The Breguet 19 is one of the most iconic French aircraft of the inter-war period. None was more famous than the Br-19 Super Bidon
Point d'Interrogation which made many record-breaking flights.
Less known is its little brother, the Br-21 Baby Bidon
Point d'Exclamation:
While much smaller than its famous predecessor, the Baby Bidon
Point d'Exclamation would become noteworthy in its own right and earn a place in the record book.
While the Breguet Br-21 was a very capable aircraft, its moment in the spotlight would be in spite of, not because of, the pilot, one Napoleon "Nappy" LaFatigué.
You see, poor Messr. LaFatigué had trouble staying awake. Despite the heroic efforts of his ground crew, Nappy would always have trouble keeping his eyes open.
On the morning of his record-setting flight, Nappy stumbled out of bed and into his Baby Bidon
Point d'Exclamation, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Fortunately, the noise of starting the engine jolted him awake and the
Point d'Exclamation took off to the cheers of the ground crew, headed across the Atlantic Ocean towards Orange, New Jersey, world headquarters of Mattress Discounters.
You can imagine the surprise of Nappy's ground crew when he returned 40 hours later and landed. Unfortunately, once he hit cruising altitude, Nappy hit the auto-pilot and then hit the hay. While tossing and turning in his sleep, he accidentally bumped a few switches and re-set course. Instead of heading across the Atlantic, the Baby Bidon
Point d'Exclamation flew up and down on a corkscrew course. When Nappy awoke 40 hours later, he noticed he was low on fuel and landed.
While Nappy didn't set any distance records, he did capture the endurance prize even though he slept through most of the flight. His sleepy visage was splashed across the front pages of the Paris newspaper
Le Figaro and he was acclaimed as France's latest air hero.
However, the French public was scandalized by Nappy nodding off while being awarded the
Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur. He was soon forgotten along with his Br-21 Baby Bidon
Point d'Exclamation. Today, all that remains is this Frog model kit which was released and then quickly withdrawn after only 14 were produced.
Brian da Basher