Tag Archives: Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet

22 October 1919

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet with a Spad-Herbemont, (S.20bis6) 9 October 1920. (Agence Meurisse 84138/BnF)

During a competition for the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe, Lieutenant Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet of France’s  Aéronautique Militaire flew a Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V to set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 268.63 kilometers per hour (166.92 miles per hour).¹

De Romanet’s Ni-D 29V was one of three racing variants of the highly successful single-engine, single-seat Ni-D 29C.1 biplane fighter, which was the fastest in the world at the time. The Ni-D 29V was 21 feet, 3.5 inches (6.489 meters) long, with a wing span of just 6.00 meters (19 feet, 8¼ inches), shortened from the 31 feet, 10 inch (9.703 meters) wingspan of the standard production chasseur.

Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V (Unattributed)
A Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V. This airplane, , was flown by Joseph Sadi Lecointe. (Unattributed)

The airplane was powered by a water-cooled, normally aspirated, 18.473 liter (1,127.29-cubic-inch displacement) right-hand tractor Hispano-Suiza 8Fb single overhead cam (SOHC) 90° V-8 engine, modified to increase its output to 320 horsepower. This was a direct-drive engine, and turned a two-bladed-fixed pitch propeller. The engine was 1.32 meters (4 feet, 4 inches) long, 0.89 meters (2 feet, 11 inches) wide, and 0.88 meters (2 feet, 10½ inches) high. It weighed 256 kilograms (564 pounds).

The standard airplane had a top speed of 235 kilometers per hour (146 miles per hour), a range of 580 kilometers (360 miles) and a service ceiling of 8,500 meters (27,887 feet).

This right rear-quarter view of a Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V shows the shortned two-bay wing configuration. (United States Air Force)
This right rear-quarter view of one of the three Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V racers shows the shortened two-bay wing configuration. (United States Air Force)
Bernard Henri Barny de Romanet

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was born at Saint-Maurice-de-Sathonay, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France, 28 January 1894. He was the son of Léonard Jean Michel Barny de Romanet and Marie Noémie Isabelle de Veyssière. He descended from a very old French family.

Bernard de Romanet joined the Cavalry at the age of 18 years. During World War I, he served with both cavalry and infantry regiments as a Maréchel de Logis (master sergeant) before transferring to the Aéronautique Militaire in July 1915, as a photographer and observer.

After completing flight training in 1916, de Romanet was assigned as a pilot. In early 1918, de Romanet trained as a fighter pilot. He shot down his first enemy airplane 23 May 1918, for which he was awarded the Médaille Militaire, and was promoted to Adjutant (warrant officer). De Romanet was commissioned as a Sous-Lieutenant (equivalent to a second lieutenant in the United States military) several months later. After a fourth confirmed victory he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (first lieutenant).

By August 1918, he was in command of Escadrille 167. He was officially credited with having shot down 18 enemy aircraft, sharing credit for 12 with other pilots. He claimed an additional 6 airplanes destroyed.

Lieutenant de Romanet was appointed Chevalier de la légion d’honneur, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre with three  étoiles en vermeil (silver gilt) stars and 10 palmes.

Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was killed 23 September 1921, when the fabric covering of his Lumière-De Monge 5.1 airplane’s wings was torn away and the airplane crashed.

¹ FAI Record File Numbers 15642, 15670.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

28 September 1920: The Gordon-Bennett Air Race

Coupe Gordon Bennett
Coupe Gordon-Bennett d’ aviation, sculpted by André Auroc (airrace.com)

28 September 1920: The fifth Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy Races was held. The Trophy was sponsored by an American businessman, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., publisher of the New York Herald newspaper. Gordon Bennett had previously sponsored the James Gordon Bennett Cup for yachting, the Gordon Bennett Cup for automobile racing, and the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett for ballooning.

The airplane races were held annually from 1909 until 1913. In those years, the race had been one twice by France, once by the United Kingdom and twice by the United States. Like the Coupe d’Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider (the Schneider Cup) for seaplanes, the nation which won the race three times consecutively would be permanently awarded the trophy. Because of the World War, no races were held 1914–1919.

Flight reported:

THE GORDON-BENNETT RACE

It had been anticipated that this year’s race for the Gordon-Bennett Aviation Trophy would have been a much better contest than any of the five previous competitions. Great Britain and the United States had challenged France, and the teams of each of the three countries comprised very fast machines. But disappointment followed on disappointment, and in the end only one competitor—Sadi Lacointe, on a French Nieuport—completed the full course of 300 kiloms. without trouble, and he thereby won the trophy for France for the third time.

     During the early morning of Tuesday a thick mist hung over the ground, and it was not until 1.36 p.m. that the first competitor got away, this being Kirsch on one of the French Nieuports. He was followed by de Romanet on a Spad, and the third member of the French team—the favourite—Sadi Lecointe. The American team—Rinehardt on the Dayton-Wright and Major Schroeder on the Army machine—followed a few minutes after, and then there was a long wait before Raynham, on the Martinsyde “Semiquaver,” the only British representative, got away. Kirsch did the first 100 kiloms in 21 mins. 29 secs., while de Romanet took 22 mins. 52-1/5 secs., but both had to come down soon after they completed the second lap, and Kirsch retired. The Americans did not survive long, Rinehardt having to come down after a quarter of an hour, having difficulty with his steering, while Schroeder was put out of the contest by engine trouble at the end of the first round.

     Raynham was unable to complete one lap, apparently being in trouble with the engine of his machine.

     This left Sadi Lecointe, whose time for the 100 kiloms. was 21 mins. 36 secs., for 200 kiloms. 43 mins. 42-3/5 secs., and for the full course of 300 kiloms. 1 hr. 6 mins. 17-1/5 secs., his average speed working out to 270 kiloms. (168 miles) per hour. De Romanet completed the course in 1 hr. 39 mins. 50-3/5 secs.

     The Trophy remains in France, and as she has won it three times it stays there permanently. Sadi Lecointe also won the cash prize of 10,000 francs offered by the Aero Club of France, and a similar prize offered by the Aero Club of America.

     The French team had been chosen in an eliminating trial on Sunday, when the three pilots mentioned above were selected. Barault, on a Borel-Hispano, would probably have secured the third place if he had only flown the course as it was arranged.

     The American team was reduced by one owing to the accident to Rholfs on the Curtiss. On landing at Villacoublay the chassis collapsed, and the pilot was injured, but not very seriously.

FLIGHT, The AIRCRAFT ENGINEER & AIRSHIPS, No. 614 (No. 40, Vol. XII.), 30 September 1930, at Page 1038

Course of 1920 Gordon-Bennett Race

The 1920 air race, held on Tuesday, 28 September, over a course of 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) at Villecoublay-La Marmogne, France. It was won by Nieuport-Delâge’s chief test pilot, Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, flying a Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V. As France had previously won the 1912 and 1913 races, the Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy was permanently awarded to the Aero Club of France and retired.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew this Nieuport-Delage NiD-29V to win The Gordon Bennet Cup, 20 October 1920. (les avions Nieuport-Delage)
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew this Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D-29V to win The Gordon Bennet Cup, 20 October 1920. (les avions Nieuport-Delâge)

During the race, Sadi-Lecointe set a a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over 200 Kilometers 274.60 kilometers per hour (170.63 miles per hour). The FAI official time for the distance was 43 minutes, 42-3/5 seconds. (FAI Record File Number 15494)

Sadi-Lecointe’s Ni-D 29V was one of three racing variants of the highly successful single-engine, single-seat Ni-D 29C.1 biplane fighter, which was the fastest in the world at the time. The Ni-D 29V was 21 feet, 3.5 inches (6.489 meters) long, with a wing span of just 6.00 meters (19 feet, 8¼ inches), shortened from the 31 feet, 10 inch (9.703 meters) wingspan of the standard production chasseur.

Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V
Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V (Unattributed)

The airplane was powered by a water-cooled, normally aspirated, 18.473 liter (1,127.29-cubic-inch displacement) right-hand tractor Hispano-Suiza 8Fb single overhead cam (SOHC) 90° V-8 engine, modified to increase its output to 320 horsepower. This was a direct-drive engine, and turned a two-bladed-fixed pitch propeller. The engine was 1.32 meters (4 feet, 4 inches) long, 0.89 meters (2 feet, 11 inches) wide, and 0.88 meters (2 feet, 10½ inches) high. It weighed 256 kilograms (564 pounds).

The standard airplane had a top speed of 235 kilometers per hour (146 miles per hour), a range of 580 kilometers (360 miles) and a service ceiling of 8,500 meters (27,887 feet).

SPAD S.20 bis-5 flown by Barny de Romanet, Etampes, 25 September 1920. (Agence Rol 14625, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Flight commented on de Romanet’s airplane:

The Spad

As regards the French Spad flown by Bernard de Romanet, this had the standard Spad fuselage of monocoque construction, but an alteration in the wing arrangement was noticeable. Instead of carrying the top plane on centre section struts from the body, the G.B. Spad had its top plane attached direct to the fuselage. Judging by its performance, this innovation did not improve the speed, and the machine was obviously slower than Lecointe’s Nieuport. In the first place, the maximum cross section of the body is much greater than the Nieuport, and the large nose radiator probably does not make matters better, although one would imagine that the two Lamlin radiators fitted to the Nieuport offer quite a lot of resistance. However, these radiators are now very extensively fitted on French machines, so perhaps their resistance is less than one would be inclined to expect.

FLIGHT The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 615 (Vol. XII, No. 41, 7 October 1920, Page 1058, Column 1

Lieutenant Barny de Romanet withe the Spad S.20bis6, 9 octobre 1920. (Agence Rol 14726/BnF)

The SPAD Type 20 bis (Spad-Herbemont) was a single-seat, single-engine, single-bay biplane racer based on the two-seat S.XX fighter, designed by André Herbemont. The racer was 7.50 meters (24 feet, 7.3 inches) long with a wingspan of 6.48 meters (21 feet, 3.1 inches) and height of 2.50 meters (8 feet, 2.4 inches). The wings had a surface area of 14 square meters (151 square feet). The airplane had an empty weight of 890 kilograms (1,962 pounds), and gross weight of 1,050 kilograms (2,315 pounds). The racer carried 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of fuel.

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet with a Spad-Herbemont, (S.XX bis 6), 1920. (Agence Meurisse 83238/BnF)

The S.20s were powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated La Société Hispano-Suiza single-overhead cam 90° V-8 engine rated at 300 horsepower. (Specific variant unknown.)

Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet covered with oil, 28 September 1920. (Agence de Presse Meurisse 83837, Bibliothèque nationale de France)
The Verville-Packard R-1, A.S. 40126, flown by Major Rudolf W. Schroeder in the the Gordon Bennett Cup race, at Etampes, France, September 1920. (Tennessee State Library and Archives)
R.W. Schroeder

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe learned to fly in 1910. The Aero Club de France awarded him its license number 431 on 10 February 1910.

He joined the Service Aéronautique (the original form of the French Air Force) as a mechanic in October 1912, and was designated pilote militaire nº375, 20 September 1913. He served as a pilot during World War I, flying the Blériot XI-2, Morane LA and Nieuprt X, then in December 1915 became a flight instructor at l’Ecole de Pilotage d’Avord. Sadi-Lacointe was promoted from the enlisted ranks to sous-lieutenant, 17 September 1917, and was assigned as a test pilot at BlériotSociété Pour L’Aviation et ses Dérivés, where he worked on the development of the famous SPAD S.XIII C.1 fighter.

After the War, he was a test pilot for Nieuport-Delâge, and participated in numerous races and set a series of speed and altitude records with the company’s airplanes.

Sadi-Lecointe returned to military service in 1925 and participated in the Second Moroccan War. Then in 1927, he returned to his position as chief test pilot for Nieuport-Delâge. From 1936 to 1940, he served as Inspector General of Aviation for the French Air Ministry. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Lieutenant Colonel Sadi-Lecointe was again recalled to military service as Inspector of Flying Schools.

With the Fall of France, Sadi-Lacointe joined La Résistance française, and operated with the group, Rafale Andromède. He was captured and tortured by the Gestapo at Paris, and died as a result, 15 July 1944.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, Commandeur Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, was awarded the Croix de Guerre in three wars. He was posthumously awarded the Médaille de la Résistance. The Aéro-Club de France awarded him its Grande Médaille d’Or de l’Aéro-Club de France. During his flying career, Sadi-Lecointe set seven World Records for Speed, and three World Records for Altitude.

© 2019 Bryan R. Swopes

25 September 1920

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet with the SPAD S.20 bis-6, 9 October 1920. (Agence Meurisse 84138, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

25 September 1920: At Villesauvage-La Marmogne, France, Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over 100 Kilometers with an average speed of 257.50 kilometers per hour (160.00 miles per hour).¹ His airplane was an Avion SPAD S.20 bis-5.

Map from FLIGHT article

The SPAD Type 20 bis (Spad-Herbemont) was a single-seat, single-engine, single-bay biplane racer based on the two-seat S.XX fighter, designed by André Herbemont. The racer was 7.50 meters (24 feet, 7.3 inches) long with a wingspan of 6.48 meters (21 feet, 3.1 inches) and height of 2.50 meters (8 feet, 2.4 inches). The wings had a surface area of 14 square meters (151 square feet). The airplane had an empty weight of 890 kilograms (1,962 pounds), and gross weight of 1,050 kilograms (2,315 pounds). The racer carried 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of fuel.

The S.20s were powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated La Société Hispano-Suiza single-overhead cam 90° V-8 engine rated at 300 horsepower. (Specific variant unknown.)

SPAD S.20 bis-5 (AviaFrance)

Flight commented on de Romanet’s airplane:

The Spad

     As regards the French Spad flown by Bernard de Romanet, this had the standard Spad fuselage of monocoque construction, but an alteration in the wing arrangement was noticeable. Instead of carrying the top plane on centre section struts from the body, the G.B. Spad had its top plane attached direct to the fuselage. Judging by its performance, this innovation did not improve the speed, and the machine was obviously slower than Lecointe’s Nieuport. In the first place, the maximum cross section of the body is much greater than the Nieuport, and the large nose radiator probably does not make matters better, although one would imagine that the two Lamlin radiators fitted to the Nieuport offer quite a lot of resistance. However, these radiators are now very extensively fitted on French machines, so perhaps their resistance is less than one would be inclined to expect.

FLIGHT The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 615 (Vol. XII, No. 41, 7 October 1920, Page 1058, Column 1

SPAD S.20 bis-5 flown by Barny de Romanet, Etampes, 25 September 1920. (Agence Rol 14625, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

¹ FAI Record File Number 15486

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

23 September 1921

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet with a Spad-Herbemont, (S.20bis6) 9 October 1920. (Agence Meurisse 84138/BnF)

23 September 1921: While flight-testing the new Lumière-De Monge racer, Lieutenant Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was tragically killed in a crash.

Flight reported:

DEATH OF BERNARD DE ROMANET

     It is with the most profound regret that we have this week to place on record the accident which resulted in the death of one of France’s finest and most popular pilots, Count Bernard de Romanet. It appears that on September 23 de Romanet took the de Monge machine up for a trial flight. He had previously tested the machine as a biplane, but this is said to have been the first flight made with it as a monoplane; and it proved to be the last. According to reports, de Romanet took off well and climbed to a height of a few hundred metres. He then flattened out, and, it is thought, opened out the engine. The machine is stated by eye-witnesses to have “leapt forward” and to have proceeded at a great pace, judged to be over 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour. The fabric of the left wing was seen to lift and fly back from the wing. The machine heeled over to the left, but for a few seconds it looked as if de Romanet would regain control, as he managed to right the machine. It then, however, got into a dive, and is stated to have dived straight into the ground. Needless to say, the unfortunate pilot was killed instantly by the terrible shock.

     With regard to the cause of the accident, it is stated in our French contemporary L’Auto that it is though that the stitching of the fabric was at fault, the distances between the stitches which attached the fabric to the framework being 12 centimetres instead of the usual 2 centimetres.

     Le Marquis Bernard de Romanet came of a very old French family. He was born at Macon on January 28, 1894, and at the age of 18 he commenced his military service in the cavalry. He was made an officer during the War, and distinguished himself, first in the cavalry and later as a pilot. Bernard de Romanet was an officer of the Legion of Honour, and held the Croix de Guerre with 18 palms and the Medaille Militaire. At the end of the War he took to civil aviation, and was always a prominent figure in speed races, being the crack pilot of the Spad-Herbemont machines. At Monaco he won the speed race of 1920, and he put up a splendid flight in last year’s Gordon-Bennett race, in spite of a broken oil pipe which forced him to land smothered in oil.

     Some time ago de Romanet had a slight accident while testing a land machine with floatation gear. He alighted on the Seine, but the machine turned turtle instantly, and he was rescued by a motor-boat. While testing the de Monge machine for the Aerial Derby one of his wheels broke, without, however, causing serious damage to the machine. He was an interested spectator at the Derby, in which, but for the mishap, he would have been a competitor. His death will be regretted not only among his many friends, but in the world of aviation generally, for he was a great pilot, a great gentleman, and, last but not least, a real sportsman.

FLIGHT, The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 666 (No. 39, Vol. XIII), 29 September 1921, at Page 651

Lumière-de Monge.  (L’Aérophile, 15 September 1921, at Page 280)

Barny de Romanet’s racing airplane, the Lumière-de Monge, was designed by Vicomte Louis-Pierre de Monge de Franeau, and built by Establissements Lumière. It was a strut-braced biplane which could rapidly be converted to a monoplane. The airplane was 7 meters (22 feet, 11.6 inches) long, with an upper wing span of 8 meters (26 feet, 3.0 inches) and lower span of 6 meters (19 feet, 8.2 inches). Its height was 2.75 meters (9 feet, 0.3 inches). The chord of the upper wing was 2.60 meters (8 feet, 6.4 inches) at the root, narrowing to 1.40 meters (4 feet, 7.1 inches) at the tips. The vertical gap between the upper and lower wings was 1.10 meters (3 feet, 7.3 inches). The plan of the upper wing was distinctively trapezoidal and had an area of 15 square meters (161.46 square feet). The lower, 5 square meters (53.82 square feet). It weighed 950 kilograms (2,094 pounds).

Lumière-de Monge biplane racer (Les Ailes. Premiere Annee—Nº 10., Thursday, 25 August 1921, at Page 2, Columns 4–5)

The Lumière-de Monge was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 18.472 liter (1,127.265-cubic-inch-displacement) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8 engine, with a compression ratio of 5.3:1. The direct-drive engine had a normal power rating of 300 horsepower at 1,850 r.p.m., and could produce a maximum of 400 horsepower. The V-8 engine had a dry weight of 360 kilograms (793.663 pounds). A Lamblin cylindrical radiator was placed above the upper wing.

The de Monge V.a. (FLIGHT, No. 655 (Vol. XIII, No. 29), 21 July 1921, at Page 492)

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was born at Saint-Maurice-de-Satonnay, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France, 28 January 1894. He was the son of Léonard Jean Michel Barny de Romanet and Marie Noémie Isabelle de Veyssière. He descended from a very old French family.

Bernard Barny de Romanet joined the Cavalry at the age of 18 years, and was assigned to the 16º Regiment de Chasseaurs, 6 December 1912. During World War I, he served with both cavalry and infantry regiments as a Maréchel de Logis (master sergeant) before transferring to the Aéronautique Militaire in July 1915, as a photographer and observer.

After completing flight training in 1916, de Romanet was assigned as a pilot. In early 1918, de Romanet trained as a fighter pilot. He shot down his first enemy airplane 23 May 1918, for which he was awarded the Médaille Militaire, and was promoted to Adjutant (warrant officer). De Romanet was commissioned as a Sous-Lieutenant (equivalent to a second lieutenant in the United States military) several months later. After a fourth confirmed victory he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (first lieutenant).

By August 1918, Lieutenant de Romanet was in command of Escadrille 167. He was officially credited with having shot down 18 enemy aircraft, sharing credit for 12 with other pilots. He claimed an additional 6 airplanes destroyed.

Lieutenant de Romanet was appointed Chevalier de la légion d’honneur, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre with three  étoiles en vermeil (silver gilt) stars and 10 palmes.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes