Renault
Although this corporate group is popularly and rightly known over the long term for the design and production of its automobiles, it also designed and produced motors specifically orientated towards the airplane. In fact, it led the way in doing so:[1]
Renault is the first among the large European firms of automobile constructors to pay especial attention to the light-weight explosion motor for aeroplanes. The Renault aero engine, which is rated at 45 horse power, has eight air-cooled cylinders arranged in V form, each having a bore of 90 milimeters and a stroke of 120.
In terms of patents, inclusive of aero patents not exclusively or merely involving motors, the firm's key founder, Louis Renault, is of the greatest interest to us.
In terms of patents, and aviation patents not exclusively or merely featuring motors, it is Louis Renault who is of the greatest interest to us, and when we come across the surname “Renault”, as applied to an individual, particularly in our context, this will be a reference to Louis Renault.
The firm's earliest formal incorporation occurred with the founding of the Société Renault Frères, by Louis Renault in collaboration with his friends Thomas Evert and Julian Wyer, 25 February 1899[2]. The roles played by Marcel Renault and Fernand Renault are yet to be clarified. There is also an apparently unrelated Eugène Renault, located in Britain, also of interest to us.[3]
Although a natural and unavoidable spotlight has been put upon the individual Louis Renault, the corporate group is crucial to our data in that “Renault motors”, the design provenance of which we don't know, are key in connection with the airplanes associated with Caudron and Farman and Louis-Charles Bréguet. Likewise we have many publications featuring “Renault motors”.
One review mentions that "the Renault Company of France was the first concern to produce a V-type aero engine", and describes its latest such engine:[4]
Like its immediate predecessor, the 100 horse-power model, the 220 horsepower engine has twelve cylinders arranged in two rows of sixes so as to form an angle, or V, of 60 degrees. The cylinders, made of high grade steel, are mounted separately on the base chamber, and are surrounded in pairs by autogenously welded steel water-jackets.
Sources
- Louis Renault on English Wikipedia
- Louis Renault on French Wikipedia
- Renault on English Wikipedia
- Renault on French Wikipedia
See also
Publications by or about Renault
- Lelasseux and Marque, 1909, L'aéroplane pour tous, suivi d'une note de M. P. Painlevé sur les deux écoles d'aviation (Simple title: The airplane for everyone. Followed by the two flying schools, by Mr. Painlevé)
- Lelasseux and Marque, 1910, L'aéroplane pour tous (in Russian) (Simple title: The airplane for everyone. The two flying schools, by Mr. Painlevé.)
- Publication 3685, 1908, Dirigibili. Parseval, Bayard-Clément, Il nuovo dirigibile militare inglese, Zeppelin, Lebaudy, Gross-Basenach, Ville de Paris, Motori leggeri per aeronautica Anzani, Renault (Simple title: Airships. Parseval, Bayard-Clément, The new British military airship, Zeppelin, Lebaudy, Gross-Basenach, Ville de Paris, Light engines for aeronautics Anzani, Renault, Journal: Boll. Soc. Aer. Ital.)
- Publication 9299, 1908, Nuovi mottori leggeri per aeronautica. Motore Dufaux 120 H. Motore a raffreddamento ad aria Renault 45 H (Simple title: New light engines for aeronautics. Engine Dufaux 120 H. Air-cooled engine Renault 45 H, Journal: Boll. Soc. Aer. Ital.)
- Bradley and Perry, 1909, Power generation and transmission in aeroplanes (Simple title: Power generation and transmission in aeroplanes, Journal: Eng. Mag.)
- Publication B2p1126e03, 1912, The 1912 Renault motors described (Simple title: The 1912 Renault motors described, Journal: Aero)
- Publication B2p1126e06, 1913, Signal Corps test of 100 H. P. Renault (Simple title: Signal Corps test of 100 H. P. Renault, Journal: Aeronautics)
- Publication B2p1126e05, 1915, Renault's aviation twelve (Simple title: Renault's aviation twelve, Journal: Aerial Age)
- Publication B2p1126e07, 1916, The two hundred and twenty horse-power Renault aero engine (Simple title: The two hundred and twenty horse-power Renault aero engine, Journal: Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering)
References
| Names | Renault, Société Renault Frères, Renault Frères, Groupe Renault |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| City | 15, rue Gustav Sandoz, Billancourt, Seine, France ; rue du Cours (currently avenue Émile-Zola) at Boulogne-Billancourt |
| Affiliations | |
| Keywords | engine |
| Started aero | 1908 or earlier |
| Ended aero | |
| Key people | Louis Renault, Thomas Evert, Julian Wyer, Marcel Renault, Fernand Renault |
| Wikidata id | Q6686 |
