René Guilbaud (8 October 1890 – disappeared 18 June 1928) was an early-20th-century French military aviator.

René Guilbaud
Born(1890-10-08)8 October 1890
Mouchamps, France
Disappeared18 June 1928(1928-06-18) (aged 37)
Barents Sea
NationalityFrench
Known forDisappeared in 1928 while assisting the search for the airship Italia in the Arctic
Aviation career
Full nameRené Guilbaud
Famous flights

Long-distance flights edit

Guilbaud was celebrated mainly for long-range flights, by flying boat across Africa in 1926 and 1927, first in a Lioré et Olivier LeO H-190 and then in CAMS 37.

Disappearance edit

Guilbaud disappeared in the Barents Sea in June 1928, while piloting a Latham 47 flying boat in which Roald Amundsen was travelling to join the search for survivors of the crash of the airship Italia. While debris from his aircraft was subsequently located by late August, no trace has ever been found of the occupants.

Legacy edit

The mountain Guilbaudtoppen in Sørkapp Land, Spitsbergen (Svalbard), is named after him.[1]

See also edit

Books edit

  • La vie héroïque de René Guilbaud 1890-1928 - Coindreau (Roger), 1958

References edit

  1. ^ "Guilbaudtoppen (Svalbard)". Norwegian Polar Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2013.

External links edit