Renault 6Q

The  Renault 6Q, also called the Renault Bengali 6, is an air-cooled inverted in-line six-cylinder, aircraft piston engine, producing about 220 hp continuous power. It was designed and built in France and produced for more than ten years after its homologation in 1936, with large numbers built during World War II.

Design and development
The six-cylinder Renault 6Q and the four-cylinder Renault 4P, both from the early 1930s, shared the same bore, stroke and pistons.

The 6Q was built in both unsupercharged and supercharged forms. The centrifugal supercharger was added at the back of the engine, driven off the crankshaft via step-up gearing. It added 13 kg to the weight and 242 mm to the length but boosted the performance at altitude to a continuous power of 237 hp at 2,500 rpm and 2200 m. Two pre-war models were optimised to different altitudes, the 02/03 right- and left-handed pair to 2000 m, with 7.61:1 gearing and the 04/05 pair to 4000 m, with 12.274 gearing.

Operational history
The 6Q was homologated in 1936; 1700 were built before the war and 1660 during it. Post-war, production was resumed. The majority of pre-war 6Qs were used in Caudron C.440 Goélands, during the war in Goélands and post-war in Nord's Messerschmitt Bf 108 derived Nord Pingouin, in the Nord Noralpha and Ramier Bf 108 developments.

Variants
Even sub-type numbers rotate clockwise, odd numbers anti-clockwise as seen from engine.


 * Renault 6Q-00/01: Unsupercharged LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-02/03: 220 hp Supercharged to 2000 m LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-04/05: 240 hp Supercharged to 4000 m LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-06/07: 233 hp LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-08/09: 240 hp LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-10/11: 230 hp LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-18/19: LH/RH rotation
 * Renault 6Q-20/21: 300 hp LH/RH rotation

Applications

 * Caudron C.440 Goéland
 * Caudron C.631-5 Simoun
 * Caudron C.640 Typhon
 * Caudron C.690
 * Caudron C.860
 * Dewoitine HD.730
 * Farman F.430
 * Hanriot H.230
 * Morane-Saulnier MS.350
 * Morane-Saulnier MS.501
 * Nord 1101/2 Noralpha/Ramier
 * Nord Pingouin
 * Potez 661
 * Rey R.1
 * SNCASE SE-700
 * SNCASE SE-1210

Engines on display

 * Ailes Anciennes, Toulouse: Renault 6Q 10 in a Nord 1101 Ramier I.