Avions René Couzinet

Biography Son of a schoolteacher, in 1921 he entered the École des Arts et Métiers in Angers, from which he graduated second in his class. During his studies, he filed several aviation-related patents before joining the École Supérieure de l’Aéronautique in 1924. To fund his early student life, he earned money working in a turbine factory in northern France. In November 1925, he was conscripted into military aviation, where he became a second lieutenant. On May 21, 1927, while on duty as an officer at the 34th Aviation Regiment, he shielded Charles Lindbergh from the enthusiastic crowd upon his triumphant arrival at Le Bourget after his solo transatlantic flight.

All his aircraft retained the same three-engine configuration, but they were never warmly embraced by French aviation officials. In 1933, after parting ways with A.N.F. Les Mureaux, Couzinet was on the verge of bankruptcy. Marcel Dassault once said of him: "René Couzinet builds good planes, but he doesn’t know how to sell them." Later, Couzinet’s design office was merged into Breguet’s in Villacoublay.

During World War II, he emigrated to Brazil, where he was put in charge of the technical direction of the national aviation program in Lagoa Santa. In 1943, he joined the Free French Forces. Upon returning to France in 1944, most design bureau doors were closed to him. His futuristic projects—such as hydrofoil aircraft and vertical takeoff planes—never progressed beyond the model stage, including the RC360 Aérodyne, a "flying saucer"-shaped aircraft designed in 1955. He failed to obtain administrative permission to restore his workshops on Île de la Jatte, which had been destroyed during the war. On December 16, 1956, he shot his wife (the widow of Jean Mermoz) with a revolver before turning the gun on himself. He is buried in Bagneux Cemetery in Paris.

Aircraft Built

Couzinet 10 Arc en Ciel No. 1 In 1927, he built the Couzinet 10 Arc en Ciel No. 1 (ARC standing for Avions René Couzinet), which had a very modern appearance for its time. It was a three-engine wooden monoplane with a thick wing and a characteristic tapered vertical stabilizer, a feature of all subsequent Arc-en-Ciel models. Designed for transatlantic flights, its development was funded by a hotel owner who lent him 50,000 francs. He also obtained three 180 hp engines for free from Jacques Lacoste, the delegate administrator of Hispano-Suiza. Engineer Georges Le Moy was one of its main designers. The maiden flight took place on May 7, 1928, departing from Orly.

The Ateliers des Mureaux agreed to take on the first prototype, with Couzinet acting as a service provider. He also undertook studies for observation aircraft, which A.N.F. Les Mureaux sold. Albert Caquot then provided 6.6 million francs to the young engineer for four Arc-en-Ciel prototypes—remarkable aircraft that, however, lacked fine-tuning.

Couzinet 11 Arc en Ciel No. 1 In 1928, the Couzinet 10 was modified by replacing the central 180 hp engine with a 600 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Lb, which crashed on August 8, 1928, during testing.

Arc en Ciel No. 2 Based on Study No. 28GR, this new aircraft was nearing completion. On the night of February 19, 1930, the Meudon workshops were devastated by a fire, destroying not only the aircraft but also all archives and blueprints. Georges Le Moy, the engineer behind the first prototypes, remarkably reconstructed all the plans from memory in just a few months. This allowed René Couzinet to build the Arc-en-Ciel No. 3, with which he and Jean Mermoz would later fly to Buenos Aires in 1933.

Couzinet 33 Biarritz The Couzinet 33 Biarritz, a four-seat grand tourer, made its first flight on November 25, 1931. From March 4 to April 5, 1932, it completed the first France–New Caledonia air link: 24,000 km in 134 hours and 45 minutes of flight time, with stopovers in Istres, Tripoli (Libya), Cairo, Basra, Gwadar, Karachi, and Allahabad. The arrival in Tontouta (Nouméa) was met by a crowd of 10,000 people. The aircraft was slightly damaged upon landing, but the crew was unharmed. It was later disassembled and shipped back to France. The Biarritz No. 2 was repaired and fitted with more powerful engines, completing a series of flights in Europe and Africa, including a Paris–Moscow flight with Pierre Cot, the Minister of Air, and several flights to Africa, one of which reached the Cape Verde Islands. On its return from North Africa, it crashed in Blaisy-Bas (Côte-d’Or) on October 30, 1933.

Couzinet 70 Arc en Ciel No. 3 The Couzinet 70 Arc-en-Ciel III made its first flight on February 11, 1932. On January 16, 1933, piloted by Jean Mermoz and accompanied by Couzinet himself, the Couzinet 70 (registration F-AMBV) crossed the South Atlantic from Saint-Louis, Senegal, to Natal, Brazil, in 14 hours and 32 minutes, covering 3,173 km at an average speed of 227 km/h. The return trip took place from May 15 to 21, with a triumphant arrival at Le Bourget before 15,000 people. Between the crossings, the aircraft underwent significant modifications, including a new fuselage, becoming the Couzinet 71.

The plane was later operated by Air France and completed a total of 8 commercial South Atlantic crossings. Unfortunately, the French state canceled official orders for the company without explanation, marking the beginning of the manufacturer’s downfall. The aircraft was sold at auction in 1935.