Gnome et Rhône

Gnome et Rhône was a major French <a href="/facts/Aircraft_engine/XJo2Bd2e">aircraft engine</a> manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder <a href="/facts/Gnome_Delta/CQWIcAB1">Delta</a> and Le Rhône 110 hp (81 kW) <a href="/facts/Rotary_engine/QkxnRk0x">rotary</a> designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licensees. These engines powered the majority of aircraft in the first half of the war, both <a href="/facts/Allies_of_World_War_I/HBo9sw1M">Allied</a> designs as well as <a href="/facts/German_Empire/lwQutJyN">German</a> examples produced by <a href="/facts/Motorenfabrik_Oberursel/oXPm5qv5">Motorenfabrik Oberursel</a>.
In the post-war era they started a new design series originally based on the <a href="/facts/Bristol_Jupiter/5qtLjdjR">Bristol Jupiter</a>, but evolving into the excellent twin-row, 1,000 hp-class (750 kW) <a href="/facts/Gnome-Rh%C3%B4ne_14K/gG2UlD1c">Gnome-Rhône 14K</a> Mistral Major <a href="/facts/Radial_engine/tS0ljlb7">radial</a>, which was likewise licensed and used around the world during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>. They were a major supplier of engines to the German <a href="/facts/Luftwaffe/k7PAsBlo">Luftwaffe</a>, producing both their own designs as well as German ones under licence. Their factories were the target of highly accurate bombing, knocking them out of the war.
The company was nationalized as a part of <a href="/facts/Snecma/HERWYfK9">Snecma</a> in 1945, but the brand lived on for a time as the manufacturer of Gnome et Rhône motorcycles and Gnome et Rhône bicycles.

Gnome et Rhône open-in-new

Gnome et Rhône