Michel Wibault

Michel Henri Marie Joseph Wibault (5 June 1897 – 23 January 1963) was a French aircraft designer. He was a strong advocate of metal construction, and his airliners were important in the development of French commercial aviation in the 1930s. He is especially known for his invention of vectored thrust for aircraft, which led to the development of the V/STOL Hawker Siddeley Harrier.

Early life Michel Wibault was born in Douai, near Lille, France, on 5 June 1897 to Achille and Madelaine Wibault. Achille owned a chain of about a hundred grocery shops. They had three sons and three daughters.

At the age of four, Michel was disabled by polio affecting all his limbs. As a result, he did not attend school, and was entirely home- and self-educated. He also had a German nanny. His disability precluded him from military service. During his childhood he often visited La Brayelle Airfield, where the world's first aviation meeting took place. It was home to the workshops of Louis Breguet whom he met and with whom he later formed a lasting acquaintance.

With French engineer Paul Boccaccio, in 1918 he designed and built his first aeroplane, the Wibault-Boccaccio & Cie C.1 fighter powered by a 220 hp Hispano-Suiza engine. Tests were very successful, achieving a top speed of 237 km/h and an altitude of 7,500m, but development was abandoned at the end of the war. he closely followed the design methods of Hugo Junkers and Caudius Dornier. Wibault and Vickers jointly developed more metal construction patents. By 1925 Vickers had adopted Wibault’s construction methods, and produced the Vickers Wibault Scout (based on the Wibault 7) – 26 of which were bought by the Chilean Air Force – the Vickers Vireo and Jockey fighters, and the Viastra, Vellore and Vellox civil transports. This was the first of a series of airliners that was vitally important to the development of commercial aviation in France in the 1930s. The collaboration was successful, with Penhoët merging with Wibault in 1931, forming the Chantiers Aeronautiques Wibault-Penhoët. Then in 1934 Wibault-Penhoët itself was sold to Breguet, which went on to produce several Wibault designs. The prototype was completed, but only three engines could be obtained, and it was destroyed in an air raid on the Arsenal works at Villacoublay on 3 June 1940. It is said that Wibault himself set fire to it to stop it falling into German hands. Moving to America, Wibault joined Republic Aviation where he worked with the company’s major driving force and chief designer Alexander Kartveli. Kartveli, a Soviet émigré, had trained at an aviation school in Paris and then worked for Louis Bleriot, and for the Wibault company, For Republic, Wibault worked on the design of the XF-12 Rainbow, and the RC-3 Seabee. Soon Wibault agreed to work with Bristol, and they worked to lighten and simplify the engine design, leading to a new patent in 1957, jointly authored by Michel Wibault and Hooker’s assistant, Gordon Lewis.

Personal life In March 1930 he married Marie-Rose Boistel. In 1931 he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He died in the 16th arrondissement of Paris on 23 January 1963.