About: Société d'Études Aéronautiques

The Société d'Études Aéronautiques (SEA) ("Society for Aeronautical Studies") was a French aircraft manufacturer founded in 1916 by Henry Potez, Marcel Bloch, and at Suresnes. Having been established amid the First World War, the company was from its onset focused upon the manufacture of military aircraft. It quickly found work producing large numbers of combat aircraft on behalf of the French military. However, following the end of the conflict, a major glut in surplus aircraft and the cancellation of many outstanding orders rapidly pushed the company into dire straights. Some officials, like Bloch, decided to withdraw from the aviation sector entirely in light of the poor economic prospects of the early 1920s aviation market.