Salmson water-cooled aero-engines


The Salmson water-cooled aero-engines, produced in France by Société des Moteurs Salmson from 1908 until 1920, were a series of pioneering aero-engines: unusually combining water-cooling with the radial arrangement of their cylinders.

History

Henri Salmson, a manufacturer of water pumps, was engaged by Georges Marius Henri-Georges Canton and Pierre Unné, a pair of Swiss engineers, to produce engines to their design. Their initial efforts were on barrel engines, but these failed to meet expectations due to low reliability and high fuel consumption caused by internal friction.
A new 7-cylinder water-cooled radial design was then developed by Canton and Unné. The range was expanded to produce 9-cylinder models, and also two-row 14-cylinder and 18-cylinder engines. By 1912 the Salmson A9 was producing around 120 brake horsepower; while competitive with rival designs from French companies, Salmson, Canton and Unné decided to develop more powerful engines as their rivals were concentrating on engines of lower power.
The engines were produced at Salmson's factory at Billancourt, which was expanded during the First World War, and a second factory was opened at Villeurbanne. The Salmson- series of water-cooled engines were also built by licensees in Russia and in Great Britain at the Dudbridge Iron Works Limited at Stroud in Gloucestershire between 1914 and 1918.

Applications

Data from:LA SOCIETE DES MOTEURS SALMSON
Aircraft powered by Salmson water-cooled engines included:
;Salmson 9A:
;Salmson 9B:
;Salmson 9C
;Salmson 9M
;Salmson 9P:
;Salmson 9R:
;Salmson 9Z:
;Salmson 2M7:
;Salmson 18Cm
Some sources named the radial versions as Salmson which refers to the Swiss engineers which engaged Salmson to build engines to their designs.
NameCylindersYearBoreStrokeCapacityPowerRemarks
Salmson A2 x 7-cyl barrel1908 at 800rpmBarrel engine 1 built bench tests only
Salmson B2 x 7-cyl barrel1910 at 800rpm1 built bench tests only.
Salmson C2 x 7-cyl barrel1910 at 1100rpm1 built with rotary inlet valves.
Salmson D2 x 7-cyl barrel1910 at 1100rpm1 built with rotary inlet valves.
Salmson E2 x 9-cyl barrel19111 built – timed valves.
Salmson F2 x 9-cyl barrel1911 at 1200 rpm1 built – timed valves.
Salmson K2 x 7-cyl barrel1912 at 1200 rpm1 built – automatic inlet valves.
Salmson A77-cyl radial1911 – 5 built for bench testing.
Salmson A99-cyl radial1912 – 30 built – certified to 47 hours running by 1914
Salmson C99-cyl radial19121 built for testing
Salmson M77-cyl radial1913 – 50 built for bench testing.
Salmson 2M714-cyl 2-row radial1913 at 1300rpm15 built in France 300 built in Great Britain. Powered the Kennedy Giant, Short Type 166,
Sopwith Bat Boat II, Sopwith Type C, Sopwith Type 860 and Wight Navyplane.
Salmson 2A918 cyl 2-row radial1913 at 1500rpm1 built for bench testing.
Salmson B99-cyl radial1913106 built in Great Britain, 300 built in France. Powered the Short Type 135, Short S.74 et Short Type 830 and Voisin LA 5
Salmson M99-cyl radial1914 – 500 built in France. Powered the Voisin LA 3, Bréguet U2, Blackburn Type L, Breguet 14 prototype.
Salmson P99-cyl radial1915300 built in France, 300 built in Russia. Powered the Voisin type LA 5 and Farman HF.27
Salmson R99-cyl radial1915 – at 1300rpm50 built in France, 300 built in Russia. Powered the Lebed 12, Anatra DS, and Salmson-Moineau prototype
Salmson 9Z9-cyl radial1917 at 1400rpma.k.a. Z9 Water-cooled or Z9 – 3000 built in France, 56 built in Great Britain. Powered the Salmson 2A2, Latécoère 3, Farman 60, Voisin Triplane, Caudron C.23 and Vickers Vimy prototype
Salmson 9ZaVariant of the 9Z, powered the Hanriot HD.3
Salmson 9ZmVariant of the 9Z
Salmson 9ZcVariant of the 9Z
Salmson CM.99powered the Salmson 2 Berline
Salmson 18Z18-cyl 2-row radial at 1,600 rpm
Salmson 18Cm181934 at 1,700 rpm2-row In-line radial water-cooled version of the 18Z / 18AB

Specifications (Salmson 9Z)