Hubert Le Blon

Biography

Hubert le Blon was born at Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, (or possibly Liancourt, Oise) on 21 March 1874.

His wife, Madame Motann Le Blon, shared his passion for motoring, regularly accompanying him as riding mechanic in his races, and watching during his flying exploits. Public statements in 1903 declared: "Madame Le Blon of Paris, has accompanied her husband on most of his record runs. [She] ... has entered her new Serpollet for the Nice races, in the coming spring, and hopes to travel at ninety miles per hour thereon."

Le Blon Frères of Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, manufactured "Le Blon" and "Lynx" voiturettes from 1898 until possibly 1900.

Sporting career

Le Blon raced a Gardner-Serpollet steam car and set several speed records over a five-year period. Some sources report that in 1901 he drove the Gardner-Serpollet steamer to seventh place in the Paris-Berlin trail, (possibly based on an erroneous claim in his obituary in the New York Times, whilst others, including contemporaneous newspapers have no mention of him competing.).

In the 1902 Paris Grand Prix (or Paris-Arras-Paris) he finished 13th in the same Gardner-Serpollet steamer.

In 1903 Paris-Madrid race he was classified 17th in his Serpollet (after 6 hours 44 minutes 15 seconds) when the race was stopped by the police at Bordeaux due to the number of fatalities. (This race is sometimes known by its post-facto rename of VIII Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.)

In 1904 he was fifth in the Circuit des Ardennes held at Bastogne circuit, in a Hotchkiss. He participated at the Arras Speed Trials in a Serpollet steamer.

In 1905 he was hired to race French Hotchkiss and Panhard cars, and in several races his wife acted as his riding mechanic.

In 1906 he drove a Hotchkiss in both the world's first Grand Prix at Le Mans in France and at the inaugural Targa Florio in Sicily.

In 1906 he was selected by the Thomas Motor Company to race as an unpaid amateur at the American Elimination Trial for the Vanderbilt Cup, having been an employee of the French branch of E. R. Thomas Motor Co. His second place qualified for the five-car American Team, but at the main Vanderbilt Cup race he only completed nine laps. His riding mechanic was Marius Amiel.

In 1907 he drove a De Luca-Daimler in the 2nd Targa Florio, finishing 20th, 1 hour 13 minutes after the winner Felice Nazzaro. On 2 July he was badly injured when he crashed his Panhard on the 4th lap of the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France at Dieppe. This led to a long period of convalescence.

Aviation

By 1909, like many other racers of the era, Le Blon became fascinated by aviation. He enrolled at the pilot training school of pioneering French aviator Léon Delagrange, learning to fly the Bleriot XI monoplane. Delagrange died three months before Le Blon, in an accident similar to the one that would kill Le Blon.

In 1909 Le Blon competed at the Spa aviation meeting in September–October before travelling to Doncaster, England, where he was the "first aviator to take-off at the first ever Air Show in Great Britain", held at the venue of the St. Leger Stakes. He rapidly became "as well known as Bleriot" for his skilled, daring and courageous flying, winning the Bradford Cup for the fastest ten laps of the course in his Blériot monoplane. He further endeared himself to the public on 25 October when he after taking off in very strong winds was hurled at the crowds by a strong gust, but manoeuvred to skim over the crowd, stall and then crash-land in a crowd-free area.

His renown as an aviator increased when, in February 1910, he set a new five-kilometre record of 4 minutes 2 seconds in his Bleriot XI monoplane at the Héliopolis International Air Meeting near Cairo, Egypt.

Le Blon's first aircraft design, the Humber monoplane (Le Blon type), was displayed at the Aero Exhibition at Olympia, London in 1910. Although the project showed creative ingenuity – he planned to sit astride it like a horse – the death of Le Blon led to its termination.

Death

Le Blon drowned in a crash landing into the sea on 2 April 1910 while flying in stormy weather at Ondarreta Beach, San Sebastián, Spain, where he had been performing exhibition flights since 27 March. He was reportedly circling the Royal Palace of Miramar at about 140 feet when the Anzani engine failed, and as he attempted to glide back to land a wing "stay wire" snapped, the plane flipped and crashed into the sea upside down, or possibly collided with some rocks. His wife was among the crowd that was watching.

The New York Times headlined the story thus:

Aeronaut is dashed to death on rocks.

Le Blon, once famous motorist, was circling Spanish Royal Palace at San Sebastian.

His wife saw him fall.

The Motor failed and Machine Turned Turtle as Frenchman was trying to glide to Earth.

According to official documents the cause of death was "drowning" although his body was injured in the impact. The official cause of the crash was attributed to "fracture of one of the wing stay wires when running into a gust of wind".

His death was reported as the sixth person in history to die in an aeroplane accident. He was awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1910.

At his funeral in San Sebastián the streets were lined with troops, shops were closed, and thousands followed his coffin to the railway station where it was transported to Paris.