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Q1/1942 SUMMARY[/SIZE]
January 1
The
Belle Poule arrived in Zhanjiang today.
January 2
Spokesmen from the Armee de l'Aire acknowledged rumors that a number of test pilots and senior commanders have advised terminating the Farman F.400 heavy bomber.
Read more...
January 5
The
Belle Poule departed Zhanjiang bound for New Caledonia, where the ship is expected to arrive on the 24th.
January 6
The new French ambassador to the Philippines, M. Charles Leroux, presented his credentials to the new Philippine government and took up residence in Manila. Despite some past barbs leveled by members of the Filipino press, Leroux's welcome in Manila has been fairly warm.
January 7 -
Le Figaro
The Armee de l'Aire wrapped up a three-day conference of senior officers in Dijon...
Read more...
January 9 -
Le Temps
Publisher
Société Parisienne d'Édition announced that it would conduct a third re-print of the first volume of the popular hit comic book
Reynard. The first run of Volume One sold out in October after only fifteen days in print, while the second run sold out in early January. The comic has proven extremely popular in France, with over 400,000 volumes sold since September 1941, and fans eagerly await the second volume, due out in mid-February.
January 12 -
Shortwave Radio
*A calm female voice speaks.*
"Dix, quatre, cinq, cinq, dix-sept, onze, vingt-et-un, quatre, vingt-sept ans, six, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-six, vingt-trois, dix-sept, dix, cinq, onze, vingt-sept ans, treize."
*Frère Jacques plays.*
January 15
Construction began today on the Amaria Dam, located on Guinea's Konkouré River.
Read more...
January 16
The Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aéronautiques announced today that it has extended a research grant to SEA (Société d'Electronique appliquée à l''Automatisme) to develop electronic equipment for unidentified purposes.
January 19
Officials from Farman made a last-ditch appeal against the anticipated cancellation of the Farman F.400 heavy bomber, claiming that their proposed F.403 Ourse variant will be capable of fulfilling or exceeding all of the Armee de l'Aire's performance requirements.
January 20
Prime Minister Monnerville departed Paris today by plane for Beirut and Damascus. The Prime Minister will consult with local leaders in French Lebanon about colonial matters and regional concerns before travelling to Damascus to meet with Syrian leaders. The trip to Lebanon and Syria is the second Monnerville has undertaken to discuss colonial issues since becoming Prime Minister, and unconfirmed rumours indicate he is planning a third trip in the coming months to visit Indochina, to speak with recently-elected Governor-General Truong Van Bao.
January 21
Prime Minister Monnerville met today with local leaders and businessmen in Beirut.
January 22
An electrical malfunction started a fire which resulted in significant damage to the Stade Jules Deschaseaux in Le Havre. The stadium will be closed for several weeks to months while repairs are made.
January 23
Syrian president Hashim al-Atassi welcomed Prime Minister Monnerville to Damascus today, where the two leaders discussed Middle East security, trade and economics, and Syria-Lebanon border issues.
January 24
Belle Poule arrived today in New Caledonia.
January 26
The French Parliament opened discussions today regarding a proposal to establish a body to nominate and administer national parks. An immediate proposal is the creation of a park in the Tarentaise Valley, opposite the Italian Gran Paradiso National Park in the Graian Alps.
January 27 -
Le Figaro
Construction crews broke ground today on a port improvements project in Bougie, Algerie. The first stage of the project, scheduled for completion in August 1943, will result in the renovation of Bougie's marine oil-loading terminal. Bougie will be the Mediterranean terminus of the newest Algerian oil pipeline, scheduled to begin operation in December of 1943.
January 29
The Armee de l'Aire requested a prototype of the Swiss-designed Pilatus P-2 trainer aircraft for technical evaluation.
February 2 -
Toulon Matin
The carriers
Clemenceau,
Gambetta, and
Vauban are reportedly homeward bound to Toulon after delivering aircraft to French bases in the Pacific.
February 4
The Air Liquide firm, a specialist in compressed and industrial gases, announced their creation of the subsidiary firm
La Spirotechnique.
February 5
The Antarctic Research Consortium's new Nord N.1510 Normandie transport flew its first cargo mission to the Antarctic continent today. The N.1510 departed Punta Arenas with six scientists and seven metric tons of cargo, arriving at Magnus Station at 1200 hours. The acquisition of the specially-winterized Normandie has doubled the capacity of the weekly air cargo service to the united research groups in the Antarctic region.
February 6 -
Agence Havas
Prime Minister Monnerville will travel to meet with Governor-General Truong Van Bao and other Indochinese local leaders later this month in order to discuss regional issues such as economic development, anti-corruption measures, and Far East defense policy. Among the major issues to be discussed is the Indochinese Territorial Forces. The ITF, which will include land, air, and sea components, is proposed to serve as a professional regional militia for Indochina; if Indochina votes for independence in the upcoming 1945 Plebiscite, the ITF will presumably become the new nation's armed forces.
There are additionally rumors within the Foreign Ministry that Monnerville may extend his trip to visit Manila to meet with that nation's new government.
February 6 -
La Croix
The French Parliament voted to establish the new agency
Parcs Nationaux de France to oversee the creation of national parks and other natural reserves.
February 9
ONERA reported that their workshop at the Centre d'Essais en Vol in Brétigny-sur-Orge has successfully installed a newly-constructed ramjet engine in a Leduc O.10 test aircraft, and has already flown in a composite with its MB.161 mothership.
February 10 -
Le Nouvel Economiste
Buoyed by the recent completion of port improvements in Abidjan, improved ground transportation in West Africa, and faster refrigerated sea transport, fruit importers have reported increased profits and lowered shipping times, particularly in the pineapple market. According to industry studies conducted over the last year, European importers have reduced transit times by hours or days while increasing deliverable quantities and reducing waste. As a result, industry leaders have reported growth as high as six percent in the last two years.
February 11
According to sources within the Ministry of National Defense and War, the Armee de l'Aire has given Avions Farman a March 1st deadline to present a plan for either improving the Farman F.400 Ourse to the Air Force's standards, or an alternative four-engine heavy bomber to enter service by no later than January 1943. There has been no official comment either from Farman or from the Armee de l'Aire.
February 13
La Mare aux Fées, the second
Reynard comic book, comes out.
February 16
The French government condemned British intelligence's unwarranted February 12th assassination of Zionist leader Avraham Stern. "As the leader of the Lehi underground movement, M. Stern should have been arrested and tried by the judicial authorities for the crimes of which he stands accused. By assassinating M. Stern, the British government has created an unfortunate martyr for the Lehi movement, and dangerously disregarded the civil rights of the accused. Assassination should never be one of the tools of a civilized government."
February 17 -
La Croix
The
Concours général agricole opened today at the Parc des expositions de la porte de Versailles despite cold and rainy weather. The
Concours is mainland Europe's largest agricultural trade show and one of the three largest agricultural shows in the world, dating back to 1870.
February 18
Air France unveiled a unique new paint scheme on one of their newest MB.970 Transatlantiques, which has been leased by the government for use by senior French government officials. The aircraft is all white with the French tricolor on the tail, bearing the name
Émissaire.
February 20
The DEFA 501 23mm cannon spectacularly failed its first field test today, exploding and throwing pieces of itself around the test stand. The weapon, chambered for the new 23x140mm cannon round, is based on the theoretical "anti-airship cannon" that began development for the French Navy. A waggish officer commented to observers "If we mounted the 501 on the enemy airship, then we could call this test a success..."
February 23
Prime Minister Gaston Monnerville departed Paris on the first leg of his trip to Indochina. The prime minister will travel aboard the new Air France airliner
Émissaire, which was rented by the French government for the trip. The prime minister's aircraft will fly to Saigon via Beirut and Colombo.
February 25
ONERA reported that a planned flight of the Leduc O.10 was scrubbed today due to heavy winds.
February 26
Émissaire arrived in Saigon early this morning, where he was greeted by Governor-General Truong Van Bao and other members of the Indochina Governing Council, including majority leader Nguyen Van Minh.
February 27 -
Agence Havas
The Leduc O.10 made the first powered ramjet flight, clocking up a confirmed ground speed of 710kph.
Read more...
February 28
The carriers
Clemenceau,
Gambetta and
Vauban, as well as their escorts, dropped anchor in the Rade of Toulon after delivering aircraft to the French Pacific possessions.
March 2
Shareholders voted to give the final approval to the proposed merger of aircraft manufacturers Breguet and Societie Nord. The combined company, to operate under the name
Breguet-Nord, currently produces three aircraft of their own joint design (the Breguet Epaulard, the Breguet Bretagne, and the Nord Normandie) and two aircraft under license (the Nord Noralpha and the VG.64N fighter.)
March 3
Prime Minister Monnerville and Governor-General Truong Van Bao reached a verbal agreement today about the 1945 Indochina Plebiscite planned as part of France's Indochina commitments.
Read more...
March 4
Prime Minister Monnerville arrived in Manila for a state visit to the Philippines. He received a warm welcome from President of the Council Soriano and other leading members of the new Filipino government.
March 5 -
Le Temps
Avions Farman presented a proposal to the Armee de l'Aire to drop development of the Farman F.400 Ourse heavy bomber, and substitute a customized and license-built version of the American Consolidated B-24 bomber. According to Farman, the American government has already given their verbal permission to Consolidated to license the B-24 for French construction.
March 6
The Franco-Philippine Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed today in Manila. The Filipino Congress swiftly ratified the treaty. Although the French Parliament previously gave Prime Minister Monnerville instructions to sign the treaty, they are not scheduled to discuss ratification until later this month, when Monnerville has returned from Southeast Asia.
The Prime Minister will remain in Manila until the afternoon of March 8, and shall attend mass at the Basilica of San Sebastian before returning to Saigon.
March 8
Prime Minister Monnerville returned to Saigon late this evening from Manila. He will begin his trip back to France in the morning.
March 9
Édith Piaf performed her latest song,
Un Coin Tout Bleu, for the first time today in Paris.
March 11
A cooperative of farmers and minor agricultural interests have formed Groupe Limagrain, a seed distributor company.
March 12 -
Agence Havas
Prime Minister Monnerville returned to Paris today at the conclusion of his trip to Indochina and the Philippines. President Theisman was on hand at the airport to welcome the Prime Minister home.
March 13
The liner
Marianne, inbound to Le Havre, reportedly narrowly missed running down a small sailing boat in foggy weather in the Manche. Although the liner missed the craft, it disappeared and was feared swamped. Rescue boats dispatched to the area discovered neither boat nor wreckage. The liner did not show any signs of an impact. One of the
Marianne's lookouts reported to investigators at Le Havre that the boat appeared to be empty.
Although
Marianne has radio-teledetection equipment to prevent collisions of this nature, experts noted that it was likely not sensitive enough to detect such a small craft. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique has indicated that both
Marianne and her stepsister
Normandie will be reequipped with more modern RDT equipment during their next modernization period.
March 16 -
Gia Dinh Bao
The Manila Steamship Company receives permission to begin regular service between Manila and Saigon.
March 16
The research ship
Le Suroit has successfully observed the South Pacific solar eclipse. The Chilean naval ships
Vidal Gormaz,
Ignacy Domeyko and
Vanguardia assisted in the observations, taking extensive readings with a variety of equipment along the path of the eclipse.
March 17 -
Toulon Matin
Sail training ship
Belle Poule completed transit of the Panama Canal following her crossing of the Pacific, and has departed for her next port call.
March 17
Jean-Jacques Barre conducted the test-run of the EA 1941 rocket engine today at his research facility at Larzac. The liquid-fueled rocket operated for five seconds before exploding, producing a thrust of 719 kgf.
March 18
Another test of the EA 1941 rocket engine has produced 650 kgf for four seconds before exploding.
March 20 -
Le Temps
Café de la Paix reportedly received a distinguished visitor in the personage of Otto von Hapsburg and two unidentified guests today. The pretender to the Austro-Hungarian crown reportedly retired to the Palais Garnier for a performance of Puccini's
Tosca after finishing dinner. Also attending the performance was the famous Franco-Atlantean actress Eos de Lisle, retired Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet, and Arthur Honegger, one of
Les Six.
March 21
The infamous Liechtenstein-born con-artist Marco Kaiser was arrested today in Nantes.
March 23
Armee de Terre officials, including Minister of National Defense Jean-Marie Lemaréchal, have begun a week-long review of several programs overseen by DEFA (
Direction des Études et Fabrications d'Armement).
Read more...
March 24 -
Agence Havas
The French Parliament voted today to ratify the Franco-Philippine Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The treaty saw opposition from the members of the French Communist Party, who whined about concluding an agreement with an "illegitimate government opposed and condemned by the people", whereupon their speaker was laughed into submission. Attempts at further Communist obstructionism were rejected, and most members of the French Socialist Party voted with the center and right parties to overwhelmingly ratify the treaty.
March 25 -
Le Figaro
French test pilot Louis-Antoine Messiaen took the Leduc O.10 ramjet for its second free flight today, in a test that ONERA declared 'highly satisfactory'. Although in the first successful powered test flight on February 27 was limited to 60% throttle, Capitaine Messiaen was given permission to push the test aircraft a bit more. Upon separating from the mothership composite, Messiaen started a climb to altitude that reportedly far exceeded that of the most modern piston-engine fighters. Upon reaching 8,000 meters altitude, Capitaine Messiaen reportedly registered a true airspeed of just over five hundred knots.
March 26 -
Le Nouvel Economiste
Société des Avions Marcel Bloch announced today they are pursuing a deal to acquire and merge with aircraft manufacturer Avions Amiot sometime within the next six months. Felix Amiot and the company's three thousand employees are reportedly in favor of the merger. The deal will not cover Amiot's shipbuilding assets in Cherbourg. The announcement comes amidst unconfirmed rumors that Bloch is also looking into a merger with Loire-Nieuport.
March 27
President Theisman spoke today at a ceremony announcing the creation the
Institut franco-allemand de la technologie, l'économie et des sciences (tr. Franco-German Institute of Technology, Economy, and Sciences) in his hometown of Metz. Joining President Theisman was Magnus Alexander Maximilian Freiherr von Braun, the German Minister of the Interior. The new institute, which will be based in Metz, received Theisman's support during the French election campaign a year ago, and shall offer cross-cultural educational exchanges for French and German college level students.
March 30
The heavy cruiser
Téméraire and the destroyers of the 4th Flotilla Torpilleurs departed Brest today for Antwerp, where they will call on the Belgian Navy. Task Force commander Contre-amiral Marcel St-Hilaire shall be meeting with Belgian naval commanders to prepare for joint Franco-Belgian naval exercises later this year.
March 31
The French Army has accepted the LGPR-41AC for weapons trials.