- Henri Guillaumet
Henri Guillaumet (
29 May 1902 at "Bouy", nearChâlons-en-Champagne -27 November 1940 in theMediterranean ) was a Frenchaviator .He was a pioneer of French aviation in the
Andes , the SouthAtlantic and the north Atlantic. He contributed to the opening up of numerous new routes and is regarded by some as the best pilot of his age. "I've never known a greater one," saidDidier Daurat , owner of Aéropostale. («"Je n'en ai pas connu de plus grand."»)On Friday 13 June 1930, while crossing the Andes for the 92nd time, he crashed his
Potez 25 at "Laguna Diamante" because of bad weather. He walked for a week, over three mountain passes. Though tempted to give up, he persisted while thinking of his wife, Noëlle. He reached a village whose inhabitants could not believe his story. This exploit made him stand out among the 'stars' of Aéropostale.To
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , who had come to find him, he said: "What I have done, I swear to you, no other animal could have done." («" Ce que j'ai fait, je te le jure, aucune bête ne l'aurait fait "».After a number of south Atlantic crossings, he was appointed managing director of
Air France .On 27 November 1940, while flying to
Syria withJean Chiappe , the new French High Commissioner to theLevant , his four-enginedFarman NC.2234 aircraft "Le Verrier" was shot down by an Italian fighter over the Mediterranean.In 1995,
Futuroscope paid homage to Guillaumet with a 3DIMAX film byJean-Jacques Annaud : "Wings of Courage " ("les Ailes du Courage"). Guillaumet was played byCraig Sheffer .:* Translation/Ref|fr|Henri Guillaumet|oldid=13513521
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