Salmson

Industry	Manufacturing
Founded	1890
Founder	Émile Salmson
Headquarters	Boulogne-Billancourt (France)
Products	Aircraft Automobiles

Salmson was a French engineering company, initially in the automobile and aeroplane manufacturing area, turning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s.

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.

After World War I the company looked around for other work and started making car bodies and then complete cars.

Car production finished in 1957.

Focus also moved back to pump production and the facilities moved to Mayenne in 1961. The firm was bought by ITT-LMT in 1962 and then by Thomson in 1976.

Its headquarters today are in Chatou.

It moved to Billancourt and manufactured the Salmson 9 series of air- and water-cooled radial engines. During World War I Salmson made its first complete aeroplanes, mainly the two-seat fighter/reconnaissance plane, the Salmson 2A2. These were used in combat by both the French and the American Expeditionary force. The company also designed a prototype of a single seat scout/fighter, the Salmson 3, but this was not produced in large quantities.

Salmson aircraft were also used for air mail to India in (1911).

Aeroplane manufacturing moved to Villeurbanne near Lyon.

Two world records were set by Maryse Bastié, who flew Le Bourget to Moscow (1931).

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