who is André Japy, this aviator celebrated by a new stamp?

Beaucourt in the Territoire de Belfort celebrates 120 years since the birth of aviator André Japy. The explorer broke speed records across continents in the 1930s. To honor this local hero, a stamp bearing his image was published by the Post Office, available in advance for sale in the common.

He is a pioneer for his time. The aviator André Japy was born in 1904 in Beaucourt (Territoire de Belfort). This man was an air raid enthusiast. Throughout his life, he challenged the sky by setting speed records in the 1930s.

“Nationally, the character is not known. He was famous in the 1930s-40s and also in Polynesia, because he created airstrips“, explains Francis Courtot, president of the Wings of Friendship association and deputy mayor of Beaucourt. His association maintains a twinning relationship between Japan and the town, linked by the explorer's travels.

To pay tribute to this forgotten hero, a stamp bearing his image was published by the Post Office on November 12. Several symbols appear there, a Caudron Simoun one of André Japy's planes, a traditional Japanese gate (torri), wild geese. The paper rectangle is available for preview sale in the town, from November 7 to 9, accompanied by an official stamp.

“This represents an exceptional event for me and for the municipality.“, explain Francis Courtot, president of the Wings of Friendship association and deputy mayor of Beaucourt. The enthusiast has been one of the promoters of the stamp project since 2014.

There were many stamp lovers from the opening despite the price of 9.85 euros. “In an hour and a half, 600 stamps were sold. They had to urgently reprint it in Paris“, assure Francis Courtot.

To better understand the life of the aviator, we must go back before the First World War. André Japy was born into a family with a large industry in Beaucourt. It employed a good number of the surrounding residents at the time. André Japy leaves this family business to devote himself to his passion: aviation. He quickly entered the race for records.

At the time, the goal was to go as far as possible, as quickly as possible. He was like Saint-Exupéry. In 1935, he broke the Paris-Saïgon record.

Francis Courtot, president of the Wings of Friendship association

For the anecdote, it was while trying to beat André Japy's record that Saint-Exupéry crashed in the desert in December 1935. A scene which could have inspired the opening of his book The Little Prince.

The Belfort aviator does not stop there in these exploits. “With success, he said, I'm going to push a little further to beat the record, Paris-Tokyo. In December 1936, he arrived in Hong Kong on schedule, but bad weather was forecast as he approached Japan. He found himself in a storm, without fuel and crashed on Mount Sefuri, in the south of the country. He is rescued by residents of a village“, adds Francis Courtot. The aviator is hospitalized in a nearby imperial center, bonds of friendship will be born at that time with the Japanese population.

Once recovered, he will continue raids around the world such as Istres-Djibouti, Istres-Wadi Halfa (Sudan). A multi-medalist, he was elevated to the rank of officer of the Legion of Honor in 1937.

In 1946, André Japy stopped racing to serve as a meteorologist in Tahiti where he developed air access to the atolls. With his plane, André Japy supports the populations, as with medical transport. He returned to France in 1970 and died in 1974.

Beaucourt continues to promote the memory of the aviator's rich life with a twinning with Japan for several years. Around the release of the stamp, activities on the theme of Japanese culture will be organized until Sunday, November 10. On the program, Japanese drums, calligraphy and exhibition.