14 Dec 06
Supermarine Southampton
Lorraine-Dietrich formed from locomotive-maker De Dietrich in the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, on the disputed border between France and Germany. De Dietrich started to make cars as early as 1896, and its Niederbronn factory employed budding engineer Ettore Bugatti to design high-performance vehicles for the early grand prix races. By 1910, it had a wide range of six- and four-cylinder cars, plus trucks, buses and other utility vehicles, as well as a series of manufacturing facilities including the former Ariel factory in Birmingham. Its Argenteuil plant, opened in 1907, formed the basis of the firm's aero engine-making business: it built engines for Bleriot, and eight-cylinder piston engines were supplied to the Italian airforce for Savoia Verduzio Ansaldo reconnaissance planes, as well as to the French SPAD XI fighters, among others.
Lorraine-Dietrich's heyday was the 1920s, both in the automotive and aeronautical sectors. After World War I, the province of Alsace-Lorraine became part of France again after its annexation by the Germans, and the company went back to building racing cars: in 1926, its 15CV won the Le Mans 24 Hours. Aero engines, meanwhile, were fitted in planes including the Supermarine Southampton flying boat (as supplied to the Argentine Navy) and the Dornier Wal Argos, which attempted a night crossing of the Atlantic in March 1927,though it was forced to make an emergency landing and took over 18 hours to complete the journey. A large number of V12 (400bhp) and W12 (450bhp) units went to Breguet for its 19-series fighter planes, to Savoia-Marchetti for its S59 flying boat, to Lublin and CWL for planes for the Polish airforce, and even to Russian firm Tupolev in the 1920s.
Lorraine-Dietrich was also involved in one of the great mysteries of early aviation: its W12 engine was fitted in the White Bird, a Levasseur PL8 piloted by WWI flying aces Charles Nungesser and Francois Coll, attempting to be the first to cross the Atlantic between Paris and New York. The White Bird took off from Le Bourget on 8 May 1927, and its last definitive sighting was off the Irish coast, though people claimed to have seen it as far afield - and off-course - as Newfoundland and Maine. No trace of the plane or its crew has ever been found, despite a media frenzy and many exhaustive searches. Charles Lindbergh, meanwhile, took off from New York 12 days later and took the Orteig prize for his crossing to Paris.
But like so many motorsport and luxury car firms, Lorraine-Dietrich suffered in the economic conditions of the 1930s, and cars such as its 20CV failed to find buyers. By World War II, even its truck-making operations had folded; the Argenteuil factory was requisitioned, and then rented to Dassault and Potez in the early 1950s. Dassault went on to buy the semi-derelict premises and built aeroplane fuselages there. Rights to the Lorraine brand name now seem to belong to a motorsport firm which plans to resurrect it; Perspective Racing's plans include, by 2010, international competitions with an ethanol-fuelled engine.
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