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French manufacturer of balloons, airships, and aeroplanes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Société Astra des Constructions Aéronautiques was a major French manufacturer of balloons, airships, and aeroplanes in the early 20th century. It was founded in 1908 when Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe purchased Édouard Surcouf's[1] workshops at Billancourt. Its most significant product was the Astra-Torres airship designed by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo,[2][3] but beginning in 1909, the firm also produced Wright brothers heavier-than-air designs under licence. In 1912, these were supplanted by Astra's own designs, the Astra C and CM.
Astra Clément-Bayard was established in 1908 by Astra and French industrialist Adolphe Clément-Bayard, to manufacture airships at a new factory in La Motte-Breuil in response to a French Army decision to commence airship operations. Astra provided the envelope and Clément-Bayard provided the gondola and engine.
The Clément-Bayard No.1 airship was offered to the French government but was rejected as too expensive so it was bought by Tsar Nicholas II for the Russian army.
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