The S.A. des Chantiers aéronavals Étienne Romano (CAER) was an aircraft manufacturing company based in Cannes, France.[1] The predecessor company, Chantiers aéronavals de la Méditerranée had been founded by Étienne Romano in 1921.
André Auniac and Étienne Romano founded the SA des Chantiers aéronavals Étienne Romano [2] on 16 August 1929. The factory was ideally located between the Mediterranean Sea and a flat expanse of grassland where the planes could take-off and land. That field would become later Cannes – Mandelieu Airport. In 1931 the Romano factory became operational and full production started.[1]
On 11 August 1936 the Romano company was nationalized[3] following which in 1937 it was merged with Lioré et Olivier, Potez, CAMS and SPCA in order to form the Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est (SNCASE) on 1 February 1937.[4]
Alors qu'on ne sait pas très clairement si les sociétés nationales sont des « usines de production de guerre » sans indépendance et sans bureau d'études, la SNCASE est officiellement formée le 1er février 1937.