.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}@media all and (max-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{width:auto!important;clear:none!important;float:none!important))You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (January 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 6,170 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Armand Deperdussin]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template ((Translated|fr|Armand Deperdussin)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.
Armand Deperdussin in 1913

Armand Deperdussin (July 8, 1864 in Liège, Belgium – June 11, 1924 in Paris) was a French industrialist and aviation pioneer. Having established himself as a silk-broker, he became involved in the aviation industry in 1910 after witnessing the triumphs of aviator Louis Blériot, founding Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin.[1]

In 1912 he bought Champagne Airfield, and built 30 workshops and other buildings, founding one of the first flying schools.

He hired aircraft designer Louis Béchereau, who designed monohull aircraft whose streamlined shapes achieved previously unattainable performance. With dedicated staff and revolutionary technical advances, the company won many prizes, especially the international Gordon Bennett Trophy in France in 1912 with pilot Jules Védrines, who became the first pilot to fly over 100 mph [169.6 km/h (105.4 mph)], and again in 1913 with pilot Maurice Prévost, who flew 200.8 km/h (124.8 mph).

The company went bankrupt in August 1913, and Deperdussin was disgraced in 1913 when he was accused of obtaining bank loans by fraud and forgery.[2] He was not brought to trial until 1917, and on March 30, 1917 he was convicted of embezzling 32 million francs from his company, fined 1,000 francs, and jailed for five years[1]

The company was renamed the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) when it was taken over by Blériot Aéronautique in 1914.

Deperdussin committed suicide in 1924.

References

  1. ^ a b Russell Naughton. "The Pioneers : An Anthology : Armand-Jean-Auguste Deperdussin ( c.1870 - 1924)". ctie.monash.edu.au. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  2. ^ Laux, James M. (1973). "The Rise and Fall of Armand Deperdussin". French Historical Studies. 8 (1): 95–104. doi:10.2307/285960. JSTOR 285960.