Élise Léontine Deroche, known as Baroness Raymonde de Laroche (1882 – 1919) was the first woman to obtain a pilot's license in 1910.
Aviation pioneers
Daughter of a leatherworker father, Élise Deroche was born on August 22, 1882 in Paris. As a child, she loved sports and physical activity and grew up interested in cars and motorcycles. Despite this interest, she moved towards an artistic career and devoted herself to painting and sculpture, but especially to the theater. It is for the stage that she takes the pseudonym of Raymonde de Laroche.
The exploits of the pioneers of a nascent aviation, such as Orville and Wilbur Wright or his friend Léon Delagrange, attracted Raymonde; but no woman has ever obtained a pilot's license. Raymonde's meeting with Charles Voisin is decisive. An aviation pioneer, he introduced her to piloting at her request.
The first licensed pilot
In October 1909, on the airfield of the military camp of Châlons-en-Champagne, Raymonde took her first flight lesson. The plane being single-seater, she takes control while Charles gives her his instructions from the ground. The apprentice pilot is not supposed to take off, but one lap is enough for her to feel ready to fly. Despite Charles's ban, Raymonde takes off a few meters above the ground and flies alone for 300 meters with precision, stability and smoothness.
Raymonde perseveres in her apprenticeship; on March 8, 1910, she became the first woman to obtain a pilot's license. Her license, issued by the Aéro-club de France, bears the number 36. She will be quickly followed by other pioneers, such as Marie Marvingt, Hélène Dutrieu, Jeanne Herveux and Jeanne Pallier.
Air shows
With her patent in her pocket, Raymonde took part in the first air shows in Egypt, Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Rouen, in Reims. The only woman among the pilots, she attracts attention; in Saint Petersburg, she was personally congratulated by Tsar Nicolas II. The press and meetings began to present her as "Baroness" Raymonde de Laroche, even though she did not have the title.
In July 1910, during a demonstration, her plane crashed and Raymonde suffered injuries so serious that it was uncertain whether she would be able to recover. It took him two years to get back on his feet and resume piloting. In September 1912, she again suffered serious injuries in a car accident in which Charles Voisin was killed.
The Caudron prototype
On November 25, 1913, Baroness Raymonde de Laroche won the Coupe Fémina of the Aero-Club de France for a flight of more than four hours. During the First World War, flying being considered too dangerous for women, she hired herself as a military driver to drive officers between the front and the rear.
At the end of the war, Raymonde resumed meetings and competitions. In June 1919, she broke altitude and distance records several times, flying at 3,900 then 4,800 meters and over 323 kilometers.
On July 18, 1919, Raymonde took control of a Caudron prototype or moved into it as a co-pilot; she wants to become the first female test pilot. Upon landing, the plane nosed over and crashed, killing the pilot and co-pilot instantly.