Nungesser and Coli Memorial
The Nungesser-und-Coli-Monument ( French Monument Nungesser et Coli ) is a memorial in memory of the pilots Charles Nungesser and François Coli in Étretat in the French department of Seine-Maritime in Normandy .
location
It is located on the Falaise d'Amont , visible from afar, on the Alabaster Coast on the English Channel , northeast above Étretat. To the west is the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde chapel .
History and design
Nungesser and Coli attempted to be the first to cross the Atlantic by plane in 1927 . On May 8, 1927, her aircraft, the L'Oiseau Blanc , was last seen over Étretat. Her further fate is unclear.
As early as September 16, 1928, a memorial was inaugurated for them at the place where the aircraft was last seen. It was designed by the architect Rey and built by Descatoire and Petit. The foundation was an airplane on which a 20 meter high, steep pyramid rose. Near the base of the pyramid was a relief showing the faces of both pilots in profile.
On August 21, 1942, the monument was blown up by German occupation forces, only the base of the sculpture remained. A few days later the neighboring chapel was also destroyed.
After the Second World War, the memorial was rebuilt and inaugurated on July 22, 1962.
It consists of an arrow-like stele towering 24 meters at an angle of 60 degrees. To the east of the stele, the outlines of the aircraft are carved into the ground. The lettering L'OISEAU BLANC runs over the wings of the aircraft outline. There is a museum wing to the south of the monument. There are also the relief profiles of the pilots from the previous monument.
literature
- Françoise Foucher: Étretat , Éditions d'Art Jack, Louannec, June 2018, ISBN 978-2-37773-037-7 , p. 14 f.
Web links
- Nungesser and Coli memorials on www.etretat.net
- Nungesser et Coli - L'oiseau blanc on www.aerosteles.net (French / English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nungesser et Coli - L'oiseau blanc on www.aerosteles.net (French / English)
Coordinates: 49 ° 42 ′ 40.5 ″ N , 0 ° 12 ′ 25.9 ″ E