Turbomeca is a
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
manufacturer of low- and medium-power
gas turbineA gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
turboshaftA turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce free turbine shaft power, rather than jet thrust...
engines for
helicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s. The company also produces
gas turbineA gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbines for land, industrial and marine applications.
SNECMA GroupSnecma is a major French manufacturer of engines for commercial and military aircraft, and for space vehicles. The name is an acronym for Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation .In 2005, the Snecma group, which included Snecma ,...
acquired the company in September 2001.
History
Turbomeca was founded August 29, 1938 by
Joseph SzydlowskiJoseph Szydlowski , was a Jewish-Polish-French-Israeli aircraft engine designer who founded Turbomeca in France.- Biography and career :...
and André Planiol following their patent of a supercharger in 1937. Hispano-Suiza gave ordered a demonstrator to equip its 12 Y engine, used among others on the MS 405 C1.
Turbomeca changed rapidly from an artisanal production to an industrial one benefiting from the politics of re-armament. This is shown by the production figures of the following three years: 18 compressor in , 300 in and 1200 in . Although the factory at
Mézières-sur-SeineMézières-sur-Seine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, near the bank of the Seine west of Paris....
was only really operational in June 1940, the government advised the move to the south of France due to the German advance. During the same month, Turbomeca had relocated in newly
requisitionA requisition is a request for something, especially a formal written request on a pre-printed form.An online requisition is an electronic document, which can be originated by the requester and then using the company workflow or hierarchy rules, can be submitted to the subsequent levels, until it...
ed workshop in
Saint-Pé-de-BigorreSaint-Pé-de-Bigorre is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-References:*...
near the Hispano-Suiza engine factory in
TarbesTarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants....
. The buildings were found to be too small and in a place is bought in
BordesBordes is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*...
near Pau. Between the autumn of 1941 and June 1942 Torbumeca moved. In November 1942, Szydlowski fled to
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Between October 1942 and 1944, the production stale and the workforce went from about 300 to about 50.
From 1950, Turbomeca produced the tiny
centrifugal flowCentrifugal force can generally be any force directed outward relative to some origin. More particularly, in classical mechanics, the centrifugal force is an outward force which arises when describing the motion of objects in a rotating reference frame...
Palas turbojet, producing 1.6 kN (353
lbfThe pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
). The Palas was also produced by
Blackburn and General AircraftBlackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.-History:...
in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and
ContinentalTeledyne Turbine Engines is a turbine engine manufacturer located in Toledo, Ohio. A division of Teledyne Technologies Inc., TTE is the successor to the former Teledyne CAE.-History:...
in the
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. From 1957, it manufactured the
Bastan-See also:...
turbopropA turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
for the Aérospatiale N 262 airliner. Blackburn had a licence for producing other Turbomeca designs.
Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited was established in 1968 to develop the Adour jet engine for the Anglo-French
SEPECAT JaguarThe SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...
. The company went on to develop the
RTM322-External links:* *...
turboshaftA turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce free turbine shaft power, rather than jet thrust...
, which powers Westland WAH-64, and some models of the
AgustaWestland EH101The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter for military applications but also marketed for civil use. The helicopter was developed as a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy...
and
NHI NH90The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries. The first prototype had its maiden flight in December 1995...
.
In 2001 Turbomeca and
Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
won a $1 billion USD contract to equip 399 German, French and Dutch NH90 helicopters with their RTM322 engines.
Turboprops/turboshafts
Most Turbomeca engines bear the names of Pyreneean mountains.
- Arriel
-External links:*...
- Arrius
-External links:*...
- Artouste
|-See also:-References:*...
- Astazou
|-References:...
- Makila
-External links:*...
- Marboré
|-See also:-References:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:* *...
- Turbomeca TM 333
-External links:*...
- Turmo
-External links:*...
Turbojets
- Adour - joint project with Rolls-Royce
- Palas
- Palouste
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:*...
Joint projects
- Ardiden/Shakti
The HAL/Turbomeca Shakti is a turboshaft helicopter engine jointly developed by India and France.-History:...
- joint project with HALHindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...
- MTR390
-External links:* * * * *...
- joint project with MTU and Rolls-Royce
- RTM322
-External links:* *...
- joint project with Rolls-Royce
External links