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-(Canton-Unne) 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-Moineau S.M.1
 * Salmson-Moineau S.M.2
 * Salmson 9B:
 * Short S.74
 * Short type 135
 * Short type 830
 * Salmson 9C
 * Farman 60
 * Salmson 9M
 * Blackburn type L
 * Bréguet U2
 * Breguet 14 prototype
 * Voisin LA 3
 * Salmson 9P:
 * Farman HF.27
 * Voisin LA 5
 * Salmson 9R:
 * Anatra DS
 * Lebed 12
 * Salmson 9Z:
 * Besson H-5
 * Caudron C.23
 * Farman HF.30
 * Farman 60
 * Hanriot HD.3
 * Hanriot H.26
 * Latécoère 3
 * Salmson 2 Berline
 * Salmson 2A2
 * Vickers Vimy prototype
 * Voisin Triplane
 * Salmson 2M7:
 * Kennedy Giant
 * Sopwith type C
 * Sopwith Bat Boat II
 * Short type 166
 * Sopwith type 860
 * Wight Navyplane
 * Salmson 18Cm
 * Hanriot H.25

Variants and specifications
Some sources named the radial versions as Salmson (Canton-Unne) which refers to the Swiss engineers which engaged Salmson to build engines to their designs.

References and further reading

 * La société des moteurs Salmson at Hydro-Retro.Net
 * Salmson Z-9 at the Aircraft Engine Historical Society