French aeronautics shone brightly in the first decade of the twentieth Century, but declined after the Great War. To remedy this situation, a new Ministry of Air launched in 1929 a large national program of scientific research in fluid mechanics, including the creation of four institutes and five teaching centers in the faculties of sciences in Paris and the provinces. This visionary policy, supported by considerable means, started a quite creative period and led to important achievements notably in the fields of atmospheric turbulence, thermoconvection and wake vortices. The usual picture of a period exclusively dominated by German and British contributions (and growing North-American ones), comes out significantly revised. The fruits of this policy will allow France to play a major role in the creation, after World War II, of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and are still visible today in the French teaching and research organization. Based on original materials unearthed from a variety of archival sources and scientific papers, the present book recounts this history in all its intertwined scientific, industrial, political and cultural dimensions.
Peer-review recommendation:
"The text is tremendously well written, and it remains clear and accessible even in its most scientifically advanced dimensions. The author is thus able to address both connoisseurs of the field, who will enjoy reading - and discovering not only scientific but also literary elements and references - and neophytes who are never left by the wayside as the chapters progress. An exceptional and original iconography usefully completes this picture, without overloading it."
L'aeronautique francaise, qui a tant brille au debut du XXe siecle, decline nettement apres la Grande Guerre. Afin de redresser la situation, un nouveau ministere de l'Air lance alors, en 1929, un ambitieux programme en faveur de la recherche en mecanique des fluides, incluant la creation de quatre instituts et cinq centres d'enseignement dans les facultes des sciences de Paris et de province. Cette politique visionnaire, dotee de moyens considerables, initie une periode tres dynamique et creative, en particulier dans les domaines de la turbulence atmospherique, de la thermoconvection et des tourbillons de sillage. L'image d'un demi-siecle exclusivement domine par les contributions allemandes et anglaises (et ensuite americaines) s'en trouve notablement transformee. Les fruits de cette politique permettront a la France de jouer un role majeur dans la creation, apres la Seconde Guerre mondiale, de l'Union internationale de mecanique theorique et appliquee, et demeurent visibles aujourd'hui encore dans les structures d'enseignement et de recherche. Fonde sur des documents originaux issus de nombreuses archives et publications, le present livre raconte cette histoire dans ses differentes dimensions scientifique, industrielle, politique et culturelle.
