Jean Louis Conneau


Jean Louis Conneau, better known under the pseudonym André Beaumont, was a pioneer French aviator, Naval Lieutenant and Flying boat manufacturer.

Flying career

Conneau used the pseudonym "Beaumont" because, as a serving member of the French armed forces, he was not permitted to use his own name. He earned his French pilot's license on 7 December 1910, and his military pilot's license on 18 December 1911.

Air races

In 1911 he won three of the toughest aeronautical tests: the 'Paris-Rome' race, the first Circuit d'Europe on 7 July 1911, and the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Race on 26 July 1911, flying a Blériot XI. He also participated in the ill-fated 1911 Paris to Madrid air race in May the same year.
During the Paris-Liege leg of the 'Circuit d'Europe' his support engineer and teammate Léon Lemartin was involved in a fatal accident on take-off.

Aircraft manufacture

IN 1912 he became the Technical Director of Donnet-Lévèque who manufactured flying boats. In 1913 he co-founded the Franco-British Aviation to build flying boats. It had its headquarters in London and a factory in Paris and supplied both the French and British armed services.
As a flying boat pilot, during the World War I he commanded squadrons at Nice, Bizerte, Dunkirk, and Venice. He worked at Franco-British Aviation perfecting flying boats for the French Navy from 1915 until 1919.

Publications