undated photo of "L'Oiseau Blanc." AFP / -
Decré Bernard, president of the association "In search of L'Oiseau Blanc" has eyes that sparkle ... A 70, the founder of the Tour de France sailing and aviation enthusiast, sees four years of research on the verge of success.
New evidence lend credence to the hypothesis that L'Oiseau Blanc, the plane of Nungesser and Coli, the two French pilots missing in May 1927 when they crossed the North Atlantic would have crashed off the coast of St. Pierre and Miquelon. A discovery that could upset history of global aviation ... Because always, the feat of the first transatlantic flight is assigned to the American Lindbergh. A MYSTERIOUS
WRECK
few weeks ago, plunged into the U.S. national archives, Bernard Decré puts his hand on a piece of the utmost importance, a telegram dated 18 August 1927, more than three months after the disappearance of two airmen, from a ship of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The telegram from the U.S. Coast Guard revives speculation on the course of Nungesser and Coli.
It reads: "A pair of white wings connected together was found in the west of Sable Island. It could be pieces of wreckage from the plane of Nungesser and Coli." Part of fifteen feet long and four wide all the air has to belong to the unit of the French. She was found 180 kilometers southeast coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The ocean current of Labrador could explain it has drifted too far from Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Bernard Decré account well dig this track because it think the U.S. has been or still are in possession of a Exhibit irrefutable - the wingtip - and have deliberately covered up the case. A plausible argument under the context of the time the Americans were desperate to get this achievement before the Europeans . Four planes, including the Spirit of St. Louis Lindberg, were on the starting line in New York during this period of turmoil major regattas. On the blog every day that traces his research, Bernard Decré said he had the impression of "having shod a big fish."
When his daughter offers him a few years ago, a book by author and shipwreck hunter Clive Cussler, she does not know what she has triggered. Bernard describes decides to start looking for the mythical bird Blanc. For four years, he searched the archives French and American newspapers found time to recounting the saga of the two airmen.
adventure of the French had led to a misunderstanding remained famous in the history of Allen Press. Following rumors indicating the passage of aircraft over Newfoundland May 9, 1927, eleven days before the crossing of Lindbergh, the success of the flight was announced with anticipation by several French newspapers, before the new is denied. L'Oiseau Blanc and its pilots will never be seen again.
Eighty years later, Bernard Decré made calls to witnesses on Canadian airwaves, probe the seabed of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and collected many testimonies.
Consistent testimonies but also wingtips found here and there in the North Atlantic. For Jean-Georges, president of the Aeroclub de France, the new administrative document, invaluable, today confirms the hypothesis that Nungesser and Coli have well crossed the Atlantic twelve days before the Americans. The discovery engine, one piece of equipment that would have resisted time and water, might remove some uncertainties remain ... But Bernard
Decré remains fair play. He does not call into question the achievement of Lindbergh and just want to shed light on the adventure of its French rivals, which had inquired Lindbergh himself.
The third research campaign in the wreck should take place in Saint Pierre and Miquelon during June 2011.
http://lemonde.fr/planete/article/2010/11/10/deux-francais-ont-ils-traverse-l-atlantique-avant-lindbergh_1438290_3244.html
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