time and space] (in French). Editions Le Manuscrit. ISBN 978-2-304-04757-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ a b c Catillon, Marcel (1997). Mémorial aéronautique: qui était qui?. Paris: Nouvelles Editions latines. ISBN 978-2-7233-0529-7. OCLC 40311320.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Allaz, Camille; Skilbeck, John M. (2004). The history of air cargo and airmail: from the 18th century. London: Christopher Foyle in association with the International Air Cargo Association. pp. 113, 234. ISBN 978-1-902579-82-5.
  7. ^ "Proces Verbal de reception d'un membre de la légion d'honneur". Archives Nationales. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  8. ^ appl (2020-12-31). "Cimetière du Père Lachaise - APPL - VANIER Raymond (1895-1965)". Cimetière du Père Lachaise - APPL. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  9. ^ "Histoire de La Poste | Musée la Poste". www.museedelaposte.fr (in French). 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  10. ^ Vanier, Raymond (1960). Tout pour la ligne [All for the line] (in French) (1st ed.). éditions France-Empire. p. 264.
  11. ^ Vanier, Raymond (2006). Tout pour la ligne (2nd ed.). Portet-sur-Garonne: Loubatières. ISBN 978-2-86266-499-6.

Dendrotek 20:43, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

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