Salmson

Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services in the late 20th and into the 21st century.[1] It is headquartered in Chatou and has production facilities in Laval.[2] It has subsidiaries in Argentina, Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa and Vietnam.[2]

History

It was established by Émile Salmson (1858-1917) as Emile Salmson, Ing. as a workshop in Paris (1890), making steam-powered compressors and centrifugal pumps for railway and military purposes. Subsequently, joined by engineers George Canton and Georg Unné, it was renamed Emile Salmson & Cie, building petrol-powered lifts and motors (1896).

The company became one of the first to make purpose-built aircraft engines, starting before World War I and continuing into World War II.

Car manufacture

The Billancourt factory became the car manufacturing plant directed by Emile Petit. As the firm had no direct car design expertise they started by building the British GN cyclecar under licence, displaying six cars at the 1919 Paris Salon.[6]

In 1922 the car part of the business became a separate company, named Société des Moteurs Salmson.

The first Salmson car proper used a four-cylinder engine designed by Petit with unusual valve gear: a single pushrod actuated both inlet and exhaust valves pushing to open the exhaust and pulling to open the inlet. This was used in the AL models from 1921. Later the same year the company built its first twin-overhead-cam engine, which was fitted to the 1922 D-type, although most production at first used the pushrod engine.

Models included:

Early models

Salmson won 550 automobile races and set ten world records (1921–28) before closing the racing department in 1929.

AL (cyclecar, 1920)
D-type (1922)
VAL3 (1922)
AL3 (1923)
GSC San Sebastian
Gran Sport (GS, 1924–30)
2ACT (1926)

S-series models

The S-series cars took over from the D-type, starting in 1929 and becoming a long lived series.

S4 (1929–32)
S4C (1932)
S4D (1934)
S4DA (1935–38)
S4-61 (1938–51)
S4E (1938–51)

Post-War

After World War II the Salmson Typ S4E and Salmson Type S4-61 were re-introduced. Initially, as before the war, they were in most respects mutually indistinguishable from the outside apart from the slightly longer nose on the Type S4-E.[8] The Type S4-61 retained its four-cylinder in-line 1,730 cc engine.[8] The standard body was a four-door sedan/saloon, 4510 mm in length for the four-cylinder car and 4610 mm with the larger engine.[8] As well as the sedan/saloon there was a four-seater two-door coupe version of the S4-61 although this variant represented barely 10% of the post-war S4-61‘s total sales. A few two-door cabriolets were produced.[8]

In October 1947 a substantially updated body appeared for the Type S4-E, featuring more flamboyant wheel arches and lowered headlights, now set into the body work rather than perching above the front wings.[8] The revised frontal treatment also quickly found its way onto the coupé and cabriolet variants, making the 13CV (2312cc) S4-E easier to distinguish from the 10 CV (1730cc) S4-61 than hitherto.

location	Boulogne-Billancourt (France)
foundation	1890
founder	Émile Salmson
industry	Manufacturing
products	Aircraft Automobiles

History

Aircraft manufacture

Aircraft

Aero engines

Salmson post World War One engines

Car manufacture

Early models

S-series models

Post-War

See also

References