On 25 September 1909, the French airship La République crashed near the Château of Avrilly on her return from a military exercise, killing the entire crew.
La République was one of three semi-rigid military airships built as subsequent examples of the successful Patrie class. Designed by Henri Julliot, chief engineer at Lebaudy Frères, a sugar producer, the Patrie was completed in 1906 and became the first airship designed and purpose-built specifically for military service.
Although the airship was lost as early as December 1907, the French Army considered the type successful and ordered two more aircraft of the same class. Shortly afterwards, Lebaudy received additional orders from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
La République (also known as the Lebaudy 2), the first sister ship of the Patrie, was finished in June 1908 and delivered to the French Army at the end of the following month. The only differences from her predecessor were the size of the envelope and ballonet. La République was then followed by Liberté (Lebaudy 3), which also saw military service with the French forces. They were followed by Russie and Лебедь (Lebed – Swan) for the Russian Empire. In addition, another airship from this class was built under licence in Austria and named Autrichienne (literally “an Austrian woman”).
In late 1908 and during the first month of the following year, La République performed only short training flights around her base in Chalais-Meudon. The first longer mission was recorded on 4 August 1909, when the airship covered about 210 km in six hours of flight.
In September of that year, La République was scheduled to take part in Les grandes Manoeuvres du Bourbonnais (The Great Bourbonnais Manoeuvres), where she was to perform reconnaissance duties. However, during the flight from Chalais-Meudon to a temporary air base in Lapalisse, the airship was forced to make an emergency landing at Policards due to an overheated engine.
After landing, La République was dismantled and sent back to Chalais-Meudon for necessary repairs. Soon afterwards, she flew to Lapalisse again and then successfully took part in the manoeuvres.
When Les grandes Manoeuvres du Bourbonnais had concluded, the crew decided to fly back to Chalais-Meudon rather than dismantle the dirigible again and ship her by train. However, during the return flight, a blade of one of the airship’s propellers sheared off its shaft and pierced the envelope. The bag deflated immediately, and La République crashed into the ground at high speed, killing all four crew members.
The La République crew consisted of Commander Capt. Marchal, Lt. Chauré and two mechanics, Adjudants (Warrant Officers) Vincenot and Réau. They were, most probably, the first casualties of a military airship. Today, their memory lives on in the names of streets in Paris.
In addition, Lebaudy Frères built another airship, which was named Capitaine Marchal in honour of the deceased commander of La République and then handed over to the French Army.
Cover photo: La République in flight (source: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque patrimoniale de Pau, ark:/12148/btv1b10571221k)
