SNECMA Atar
| Atar | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Atar 101 | |
| Type | Turbojet |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Snecma |
| First run | 26 March 1948 |
| Major applications |
Dassault Super Étendard Dassault Mirage III Dassault Mirage F1 |
The Snecma Atar is a French axial-flow turbojet engine built by Snecma. It was derived from the German World War II BMW 018 design, and developed by ex-BMW engineers through a progression of more powerful models. The name is derived from its original design group, Atelier technique aéronautique de Rickenbach near Lindau within the French Occupation Zone of Germany. The Atar powered many of the French post-war jet aircraft, including the Vautour, Étendard and Super Étendard, Super Mystère and several models of the Mirage.
Herman Östrich's team in charge of the development of the BMW 003 engine had moved to the town of Stassfurt, near Magdeburg, in February 1945. An underground production factory was being set up in a salt mine outside town by C.G. Rheinhardt in a desperate attempt to continue engine production in face of the now overwhelming Allied air campaign. This mine is well known historically as it was also being used for the storage of uranium compounds as part of the Nazi atomic bomb program.
The town of Stassfurt surrendered to US forces on 12 April 1945, and Östrich hid much of the technical data in a local cemetery. The next day a ten-man team made up primarily of engineers from Pratt & Whitney arrived, and he handed the data over to them. Production restarted for US use while the war ground to a close, and the US forces cleared out the factory while they waited to turn the area over to the Soviets.
Östrich had by this time moved to Munich for further interrogation, and from there to England at the request of British engine designer Roy Fedden. He had them work on the design of a turboprop engine for a proposed C-54 Skymaster-class four-engine transport. While working on this design, Őstrich was secretly approached by French DGER agents with an offer to take up further design of the 003 in France. The French forces had found a number of 003 engines in their occupation zone after the war, and were interested in setting up a production line. These discussions had not progressed very far when Őstrich was allowed to return to Munich, only to be brought back to England in late August, then returned to Munich again where the US offered him and a hand-selected team jobs in the US, but without their families.
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