L'Oiseau Blanc was a French Levasseur PL.8 biplane that disappeared in 1927 during an attempt to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight between Paris and New York City to compete for the Orteig Prize. French World War I aviation heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli took off from Paris on 8 May 1927 and were last seen over Ireland. Less than two weeks later, Charles Lindbergh successfully made the New York–Paris journey and claimed the prize in the Spirit of St. Louis.
L'Oiseau Blanc
L–R: François Coli and Charles Nungesser posed for publicity photographs prior to the flight.
L'Oiseau Blanc depicted in a contemporary painting, after the undercarriage has been jettisoned.
Carving on the wall of the museum in Étretat, France, honoring Nungesser and Coli
The Levasseur PL.8 was a single engine, two-seat long-distance record-breaking biplane aircraft modified from an existing Levasseur PL.4 carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft produced in France in the 1920s. Levasseur built the aircraft in 1927, specifically for pilots Charles Nungesser and François Coli for a transatlantic attempt to win the Orteig Prize. Only two examples of the type were built, with the first PL.8-01 named L'Oiseau Blanc, that gained fame as Nungesser and Coli's aircraft.
Levasseur PL.8
'L'Oiseau Blanc during the flight tests, in April 1927
