Somua
SOMUA (Abbreviation: Société d'Outillage Mécanique et d'Usinage d'Artillerie ) was a French manufacturer of armaments and commercial vehicles from 1914 to 1955 .
Company history
In 1914, SOMUA was created from the merger of several industrial companies, including the truck construction of the Societe Schneider and Brillié from Le Havre . Until the end of the Second World War, SOMUA was best known for fire engines and tanks ; The two tank types Char Somua S-35 and Char Somua S-40 , which were used in the war on the French and as captured tanks on the German side, were known.
In addition to military vehicles and other armaments, SOMUA also produced trucks for the civilian market, offering two- and three-axle trucks with gasoline engines. From 1932 Lanova diesel engines were also installed. From 1934 the large 19-ton trucks with the VX six-cylinder with 9.3 l and from 1934 the type MF diesel with 6.6 l had an excellent reputation.
After the war, SOMUA built a new forward control truck type in 1946: JL 12 with a payload of 7 t. This truck was equipped with a 4-cylinder Hesselman engine built under license, with a choice between 70 and 105 hp. The engine could also run on LPG or alcohol. 97 of these trucks had been produced by 1949. However, the French safety regulations forced SOMUA to work with other engine manufacturers. Willème and Panhard offered themselves for this . The new Panhard six-cylinder diesel engine was the most modern in the world at the time, and the truck was then renamed the JL 15. This truck had a spacious forward control cab - albeit without a lounger -, hydraulic brakes and very effective multi-plate suspension. In 1955 the look of the cab was improved again and the engine of this type JL 19 now had 150 hp.
In 1955 Saviem was created from the merger of the companies Floirat , Latil , Renault (only the heavy truck sector) and Somua.
Literature and source
- Schrader, Halwart, Norbye, Jan P .: The truck lexicon. Schrader, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-01837-3 , p. 159
- Phaneuf, Ingrid, Menzies, James, Oster, Andreas [translator]: Trucks models from all over the world. Parragon Books-Verlag ~ 2003 ISBN 978-1-40547-901-1 , p. 176
