Coutelle, Charles

From OnAirpower.org

Coutelle, Charles

Name: Coutelle, Charles Rank: Captain Nationality: French Remarks: One of the first military airmen in history, who constructed and piloted the French military balloon Entreprenant in 1794.

Charles Coutelle was a French scientist who constructed and piloted observation balloons for the French military. The balloons were the first manned aircraft of any type to be used in battle, making Coutelle one of history's first airmen. For more detail, see French Military Ballooning During The Napoleonic Era.

[edit] Sources

• Adventures in the Air (chapters 13-15 gives a good account of Coutelle's involvement in early French military ballooning.)

• Military Use of Balloons During the Napoleonic Era  at U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission

[edit] References