Joseph Le Brix

[1] By August 1925, Le Brix was serving in French Naval Aviation's Escadrille (Squadron) 5.B.2 and taking part in the Rif War, flying missions over Spanish Morocco in a Farman F.60 Goliath.He flew geographic survey missions over the Sahara Desert in southern French Morocco until 1927, pioneering the use of maritime navigation techniques not yet in wide use aboard aircraft.[1] Now rivals, Le Brix and Costes planned to set out in early 1929 in separate attempts to become the first pilot to fly from Paris to Saigon in French Indochina in fewer than five stages.Le Brix secretly set out first, taking off in February in the Bernard 197GR from Istres, France, with his copilot Antoine Paillard and mechanic Camille Jousse.[1] Undaunted, the men decided to make a second attempt, departing Paris–Le Bourget Airport on 11 September 1931 in a second Dewoitine D.33 named Trait d'Union II, hoping to beat their competitors, Paul Codos and Henri Robida, who took off the same day in the Breguet 19 TF Super Bidon Point d'Interrogation also intending to fly nonstop to Tokyo; Codos and Robida, however, were forced to land at Düsseldorf, Germany, after only a few hours.Streets in Baden, Nantes, Lorient, Bourges, Toulouse, Tours, Marseille, Vannes, Pontivy, and Saint-Avé, among others, bear his name, as does a plaza in Langueux.The Passions and Wings museum in Baden is dedicated to Le Brix and his biography, and a memorial plaque in his honor is mounted on the façade of Collège Jules Simon in Vannes, where he was a student.
Dewoitine D.33MorbihanFranceSoviet UnionFrench NavyCapitain de corvetteRif WarCroix de GuerreLegion of HonorDistinguished Flying Crosslieutenant commanderSouth Atlantic OceanBrittanyÉcole Navaleseamanshiptraining shiparmored cruiserJeanne d'ArcJules Micheletnaval aviatoraerial observernavigatorlieutenant de vaisseaupilot's licenseFrench Naval AviationSquadronSpanish MoroccoFarman F.60 GoliathSahara DesertFrench MoroccoDieudonné CostesBreguet 19 G.R.Saint LouisSenegalPort NatalBrazilSouth AmericaPanamaMexicoUnited StatesWashington, D.C.San FranciscoCaliforniaPacific OceanFrench IndochinaFrench SyriaGreeceParis–Le Bourget AirportCongress of the United StatesFrench ArmyAéronautique MilitaireSaigonBernard 197GRIstresAntoine PaillardFrench TunisiaMoulmeinPotez 34rain forestDewoitineFrançois CotyLake BaikalSiberiaparachutedBreguet 19 TF Super BidonDüsseldorfGermanyNotre Dame CathedralFrench governmentMetropolitan FranceBlériot 110Rennes–Saint-Jacques AirportNantesLorientBourgesToulouseMarseilleVannesPontivySaint-AvéLangueuxfrigateLe Brix (F715)weather ship