André Dubonnet (28 June 1897 – 20 January 1980) was a French flying ace, athlete, race car driver, and inventor. He was the grandson of Joseph Dubonnet, founder of the Dubonnet apéritif firm, from which he inherited substantial wealth.[1]
Dubonnet was born in Paris on 28 June 1897.[2] He began his military service as an artilleryman, but switched to aviation.
He was credited with six aerial victories as a pilot during World War I. Flying a SPAD XIII, he shared two out of his three May 1918 victories with Frank Baylies, teamed up with Fernand Henri Chavannes to destroy an observation balloon on 13 June, and split a pair of wins on 16 August 1918 with Joseph de Sevin and Captain Battle.[3]
Between the world warsedit
In December 1922, Dubonnet married Claude Sampieri, daughter of Count Charles Sampieri and of Irène Cahen d'Anvers, whose father was the banker Louis Cahen d'Anvers. Together, they had two daughters, France and Lorraine.[citation needed]
During the 1920s, Dubonnet competed in Olympic bobsledding,[4] as well as racing cars for Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza.[1] He later spent much of his fortune developing inventions. He successfully sold an automobile suspension system (système Dubonnet) to General Motors, but nearly went bankrupt late in life while working on solar energy.[1] He also developed several aerodynamic studies and commissioned some special aerodynamic cars to be built for him.
In 1932, Dubonnet married Xenia Howard-Johnston, who died not long afterward. He met his third wife, the American Ruth Obre, during his dealings with GM’s Alfred P. Sloan, who was famed for his visions of the automaker’s incremental product levels and planned obsolescence. Both women figured in Dubonnet’s continuing tale.[citation needed]
He returned to service during World War II, serving in GCI/2.[5]
André Dubonnet died on 20 January 1980 in Paris.[2][3]
Sources of informationedit
^ abc. Time. February 4, 1980. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
^ abOver the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918, pp. 155 - 156
^ abThe Aerodrome website [1] Retrieved on 2 May 2010.
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN1841763160, 9781841763163.
Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918 London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN978-0-948817-54-0.
External linksedit
(in French) Biography, list of aerial victories, color profiles of his planes
December 18, 2023
andré, dubonnet, june, 1897, january, 1980, french, flying, athlete, race, driver, inventor, grandson, joseph, dubonnet, founder, dubonnet, apéritif, firm, from, which, inherited, substantial, wealth, dubonnet, 1933born, 1897, june, 1897paris, francedied20, ja. Andre Dubonnet 28 June 1897 20 January 1980 was a French flying ace athlete race car driver and inventor He was the grandson of Joseph Dubonnet founder of the Dubonnet aperitif firm from which he inherited substantial wealth 1 Andre DubonnetDubonnet in 1933Born 1897 06 28 28 June 1897Paris FranceDied20 January 1980 1980 01 20 aged 82 AllegianceFranceService wbr branchAviationRankSergentUnitEscadrille 3AwardsLegion d honneur Medaille militaire Croix de Guerre Contents 1 Early life and military service 2 Between the world wars 3 World War II and beyond 4 Sources of information 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and military service editDubonnet was born in Paris on 28 June 1897 2 He began his military service as an artilleryman but switched to aviation He was credited with six aerial victories as a pilot during World War I Flying a SPAD XIII he shared two out of his three May 1918 victories with Frank Baylies teamed up with Fernand Henri Chavannes to destroy an observation balloon on 13 June and split a pair of wins on 16 August 1918 with Joseph de Sevin and Captain Battle 3 Between the world wars editIn December 1922 Dubonnet married Claude Sampieri daughter of Count Charles Sampieri and of Irene Cahen d Anvers whose father was the banker Louis Cahen d Anvers Together they had two daughters France and Lorraine citation needed nbsp Dubonnet commissioned several unique cars to be built such as this 1938 Hispano Suiza H6B Dubonnet XeniaDuring the 1920s Dubonnet competed in Olympic bobsledding 4 as well as racing cars for Bugatti and Hispano Suiza 1 He later spent much of his fortune developing inventions He successfully sold an automobile suspension system systeme Dubonnet to General Motors but nearly went bankrupt late in life while working on solar energy 1 He also developed several aerodynamic studies and commissioned some special aerodynamic cars to be built for him In 1932 Dubonnet married Xenia Howard Johnston who died not long afterward He met his third wife the American Ruth Obre during his dealings with GM s Alfred P Sloan who was famed for his visions of the automaker s incremental product levels and planned obsolescence Both women figured in Dubonnet s continuing tale citation needed Dubonnet became a Chevalier of the Legion d honneur in January 1936 5 World War II and beyond editHe returned to service during World War II serving in GCI 2 5 Andre Dubonnet died on 20 January 1980 in Paris 2 3 Sources of information edit a b c Milestones Feb 4 1980 Time February 4 1980 Archived from the original on December 2 2008 a b Over the Front The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services 1914 1918 pp 155 156 a b The Aerodrome website 1 Retrieved on 2 May 2010 Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Andre Dubonnet Olympic Results Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 5 April 2018 a b SPAD XII XIII aces of World War I p 18 References editSPAD XII XIII aces of World War I Jon Guttman Osprey Publishing 2002 ISBN 1841763160 9781841763163 Franks Norman Bailey Frank 1993 Over the Front The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services 1914 1918 London UK Grub Street Publishing ISBN 978 0 948817 54 0 External links edit in French Biography list of aerial victories color profiles of his planes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Andre Dubonnet amp oldid 1157677394, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
