André Dubonnet

André Dubonnet
Dubonnet in 1933
Born	(1897-06-28)28 June 1897 Paris, France
Died	20 January 1980(1980-01-20) (aged 82)
Allegiance	France
Service / branch	Aviation
Rank	Sergent
Unit	Escadrille 3
Awards	Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre

André Dubonnet (28 June 1897 – 20 January 1980) was a French flying ace, athlete, race car driver, and inventor. He was the grandson of Joseph Dubonnet, founder of the Dubonnet apéritif firm, from which he inherited substantial wealth.^[1]

Dubonnet was born in Paris on 28 June 1897.^[2] He began his military service as an artilleryman, but switched to aviation.

He was credited with six aerial victories as a pilot during World War I. Flying a SPAD XIII, he shared two out of his three May 1918 victories with Frank Baylies, teamed up with Fernand Henri Chavannes to destroy an observation balloon on 13 June, and split a pair of wins on 16 August 1918 with Joseph de Sevin and Captain Battle.^[3]

In December 1922, Dubonnet married Claude Sampieri, daughter of Count Charles Sampieri and of Irène Cahen d'Anvers, whose father was the banker Louis Cahen d'Anvers. Together, they had two daughters, France and Lorraine.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1920s, Dubonnet competed in Olympic bobsledding,^[4] as well as racing cars for Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza.^[1] He later spent much of his fortune developing inventions. He successfully sold an automobile suspension system (système Dubonnet) to General Motors, but nearly went bankrupt late in life while working on solar energy.^[1] He also developed several aerodynamic studies and commissioned some special aerodynamic cars to be built for him.

In 1932, Dubonnet married Xenia Howard-Johnston, who died not long afterward. He met his third wife, the American Ruth Obre, during his dealings with GM’s Alfred P. Sloan, who was famed for his visions of the automaker’s incremental product levels and planned obsolescence. Both women figured in Dubonnet’s continuing tale.^{[citation needed]}

Dubonnet became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in January 1936.^[5]

He returned to service during World War II, serving in GCI/2.^[5]

André Dubonnet died on 20 January 1980 in Paris.^[2][3]

• SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763160, 9781841763163.
• Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918 London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.

• (in French) Biography, list of aerial victories, color profiles of his planes