Salmson

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Salmson SE4

Salmson is a French mechanical engineering company that was active in the field of aircraft and automobile production from 1912 to 1957 . From the 1960s it only produced pumps .

history

Émile Salmson (1858–1917) founded the company in 1890 as Émile Salmson Ing. In Paris as a workshop in which steam compressors and centrifugal pumps for the railways and the military were manufactured. After the two engineers Canton and Unné joined the company, it became Émile Salmson & Cie. renamed, which produced gasoline- powered elevators and engines from 1896 .

The company was one of the first to specialize in the production of aircraft engines before the First World War and continued to produce them until the Second World War . After the First World War, the company looked for other lines of production and began manufacturing car bodies until it produced complete automobiles. In 1957 the era of car manufacturing ended.

The production of pumps returned to the center. The production facilities were relocated to Mayenne in 1961 . In 1962 the company was taken over by ITT - Lockheed Martin . In 1976 it came under the control of Thomson . Chatou became the seat of the company. In 1984 the pump manufacturer Pompes Salmson was taken over by its German competitor WILO SE.

Aircraft production

Radial engine of a Salmson AD-9

The company was relocated to Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris. As an engine specialist, Salmson produced complete aircraft there for the first time, mainly fighter planes during the First World War . Salmson aircraft have also been used for airmail to India since 1911 . The aircraft production was relocated to Villeurbanne near Lyon . Salmson built radial engines for aircraft . In 1931 two world records were set by Maryse Bastié while flying from Le Bourget to Moscow with a Salmson aircraft.

Radial engine of a Salmson 9Z

Aircraft engines:

  • Salmson 2 (1911-1920)
  • Salmson 2M.7
  • Salmson B9
  • Salmson 9 (1944-1951)
  • Salmson 9AD
  • Salmson 9ZM
  • Salmson 9Z

Airplane models:

  • Salmson SM-I (1916) as a scout
  • Salmson Sal II (1917) as reconnaissance aircraft (A.2) and bomber (B.2)
  • Salmson Sal III (1918) as a single-seater C.1
  • Salmson Sal IV (1918) as a battle two-seater Ab.2
  • Salmson Sal V (1918) as a scout A.2
  • Salmson Sal VII (1918) as a reconnaissance aircraft A.2
  • Salmson Phrygane (1934)
  • Salmson Cricri (1936)

Vehicle production

emblem
Share over 100 Francs of Soc. des Moteurs Salmson from March 15, 1929
Salmson Grand Prix

Cars were manufactured in Billancourt under the direction of Émile Petit . Since the company did not have an expert in the construction of cars, it began with the license production of British GN Cyclecars , which were presented in 1919 at the Paris Motor Show. In 1922, vehicle production was spun off as a separate company under the name Société des Moteurs Salmson .

The first Salmson car was powered by a four-cylinder engine.

Salmson AL3 from 1923
Salmson Grand Prix Sport two-seater with 9.5 hp from 1928

Car models:

  • AL (cyclecar 1920)
  • D-type (1922)
  • VAL3 (1922)
  • AL3 (1923)
  • GSC San Sebastian
  • Grand Sport (GS 1924–1930)
  • 2ACT (1926)

To take part in motorsport events , Salmson presented the Grand Sport model in 1924 with a four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1086 cm³ , which already developed 40 hp. Due to the racing success, the decision was made to mass-produce the Grand Sport model, in which the chassis has undergone a large number of improvements. Two overhead camshafts operated under its hood. Salmson won 550 car races and set ten world records between 1921 and 1928 before the racing division closed in 1929.

Salmson S4E Cabriolet

In the same year, the D-type was replaced by the longer-term S-series.

  • S4 (1929-1932)
  • S4C (1932)
  • S4D (1934)
  • S4DA (1935-1938)
  • S4-61 (1938-1951)
  • S4E (1938-1951)

After the Great Depression, Salmson concentrated successfully in the 1930s on the production of elegant and luxurious two and four-door cars, including numerous convertibles . The S4C model with 1500 cm³ displacement already had a 12 V system. The special technical features offered by Salmson in this decade also included the installation of Cotal pre-selection gears.

The S4C was also produced by British Salmson as a 12 hp model. As a result of the global economic crisis and the fall in the exchange rate, it was no longer worth importing French vehicles to Great Britain. The British offshoot developed the S4D and S6D from the S4C before the Second World War. The 2A2 de Aéropostale aircraft was also manufactured there.

After the Second World War, Salmson experienced another comeback with the S4E and S4-61. The S4E had a four-cylinder engine of 2,336 cm³ displacement, from which it developed 70 hp. In 1950 a new model was presented in the form of the E72 Randonnée . Since only a few vehicles were sold in the early post-war period and the company lived on from selling aircraft engines, car production had to be temporarily interrupted. In 1953 a new model, the 2300S , was presented. In 1955, 1956 and 1957 Salmson took part in the 24-hour races at Le Mans .

In 1953 the automaker went bankrupt , in 1957 all activities ended. Renault bought the factory in Billancourt.

See also

literature

  • Nick Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 3: P – Z. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Salmson  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ salmson.com
  2. ^ N. Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. 2001.
  3. ^ A b c d e N. Georgano: Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London 2000, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
  4. ↑ Reinhard Lintelmann: 1000 automobiles. Naumann & Göbel Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-625-10543-8 , p. 65.
  5. ^ Richard von Frankenberg, Otto Neubauer: History of the automobile. Künzelsau 1995, ISBN 3-89393-197-X , p. 181.
  6. ↑ britishsalmson.co.uk
  7. ^ René Bellu: Automobilia . In: Toutes les voitures françaises 1948 (salon [Paris, Oct] 1947) . No. 7. Histoire & collections, Paris 1998, p. 72 .
  8. ↑ Reinhard Lintelmann: 1000 automobiles. 2005, p. 120.
  9. ↑ http://amicale.salmson.free.fr/ ( Memento of January 18, 2002 in the Internet Archive )