# Alfred Comte > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alfred_Comte > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alfred_Comte.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Comte > Source revision: 1335725788 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Swiss aviation pioneer (1895–1965)}} {{Infobox person | name = Alfred Comte | image = Alfred Comte 1914.jpg | caption = Alfred Comte in August 1914 | birth_date = {{birth date|1895|6|4|df=y}} | birth_place = [Delémont](/source/Del%C3%A9mont), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) | death_date = {{death date and age|1965|11|1|1895|6|4|df=y}} | death_place = [Zürich](/source/Z%C3%BCrich), Switzerland | other_names = | known_for = Aviation entrepreneur ([Ad Astra Aero](/source/Ad_Astra_Aero) S.A.)
construction of civilian and military aircraft | relatives = [Michel Comte](/source/Michel_Comte) (grandson) | occupation = Pilot, entrepreur, engineer }} '''Alfred Comte''' (4 June 1895 – 1 November 1965) was a [Swiss](/source/Swiss_people) [aviation](/source/aviation) pioneer. He was active as a pilot, photographer, instructor, and also as one of the first aviation [entrepreneur](/source/entrepreneur)s. He was successful in the construction of civilian and military aircraft. == Early life and education == Comte was born 4 June 1895 in [Delémont](/source/Del%C3%A9mont), Switzerland, to Paul Comte, a district manager for the [Swiss Federal Railways](/source/Swiss_Federal_Railways), and Elisa Comte ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Bourquard). His paternal family originally hailed from [Courtételle](/source/Court%C3%A9telle).Comte, Alfred (Francois Kohler) https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/030169/2002-05-27/thumb|upright|Comte piloting a ''Comte AC-2'' aircraft (~1926) [[File:Alfred Comte AC-1.jpg|thumb|upright|[Comte AC-1](/source/Comte_AC-1)]] == Life == At the age of 15, Alfred Comte built a motorized bicycle. Comte obtained his private pilot's license in 1913 from the [Aéro-Club of France](/source/A%C3%A9ro-Club_de_France). At the start of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), he served as a pilot in the Swiss military, then as an instruction officer for military aviation. In 1916, he carried out night flights from [Delémont](/source/Del%C3%A9mont) to prevent airspace violations; [Porrentruy](/source/Porrentruy) had been bombed by aircraft of unknown origin. Germany and France consented to a Swiss proposal to mount light-beacons along the Swiss-German-French borders to prevent further mistakes.{{cite web|url=http://earlyaviators.com/ecomte.htm|title=Alfred Comte|publisher=earlyaviators.com|author=|language=|date=|accessdate=2017-04-17}} On 5 November 1919, he co-founded an airline providing aerial photography and passenger flights, [Comte, Mittelholzer, and Co.](/source/Walter_Mittelholzer) In 1920, this company merged with the financially stronger [Ad Astra Aero](/source/Ad_Astra_Aero). Alfred Comte was a frequent participant in exhibition events for acrobatic flying and pioneered the route from Zürich to London. In December 1920, he established a school of aviation of his own using [flying boats](/source/flying_boats); six Austrian Lohner TL-1917/R aircraft (CH-61 to CH-65) from a base in [Oberrieden](/source/Oberrieden) on the shores of [Lake Zürich](/source/Lake_Zurich). During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Comte returned to military aviation duties and was promoted to captain. From 1946 to 1950, he once again managed a school of aviation in the [Limmat Valley](/source/Limmat_Valley),{{cite web|url=https://www.limmattalerzeitung.ch/limmattal/unverhofft-ging-es-doch-in-die-luft-wie-flugpioniere-das-limmattal-eroberten-131234146|title=Unverhofft ging es doch in die Luft – wie Flugpioniere das Limmattal eroberten|publisher=[Limmattaler Zeitung](/source/Limmattaler_Zeitung)|author=Sandro Zimmerli|language=German|date=2017-04-17|accessdate=2017-04-17}} and was also involved in establishing the private airfield Wangen-Lachen on the southern shore of lake [Obersee](/source/Obersee_(Lake_Zurich)). He finally retired from flying and died in 1965 in Zürich. == Alfred Comte Schweizerische Flugzeugfabrik == Between 1923 and 1935, Alfred Comte concentrated on airplane design and construction in his own company, ''Alfred Comte Schweizerische Flugzeugfabrik''. In all, around 40 aircraft were built, with an additional eight [Fokker D.VII](/source/Fokker_D.VII) under license for the [Swiss Air Force](/source/Swiss_Air_Force). The company had a good reputation, but financially it was not successful, and a fire destroyed some of Comte's designs. The [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) hit the small business hard; it could not be saved even by switching to the production of tubular steel furniture, and in 1935 filed for bankruptcy. From 1923 to 1935, Alfred Comte designed and built several aircraft: ;[Wild 43](/source/Wild_43):(1923–26), training purpose, 6 built and exported to [China](/source/China) and [Colombia](/source/Colombia) ;[Wild X](/source/Wild_X):(1927/28), fighting and observing purpose, 8 built and exported to Colombia ;[AC-1](/source/Comte_AC-1):(1926), fighter, 1 built, [Swiss Air Force](/source/Swiss_Air_Force) preferred in an evaluation to buy [Dewoitine D.27](/source/Dewoitine_D.27) ;[AC-2](/source/Comte_AC-2): 2-seat sport biplane with a 60 hp engine, not built Aeroplane Monthly, 8/2013 ;[AC-3](/source/Comte_AC-3):(1929/30), transport and bombing purpose, 1 built ;[AC-4 ''Gentleman''](/source/Comte_AC-4):(1928–30), two-seat sport/training aircraft, 11 built, used by [Swiss Air Force](/source/Swiss_Air_Force) and others ;[AC-5](/source/Comte_AC-5): 6-seater with a 200 hp Wright engine, not built ;[AC-6](/source/Comte_AC-6): 2-seat biplane with a 200 hp [Wright Whirlwind](/source/Wright_Whirlwind) engine for training or a 400 hp [Gnome-Rhône](/source/Gnome-Rh%C3%B4ne) Jupiter for military use, not built ;[AC-7](/source/Comte_AC-7): 2-seat high-wing trainer with a 500 hp Gnome-Rhône Jupiter engine, not built ;[AC-8](/source/Comte_AC-8):(1929/30), passenger aircraft, 3 built, probably one (or AC-4) used by [Ad Astra Aero](/source/Ad_Astra_Aero) ;[AC-9](/source/Comte_AC-9): tri-motor airliner, not built ;[AC-10](/source/Comte_AC-10): development of the AC-1 with a 480 hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter engine, not built ;[AC-11-V](/source/Comte_AC-11-V):(1931), liaison and survey aircraft, 1 built, rejected by Swiss Air Force ;[AC-12 ''Moskito''](/source/Comte_AC-12_Moskito):(1931/35?), airliner, 8 built == Personal life == Comte was married to Erika Zeller, a language instructor, with whom he had three children: * Ellen Comte, married to Eric Boxall, with issue * Lottie Comte, married to Nuri Yüksel, with issue * Alfred Heinrich Comte (1926-2022), married to Sylvia Maria Boetschi (1928-2015); one son, [Michel Comte](/source/Michel_Comte) (born 1954), who became a prominent photographer. He died 1 November 1965 in [Zürich, Switzerland](/source/Zurich) aged 70. He was buried in [Witikon](/source/Witikon).{{Cite web |title=Neue Zürcher Zeitung 3. November 1965 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=NZZ19651103-01.2.26.1&srpos=2 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}} == Literature == * Roland Eichenberger: ''Die Flugzeuge von Alfred Comte'', Liebefeld 1968. * Roland Eichenberger. ''Alfred Comte (1895–1965)'', in: ''Schweizer Pioniere der Wirtschaft und Technik'', Vol. 46. Glarus Verlag, Zürich 1987. == References == {{Reflist|30em}} == External links == {{Commons category}} * {{HDS|30169|Comte, Alfred|author=François Kohler|date=19 December 2003}} * Walter Dürig: ''Zur Geschichte der schweizerischen Eigenentwicklung von Flugzeugen'' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110707005115/http://wrd.ch/luftwaffe/CHEntwicklungen/Text06.05.pdf Digitalisat], 69 KB) {{in lang|de}} {{Comte aircraft}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Comte, Alfred}} Category:1895 births Category:1965 deaths Category:Swiss aviators Category:20th-century Swiss photographers Category:Aerial photographers Category:Aircraft manufacturers of Switzerland Category:Aviation pioneers Category:Swiss military officers Category:People from Delémont Category:Swiss Air Force personnel --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alfred Comte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Comte) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Comte?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.