Régnier Motor Company
| Company type | Société anonyme |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft engines |
| Founded | 1920s |
| Founder | Émile Régnier |
| Fate | Integrated into SNECMA around 1946–1947 |
| Successor | SNECMA |
| Headquarters | France , France |
Key people | Émile Régnier |
| Products | Aircraft engines, including licensed de Havilland Gipsy Major and Gipsy Six engines, and own designs such as R-6 and supercharged V-12 engines |
Régnier Motor Company (French: Société anonyme des établissements Emile Regnier) was a French manufacturer specializing in aircraft engines, established by Émile Régnier during the 1920s.
Following his career as a World War I flying ace, Régnier became the official French representative for de Havilland after the war. He showcased Gipsy III and Gipsy Major engines at the 1932 Paris Air Show. Beginning production in 1932 and 1933, Régnier manufactured de Havilland's Gipsy Major and Gipsy Six engines under license. These were air-cooled, inverted inline units with four and six cylinders respectively, sharing numerous components.
By 1934, Régnier had started developing his own inverted inline engine designs. He created a six-cylinder engine delivering 217 brake horsepower for the privately entered Caudron C.366 in the 1934 Coupe Deutsch de Meurthe race, which was based on the licensed Gipsy engine series. On 6 January 1934, a Régnier-powered Caudron C.362 set a new speed record over 1,000 kilometers for light aircraft, narrowly missing a French aviation ministry award. Later that year, on 27 May, the same engine secured second place in the 2,000 km Coupe Deutsch de Meurthe, maintaining comparable speeds. In July 1935, a Percival Mew Gull fitted with a Régnier engine won the Coupe Armand Esders at an average speed of 302 km/h. By 1936, the R-6 model was equipped with a supercharger using a Rootes blower, and six different engine variants were displayed at the Paris Air Show. Early in 1937, Régnier introduced a supercharged inverted air-cooled V-12 engine capable of producing 450 horsepower.
One of Régnier's engines was licensed to Allied Aviation in Van Nuys, California, where it received a U.S. Type Certificate in 1939 under the name Allied Monsoon.
After Émile Régnier passed away on 4 September 1940, his company operated under Nazi administration following France's occupation during World War II, supplying engines to the German armed forces.
Throughout and immediately following the Occupation of France, Régnier designed and manufactured three simplified versions of four-cylinder inverted air-cooled inline engines—the 4J, 4K, and 4L—with progressively higher power outputs. Around 1946 or 1947, after nationalization, Régnier was integrated into SNECMA, which continued production of the popular 4L series as the SNECMA Régnier 4L until at least 1956. The military Nord NC.856A, with a production run of 112 units, was the most extensively utilized aircraft powered by this engine.
Aircraft engines
- Régnier R1
- Régnier 2
- Régnier 4B (derived from de Havilland Gipsy)
- Régnier 4D.2
- Régnier 4E.0
- Régnier 4F.0
- Régnier 4JO
- Régnier 4KO
- Régnier 4L (various models)
- Régnier 4R
- Régnier 6B
- Régnier 6GO
- Régnier 6R
- Régnier 6RS
- Régnier R161-01
- Régnier Martinet
- Régnier 12Hoo