Michel Henri Marie Joseph Wibault (born 5 June 1897, died 23 January 1963) was a French aircraft designer. He was a strong advocate of metal construction, and his airliners were important in the development of French commercial aviation in the 1930s. He is especially known for his invention of vectored thrust for aircraft, which led to the development of the V/STOL Hawker Siddeley Harrier.
François Hussenot (22 March 1912 – 16 May 1951) was a French engineer, credited with the invention of one of the early forms of the flight data recorder.
He attended the École polytechnique from 1930 to 1932. After graduation, he attended two other schools: the Ecole Militaire d'Application de l'Aéronautique in Versailles, where he obtained his pilot license, and the Ecole Supérieure d'Aéronautique (better known as Supaéro), which he graduated in 1935 with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
His career began at the Centre d'Essais de Matériels Aériens (CEMA) of Villacoublay, an aircraft test center, in 1935. In July of that year, he married Yvonne. In 1936, he was sent to Saint-Raphaël, in southern France, to take part in the testing of heavy seaplanes. In 1941, he moved to the Centre d'Essais en Vol de Marignane, where he made his early attempts at constructing a flight data recorder. Unlike modern recorders, Hussenot's early models had the particularity of storing the information not on a magnetic band, but on an eight meter long by 88 mm wide photographic film, scrolling in front of a thin spot of light deviated by a mirror to represent the data. The initials HB stood for Hussenot and Beaudouin, the name of an early associate who helped Hussenot in developing the device during World War II. Those flight recorders were also known as "Hussenographs".
In July 1945, Hussenot was appointed as an engineer at the Brétigny-sur-Orge flight test center (Centre d'Essais en Vol de Brétigny-sur-Orge) as the director of the Methods and Try-Outs service (Service des Méthodes et Essais). In 1946, with Maurice Cambois and Charles Cabaret, he created the Ecole du Personnel Navigant (E.P.N.) school, which later became the EPNER (Ecole du Personnel Navigant d'Essais et de Réception). As of today, the EPNER is one of only six test pilot schools in the world, together with the Empire Test Pilots' School, the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and the United States Naval Test Pilot School, the National Test Pilot School, and the Indian Air Force Test Pilots School.
In 1947 Hussenot founded the SFIM (Société Française des Instruments de Mesure) with his associate Marcel Ramolfo, to market his flight data recorder. The SFIM had a successful story of its own, selling many successful data recording devices, before diversifying. The company is today part of the Safran group.
In 1948, Hussenot became professor at SUPAERO. In the same year, he was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and was awarded the Médaille de l'Aéronautique (Medal of Aeronautics) in recognition for his services.
François Hussenot died in 1951, in a plane crash between Marignane and Mont-de-Marsan.
Lucien Servanty (born in 1909 in Paris, died 7 October 1973 in Toulouse) was a French aeronautical engineer. A graduate from the Ecole des Arts et Métiers, he joined Breguet in 1937, then worked at the SNCASO, where he was involved in the redesign of late variants of the Bloch MB.150 line. During World War II, he designed the SO.6000 Triton, France's first jet aircraft. But Lucien Servanty is probably best remembered today for being one of the main engineers behind Concorde (fastest general, public usage plane ever produced).
Alphonse Pénaud (31 May 1850 – 22 October 1880), was a 19th-century French pioneer of aviation design and engineering. He was the originator of the use of twisted rubber to power model aircraft, and his 1871 model airplane, which he called the Planophore, was the first aerodynamically stable flying model. He went on to design a full-sized aircraft with many advanced features, but was unable to get any support for the project, and eventually committed suicide in 1880, aged 30.
Léon Levavasseur (8 January 1863 – 26 February 1922) was a French powerplant engineer, aircraft designer and inventor. His innovations included the V8 engine, direct fuel injection, and liquid engine cooling. Primarily associated with the Antoinette company, he continued to experiment with aircraft design after the company went bankrupt.
André Lefèbvre (19 August 1894 – 4 May 1964) was a French automobile engineer.
André René Lefèbvre was born in Louvres, France (North of Paris, Val d'Oise). He began his career as an aviation engineer working for Voisin, then later for Renault and Citroën. He was also a racing driver and racing car designer.
After studying at Supaéro, he began to work for Gabriel Voisin in March 1916. Voisin placed Lefebvre in charge of his Laboratoire where he worked, until the end of World War I, on aviation projects and then automobiles. He is particularly noted for creating the Voisin C6 Laboratoire, which was a racing car prepared for the 1923 French Grand Prix.
When Voisin ran into business problems in 1931, Lefèbvre was recommended to Louis Renault. Renault was persuaded to recruit Lefèbvre by François Lehideux, himself a senior executive within the company (who was also married to the daughter of Renault's brother).
Lefèbvre remained with Renault only until 1933, when he was hired by André Citroën to work on the Traction Avant project. After the death of André Citroën in 1935, Lefèbvre continued his work at Citroën, now led by the innovative entrepreneur Pierre-Jules Boulanger, who came to the company from Michelin.
Working with Citroën designers Flaminio Bertoni and Paul Magès, Lefèbvre created four of the most dramatic, boldly designed vehicles of 20th century:
Citroën Traction Avant (1934–1957) – a large family sedan, a favourite of gangsters, the French resistance and the Gestapo, built for 23 years
Citroën 2CV (1948–1990) – a small, advanced, utility sedan, known as "the duck" or "Tin Snail", built for 42 years
Citroën DS (1955–1975) – a radically advanced, large family sedan, seen as shark like, built for 20 years
Citroën HY (1947–1981) – in corrugated steel sheet, practical delivery van, built for 34 yearsThe 1955 Citroën DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, behind the Ford Model T and BMC Mini.
Lefèbvre died of hemiplegia on 4 May 1964.
Émile Allegret (24 April 1907 – 22 November 1990) was a French soldier and member of the French Resistance during World War II.
Albert Irénée Caquot (1 July 1881 – 28 November 1976) was a French engineer. He received the “Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)” (military honor) and was Grand-croix of the Légion d’Honneur (1951). In 1962, he was awarded the Wilhelm Exner Medal. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences from 1934 until his death in 1976.
Gérard Mestrallet (French pronunciation: [ʒeʁaʁ mɛstʁalɛ], born 1 April 1949 in Paris, France) is a French manager who served as chairman of the board of directors of Engie and as CEO from 2008 to 2016. He is also the chairman of Suez.
Jean Peyrelevade (born 24 October 1939) is a senior French center-left politician and business leader.