French aviation giant Marcel Dassault (1892-1986) has been honored by the French air force’s Ecole de l’Air by bestowing his name on the 2015 class of officer graduates. Out of more than 80 such classes to have emerged from the world-renowned academy, only two have previously been named for civilians: Louis Blériot and Clément Ader.

Born as Marcel Bloch, Dassault’s first major contribution to the French air force was to develop the Eclair (“Lightning”) propeller in 1916. In 1934 the current company was founded, Bloch adopting the name Dassault after World War II. The company has delivered nearly 4,200 aircraft to the French air force.