Léopold Galy

Léopold Galy (born with Freehold (Ariège) on March 12th, 1908 - died with Toulouse on February 17th, 2001) was a Test pilot Aviateur and French.

Beginnings

After a country childhood in his grandmother, in Ariège, it joined his parents, hotel in Paris. At 19 years, it decides to become aviator. After a formation at the School of the naval air force of Rochefort, it is built-in as raise-pilot with Istres, then it is useful during two years and half in Syria, where a breakdown of sound Bréguet XIV leaves it three days and three nights without water, in full desert.

Of return in France, it is initiated with the stunt-flying with Marcel Doret. He is contacted by the cabinet of Pierre Cot, Minister for the air of the Popular front, to convoy the “treasure” of the republican Spanish threatened by the advance of Franco, of Bilbao to Paris. Its flight being stopped in Toulouse by the bad weather, it convoie only to Paris, in the train, four all the more heavy bags as they are filled with gold, which he is unaware of. Then it ensures of the regular missions between France and Bilbao, attending the bombardment of Guernica and undergoing several attacks. He drawn from his shot down plane, with momentary died, by Spanish republicans.

He continues the stunt-flying and gains one 2nd price with the world cup of acrobatics in sailplane.

Test pilot and resistance

In 1938, Marcel Doret makes it enter like Test pilot at Dewoitine to Toulouse. With the orders of the D 520, regarded as the best French fighter plan of the moment, it beats the world speed records with nearly 900 km/h. He escapes with several accidents. After a collision with Bloch 135, it spends thirty days to the hospital, including four of coma… and it resumes his work.

Under the German occupation, it continues its activities of test pilot, but it benefits from it to take air photographs which it communicates to Resistance, action which will be worth the Military Cross to him. As of the release of Toulouse, on August 19th, 1944, the five D.520 stored with the SNCASE, with the German colors, are hastily repainted with the tricolor colors with a cross of Lorraine. The pilots Galy, Barbot and of Bar take the initiative to make them arm and immediately leave to attack the German columns. They will be then gathered within a group of hunting FFI ordered by Marcel Doret. Galy orders one of both escadrilles Groupe Doret which intervenes on the “pocket of Royan” and the Bordeaux region, and which will be then integrated into the group Saintonge .

After war

In 1940, Emile Dewoitine went to the United States to collaborate with Henry Ford on new apparatuses. But the Vichy government points out it and Dewoitine, little being wary, obtempère. It at once is stopped, condemned for attack to safety external of the state and condemned. Hardly left prison, it is constrained to resume its work, but this time on behalf of the occupying armies. With the Release, it is this time condemned for collaboration. It is not that in 1953 qu ' a last lawsuit will take place. Léopold Galy obviously did not accept this judgment of the “owner”. It assembled a true commando, all is ready to remove it at the conclusion it lawsuit and to make him cross the Spanish border. This brilliant deed will not be necessary, the industrialist is finally washed of any charge, its Legion of honor is returned to him into full prétoire.
Léopold Galy enters then to SNCASE (National company of aeronautical engineerings of South-east) or it will make take off the prototypes of many apparatuses, of which the Languedoc and the Armagnac . June 30th, 1950, on the takeoff of a trial flight of the Armagnac , a badly closed shutter causes a tear in the aerofoil, the plane is crushed on the ground and ignites. Once more, Galy draws slightly wounded from an accident which made two died among the crew.

Indicated in the beginning to be the pilot of the first Caravel, it takes in hands the second prototype and becomes one of its best pilots. Over its 10200 hours of flight, it made 3200 of them on all the types of Caravelle , until 1966, date of its retirement. It flew the jets Vampire , Mistral , and it crosses for the first time the wall of the sound with the Vautour . At the retirement age, he becomes salesman of private planes. Its name was given, since September 2006, with a building of the National school of the civil aviation (ENAC) in Toulouse.

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