René Guilbaud

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
Disappeared	18 June 1928(1928-06-18) (aged 37) Barents Sea
Nationality	French
Known for	Disappeared in 1928 while assisting the search for the airship Italia in the Arctic
Aviation career
Full name	René Guilbaud
Famous flights	Long-distance expeditionary flight across Africa in late 1926 Long range flight through Africa and the Mediterranean between 12 October 1927 and 9 March 1927

Long-distance flights

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 a CAMS 37.

Disappearance

Main article: Roald Amundsen § Disappearance and death

Guilbaud disappeared in the Barents Sea en route to Spitsbergen 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.^[1]

Legacy

The mountain Guilbaudtoppen in Sørkapp Land, Spitsbergen (Svalbard), is named after him.^[2]

See also

• Biography portal

• List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea

Books

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