Birkigt stopped manufacturing automobiles and devoted himself to aircraft engines and automatic weapons for French national defense. The result is the Hispano-Suiza 12X engine derived from the V8; one of the first engines of the 1000 hp (750 kW) class in the Hispano-Suiza 12Y version, produced under license and developed in Czechoslovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the USSR. The Hispano-Suiza HS-404 aircraft gun was also designed and widely adopted by the British and American armed forces during World War II. At the end of World War II, the factories of Bois-Colombes and Tarbes were in ruins and looted. It then relaunched in the manufacture of aircraft reactors (Rolls-Royce), aviation accessories (thrust reversers, gas turbines, landing gear, diesel engines ...) Private life Marc Birkigt married Eugénie Brachet in Geneva on November 23, 1901. From their union were born Louis in 1903 and Yvonne in 1905. He lived in Versoix since 1930 in his sumptuous “Rive-bleu” residence (on the shores of Lake Geneva, facing the Mont-Blanc massif.) He died on March 15, 1953 at the age of 75, after having filed more than 150 patents. He is buried in Versoix. Décorations 1908 : Chevalier de l'ordre d'Isabelle la Catholique 1930 « Commandeur » then « Grand officier » in 1939 of the Légion d'honneur 1923 and 1949 : Laureate of the l'Aéro-Club de France Docteur honoris causa of l’École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich See also Hispano-Suiza External links Site officiel d'Hispano-Suiza Marc Birkigt : parcours d’un des pionniers du Groupe, Safran Stratégies d'entreprises et innovations internationales : les motoristes français d'aviation (1918-1940), Histoire, économie & société, 1987, n°6-2 pp. 263-287. Hispano-Suiza 1911-1961, Musée Safran, 1962 (plaquette avec photos d'époque). Aucun e-book disponible Les patrons sous l'Occupation, Renaud de Rochebrune, Jean-Claude Hazera, Odile Jacob, 1995 (voir p.365). References External links 1878 births 1953 deaths European founders of automobile manufacturers Swiss mechanical engineers Swiss expatriates in Spain