The air mail bags transported the technical and economic proposals for the bidding of the so-called Obra del Río Negro in Uruguay, the international tender carried out in three calls in 1936, for the construction of the Rincón del Bonete hydroelectric plant. In 1941, the Investigative Commission of Anti-National Activities of the Parliament of Uruguay, after denunciations filed before the Deputy Tomas Brena and Julio Iturbide, arrives at the surprising conclusion of the last two airmail flights of Air France, and with result the death of Collenot first and Mermoz later, they were the result of sabotage of the Nazi Fifth Column (National German Socialist Workers Party operating in Uruguay). Henri Guillaumet, one of Mermoz's fellow pilots, had encountered the same problem a few months before, but as his own engine was on the forward side, airspeed had been sufficient to maintain the propeller in place until the landing. It is assumed that the engine they had tried to repair lost its propeller midflight, and being one of the aft engines, the loose propeller either badly damaged or cut the hull entirely, causing the plane to lose its tail and crash instantly. No further messages were received, and neither the Laté 300 nor the crew were ever recovered. (His last words before boarding the plane were 'Quick, let's not waste time anymore.')įour hours later, the radio station received a short message, where Mermoz reported that he had to cut the power on the aft starboard engine. After learning that he would have to wait for another one to be prepared, he took off again in the same plane after a quick repair, concerned that he would be late in delivering the mail. On 7 December 1936 he turned back shortly after take-off to report a troublesome engine on his Latécoère 300 Croix-du-Sud ( Southern Cross). In 1935, he also flew de Havilland DH.88 'Comet' airplanes. From 1934 to 1936, Mermoz would fly private expeditions on Latécoère 300 airplanes. They became regarded as two of the most important men in the history of Argentine commercial aviation. Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry flew many dangerous flights for the then new air company. That same year, he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he and Saint-Exupéry became important persons during the infancy of Aeroposta Argentina, which would later become Aerolíneas Argentinas. In 1933, Mermoz was appointed general inspector by Air France. Mermoz, his two companions and the mail were rescued, but the plane sank during the attempt to tow it. Unfortunately, the modified Laté 28 'Comte-de-la-Vaulx' did not prove reliable enough, and had to ditch at sea during the return flight. Mermoz, between Victor Etienne and Guillaumet Río de Janeiro.Īfter flying from Saint-Louis, in Senegal, to Natal, Brazil, in 12–, the line was complete at last. During that time, to save time, he decided to fly during the night, using light beacons and flares as guides and his fellow pilots, for once, were a bit reluctant to see him do it, because they knew it would be their turn next.įor some time, as transatlantic flights were not yet possible, steamboats linked both halves of the 'Line'. Despite Mermoz finding the flying conditions over the Andes to be tough, he became the project's main pilot, determined to reach the Pacific Ocean, and he was able, after multiple stops, to reach Santiago, Chile.

By 1929, it had become evident that it would be economically viable for France to establish a commercial air route to South America, so Mermoz and others flew over the Andes. Latécoère's project was to create a direct airline between France and South America. The Latécoère 25, (or 'Laté 25') and, later, the Latécoère 26 and Latécoère 28 proved to be efficient aircraft when flying from Morocco to Senegal, and Mermoz himself flew the types on those routes on multiple occasions.īut Africa was only the beginning. In 1927, Latécoère began building his own brand of planes to replace the aging World War I aircraft Breguet 14.

A Latécoère 25 in the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina, in the livery of Aeroposta Argentina

Jean mermoz wikipedia