Hélène Boucher
Encyclopedia
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; died 30 November 1934 in Guyancourt
Guyancourt
Guyancourt is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.-Geography:...
near Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was a French pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
.
Records
In 1934, she flew the speed record over 100 km (485 km/h on average) and became thus the "quickest woman of the world". She held the altitude record with 5,200 metres and eight other world records. She held this record for another 32 years.Biography
Boucher was pupil of Michel Detroyat.The young stunt pilot became one of the most popular attractions on flight shows in France and abroad. The company Renault took her temporarily under contract in order to promote the new Viva Grand Sport
Renault Viva Grand Sport
The Renault Viva Grand Sport was introduced on the 1934 Paris Motor Show,with the name of Renault Vivasport, the car was next to the Renault Vivastella and Nervastella...
. She died at an early age of 26 on a test flight near Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
when the machine crashed into the woods of Guyancourt
Guyancourt
Guyancourt is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.-Geography:...
. She was the first woman buried at Les Invalides
Les Invalides
Les Invalides , officially known as L'Hôtel national des Invalides , is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's...
. The press and others claimed Detroyat to be responsible for her death, spurring a "young, innocent girl" to such a "dangerous sport". She was posthumously made a knight of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Literature
- Antoine Redier: Hélène Boucher, jeune fille de France, Flammarion in 1935 with a preface of general Denain (aviation minister)
External links
- Hélène Boucher Site (French)