Caudron

Born in Favières, Somme to parents who farmed nearby in Romiotte, the Caudron brothers were educated at a college in Abbeville.

Gaston, as Alphonse was always known, intended to become an engineer but his education was cut short by health problems; René was interested in the development of mechanics and was a sportsman.

[3] Needing a more convenient base than the farm, the brothers established their factory in nearby Le Crotoy, on the eastern side of the Somme estuary about 16 km (10 mi) from Abbeville and with a broad, flat, firm, south facing beach ideal for flying.

[citation needed] In 1920, the Lyon plant stopped assembling and the Issy-les-Moulineaux site was consolidated as the headquarters and main production base.

[6] As part of Renault, Caudron centred on producing light, sportier aircraft powered by either inline-four or inline-six cylinder engines, mirroring its automotive range at the time.

[12] By 1936, Renault was hit by the Great Depression and, in 1938, it spun off Caudron-Renault into a separate, autonomous subsidiary in order to focus on its core automotive business.

[14] The Issy-les-Moulineaux plant was almost completely destroyed by RAF and AAF bombings that took place in September 1943, leaving it permanently out of production.

[13] In 1944, the remaining Caudron-Renault operations were nationalised by the French government and became part of the Société Nationale de Construction aéronautique du Centre.