An archive relating to the British War Office supply of the Fabre Glider, 1917
FABRE, Henri (1882-1984) Instructions for Care and Running of the Henri Fabre Glider. [WITH:] Typed correspondence and contract papers relating to the proposed supply of Fabre scout-gliders to the British War Office.
St Raphael (Var) and Paris, 1917.
Folio (c. 210 x 290 mm). Typed handbook, 13 pp., with technical diagrams and inserts, including cyanotype blueprints (one folding) and an original photograph (c. 170 x 120 mm) of the glider in operation, stamped ‘Chantiers d’Aviation Henri Fabre, Marseille’. Together with a signed typed letter from Henri Fabre to Commander A. Hamilton (2 pp.), a carbon copy contract and specification document (4 pp., marked “Duplicate Copy”), original envelope addressed to Hamilton at the Hotel Balzac, Paris and another loose photograph of the Glider. Contemporary punched file.
Condition: Handbook brittle at edges with toning and loss to lower corner of front sheet; occasional chipping and handling wear throughout; blueprints and photographs generally well-preserved; correspondence folded as issued. A fragile but complete working archive.
A unique First World War technical and administrative archive documenting British War Office interest in experimental high-speed water-gliders developed by the French aviation pioneer Henri Fabre. Compiled by Commander A. Hamilton, Director of Inland Waterways and Docks at the War Office, the file sets out the operational principles, handling characteristics, and mechanical specifications of Fabre’s “glisseur” craft - hybrid machines designed to skim at speed across water, combining marine and aeronautical engineering.
The handbook emphasises the aeroplane-like construction and handling of the craft, explicitly distinguishing it from conventional motor boats, and includes detailed sections on engine performance (notably a Renault 8-cylinder unit), steering systems, and launch procedures. The accompanying cyanotype plans illustrate fuel systems and cockpit arrangements, while the contract material specifies demanding trial conditions, including sustained high-speed performance under load, indicating serious consideration for military deployment.
Fabre’s signed letter to Hamilton, dated 29 August 1917, discusses refinements to the design and proposed improvements, including the possible adoption of electric starting systems, and confirms ongoing negotiations for the supply of multiple machines.
Henri Fabre (1882-1984), pioneer of the first successful seaplane flight in 1910, here appears in a later and little-documented phase of his work, adapting his designs to wartime requirements.
Provenance: From the library of Arthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume, aviation historian and former Keeper of Aeronautics at the Science Museum, with his note loosely inserted stating the file to be unique and that no-one knows of its existence. Unrecorded and almost certainly unique in this assembled form.