Latécoère. A hundred years of aeronautical technology[Latécoère. Cent ans de technologies aéronautiques]

The production of the first aircraft in Latécoère's Montaudran factory in 1917 marked the birth of Toulouse's aeronautical industry. Soon after, at the beginning of the 1920s, lignes Latécoère became the world's biggest international airline, giving rise in turn to the Aeropostale, made famous by Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. A pioneer, both in crossing the south Atlantic and in building giant flying boats, Latécoère was involved in developing the first French missiles and later in mastering the techniques of on-board electronics and composite materials. Latécoère is synonymous with a taste for adventure and technical challenge: this book describes the successive stages in its development, from the "glorious ancestors" of the pre- 1940 period to the rich panoply of experiences over the last 70 years. Today, Latécoère works for Airbus, but also for Boeing, Dassault, Embraer, Bombardier and others, employing more than 4,300 people worldwide (France, Germany, Tunisia, Morocco, Czech Republic, Mexico, Brazil…), of whom a third are in France.