Dassault Falcon Aircraft

The company's successive reorganizations

In view of the fact that Générale Aéronautique Marcel Dassault's (GAMD) business had, due to the departure of the Electronic department which had become an independent company, refocused on airframes alone, Marcel Dassault considered the name GAMD to be too general, and no longer justified and, on December 15, 1965, decided to restore the company's original name, Avions Marcel Dassault.

Having seen off all the competition from state-owned companies, the Dassault company had become the Air force's main supplier. Dassault's presence in the combat aircraft field came about as a result of both the quality of the aircraft on offer and produced, and a government choice. On October 18, 1965, Pierre Messmer, the minister for the Armed services, notified Sud-Aviation's chairman that his company was to continue to specialize in the field of transport aircraft, helicopters and missiles, adding that it would be damaging to national interests for military aircraft design offices to be set up or developed while the work load of the most active companies in this sector was not guaranteed. In 1966, the Armed forces ministry, in a concern for industrial rationalization, wanted to continue to specialize companies. Nord Aviation was to devote itself to ballistic missiles, Sud-Aviation to business concerning civil and military transport aircraft and helicopters, and Dassault was to concentrate on combat aircraft and business aircraft.

The Government, worried about the development of the Jaguar program, asked Marcel Dassault to buy back Breguet Aviation. On June 27, 1967, the Société des Avions Marcel Dassault company acquired a 66% share in Breguet Aviation's capital held by Sylvain Floirat and the Penhoet company. On the same day, Breguet Aviation's Board of Directors appointed Benno Claude Vallières as its chairman.

A merger deal involving Breguet Aviation taking over the net assets of the Société des Avions Marcel Dassault company was signed on July 21, 1971. The merging and dissolving of the Société des Avions Marcel Dassault company was finalized on December 14, 1971 (with a retroactive effect dating back to January 1, 1971) as a result of the resolutions adopted by Breguet Aviation's extraordinary general Assembly which approved the merger project, the increase in capital and the resulting statutory modifications.

Breguet Aviation's extraordinary general Assembly also decided to change the company's corporate name to Avions Marcel Dassault - Breguet Aviation (AMD-BA). Following Marcel Dassault's death on April 17, 1986, AMD-BA's Board of Directors appointed Serge Dassault as the new chairman on October 29 of the same year.

History

Louis Charles Breguet was born into a family tradition of engineering science. He developed an early interest in the fledgling aeronautic technology and in 1905 developed a sophisticated wind tunnel in which he was able to measure and evaluate in depth the effects of airflow on airfoils. He was among the few pioneer aircraft designers who understood the vital need for pre-flight experimentation and testing, and the urgency of highest quality construction for safety.

His first aircraft was produced in 1909, a rugged biplane of high quality and performance. It not only became notable for establishing speed records, but also set the standards of quality accepted throughout the aviation industry. In 1911, his interest in air transportation gave him the distinction of being the first to carry 12 people aloft in an aircraft.

World War I assured the success of his company as they produced some 8000 of the famed Breguet XIV reconnaissance aircraft for the Allied Forces, thereby contributing to victory and the emergence of air power. His more advanced Breguet XIX made history in the postwar years for its ability to fly long distances across oceans and continents.

In 1919, Louis Breguet established a commercial air transportation company, Compagnie Des Messageries Avienne, which now spans the world under the name Air France, and under Breguet's technical guidance the Societe de Avions maintained prominence in the French aviation industry in production of civil and military aircraft.