La Societe des Moteurs Gnome
Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer.
London offices: 47 Victoria Street, S.W.1. and The Hyde, Hendon, N.W.9. UK Works: Black Horse Lane, Walthamstow[1]
Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licensees, powering the majority of aircraft in the first half of the war on both sides of the conflict.
In the post-war era they started a new design series originally based on the Bristol Jupiter, but evolving into the excellent 1,000 hp-class Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major radial, which was likewise licensed and used around the world during World War II. They were nationalized as a part of Snecma in 1949, but the brand lived on for a time as the manufacturer of motorcycles.
The Monosoupape, French for single-valve, was a particular engine design used by Gnome et Rhône's later rotary engines. It used a clever arrangement of internal ports and a single valve to replace a large number of parts normally found on a conventional arrangement, and made the Monosoupape engines some of the most reliable of the era.
Post-WWI: The Aircraft Manufacturing Co, in conjunction with La Societe des Moteurs Gnome and George Holt Thomas, was awarded £74,000 by the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors for the Gnome 80 hp and La Rhone engines in addition to the £200,000 already received from H.M. Government; and £75,000 for the Gnome monosoupape engine[2]
Models
- 1909 Gnome Omega 7-cylinder rotary
- 1911 Gnome Lambda was a larger 80 hp
- 1914 Gnome Delta 9-cylinder 100-hp, also called the Gnome Monosoupape
- 1918 Gnome Type-N nine-cylinder Monosoupape design was delivering 160 hp
- 260 hp (190 kW) Gnome-Rhône 5K Titan
- 7-cylinder 370 hp (270 kW) version, the Gnome-Rhône 7K Titan Major
- 9-cylinder 550 hp (405 kW) Gnome-Rhône 9K Mistral
- 1929 two banks of 7 cylinders, delivering the 625 hp (460 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major
- 18-cylinder two-row Gnome-Rhône 18L of 1400 hp
- 1939 Gnome-Rhône 14R
- WWII 1,000 hp-class Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major radial