Henry Potez

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Henry Potez (Méaulte, 1891 – Paris, 1981) was a French aircraft industrialist.

He studied in the french aeronautics school Supaéro. With Marcel Dassault, he was the inventor of the Potez-Bloch propeller which after 1917, have been set on most of all Allied planes of WWI.

In 1919, he founded his own company Aviations Potez that would between the war built many planes and seaplanes in factories at this times considered as most modern of the world. He bought Alessandro Anzani company in 1923. Many of Potez planes were international success as Potez 25, 39, 54, ,62, 63 with world records. During twenty years, 7.000 planes have been issued from the productions lanes and with 40 prototypes designed, more than twenty passed to production, which was remarquable at this time.

In 1936, his factories, considered as stratégic, were nationalised by the french Front populaire government.

After the second world war, Potez engineering department designed a two place two reactor training plane which will be a big success, the Magister. Launched in 1952 and better known as Fouga Magister this plane have been supplied in many air forces.