With an airframe fundamentally similar to that of the R-36, the R-37 differed primarily in having a close cowled 1100hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-21 14-cylinder radial engine. Cooling air reached the engine via a narrow annulus, was mixed with exhaust gases and ejected through two groups of nozzles to provide some thrust augmentation.
The proposed armament consisted of four 7.7mm or two 13.2mm machine guns mounted in the wings.
Although the R-37 was displayed statically at the Salon de Bruxelles in July 1939, no attempt had been made to fly this prototype before the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940. The R-37 was discovered at Evere by the occupation forces and a Luftwaffe pilot – possibly unaware that the aircraft had not previously been flown – flew the aircraft to Beauvechain. There is no record of any subsequent flight testing, although it is known that the R-37 was taken to Germany. Prior to the German occupation, Alfred Renard had prepared a project for a two-seat version, the R-37B, for use as a ground attack aircraft.
Max take-off weight: 2460 kg / 5423 lb Empty weight: 1810 kg / 3990 lb Wingspan: 11.64 m / 38 ft 2 in Length: 8.40 m / 28 ft 7 in Height: 2.90 m / 10 ft 6 in Wing area: 20.00 sq.m / 215.28 sq ft Max. speed: 510 km/h / 317 mph
Designed by Alfred Renard as a replacement for the Fairey Firefly in service with the Aviation Militaire, the R-36 was flown for the first time on 5 November 1937.
An advanced low-wing single-seat fighter, the R-36 with Hispano-Suiza engine was exhibited at the 1937 Brussels Aero Show.
Of all-metal construction and carrying an armament of one engine-mounted 20mm cannon and four wing-mounted 7.7mm machine guns, the R-36 was powered by a 910hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs 12-cylinder Vee-type liquid-cooled engine. Various modifications were introduced during the test programme – notably the relocation of the radiator bath and the enlargement of the rudder.
Late in 1938, the government took an option on a batch of 40 aircraft. The loss of the prototype on 17 January 1939 resulted in the programme being placed in abeyance and then dropped when the decision was taken to procure Hawker Hurricanes.
Max take-off weight: 2470 kg / 5445 lb Empty weight: 1770 kg / 3902 lb Wingspan: 11.64 m / 38 ft 2 in Length: 8.80 m / 29 ft 10 in Height: 2.90 m / 10 ft 6 in Wing area: 20.00 sq.m / 215.28 sq ft Max. speed: 505 km/h / 314 mph Range: 1000 km / 621 miles
In view of replacing the ageing Breguet XIX observation aircraft of the Aéronautique Militaire Belge, the Renard company developed a twin seat parasol-wing aircraft which in the first studies was designated as Renard RR (for Rolls-Royce). The renamed Renard R.31 was designed by Alfred Renard of Constructions Aéronautiques G. Renard to meet a requirement of the Belgian Air Force for a short ranged reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft.
It was a parasol monoplane of mixed construction, powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine, with a welded steel tubing structure with metal sheet covering the forward fuselage and fabric covering of the remainder of the airframe. The wing was held in position by a single Vee strut on each side, conjoined with its fixed under carriage. Armament consisted of one or two forward-firing 7.62 mm Vickers machine guns and one 7.62 mm Lewis machine gun in flexible mount in rear cockpit. There was also a rarely used provision for dropping four 10 kg bombs under the wings.
Powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel II engine developing 487hp, it first flew at Haren airfield at Evere, near Brussels, on 16 October 1932, piloted by Renard test-pilot Charles Rooms.
The Aéronautique Militaire placed an order for 28 R.31s was placed in March 1934, with six to be built by Renard and the remainder by SABCA. One aircraft was fitted with a Lorraine Petrel engine for evaluation, but this was later replaced by the normal Kestrel engine.
After 1936 a second aircraft was fitted with an enclosed canopy and a Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major radial engine, becoming the R-32, with this then being replaced by a Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, but the R-32 did not show sufficiently improved performance to gain a production order. The Renard R-32 was reworked as a normal R.31 thus becoming the 35th machine for the AéM.
A further six R.31s were ordered in August 1935 by the AéM. The aircraft received the military registrations N-1 to N-35.
The R.31 entered service with the Belgian Air Force in 1935, replacing the Breguet 19 in the 9e and 11e Escadrilles d’Observation based at Liège. In service, it was not popular, as it had poor handling, being vulnerable to entering flat spins if mishandled, with all aerobatics therefore being banned.
All the Renard R-31’s were used by the Bierset based observation squadrons – 9/V/1Aé (Sioux on blue circle) and 11/VI/1Aé (Sioux on red circle). At the start of the war 21 aircraft were available who were operational during the whole of the “18 day Campaign” flying their last mission on May 27th, 1940.
The R.31 was hopelessly obsolete, and those that were not destroyed on the ground in the early hours of the German Blitzkrieg invasion of Belgium in May 1940 were ravaged by German fighters as they bravely attempted to gather information on the German invasion. None apparently functioned as ground support aircraft during the brief Belgian Army resistance, flying 54 reconnaissance sorties in support of the Allied forces defending Belgium, with the last mission (which was also the final mission flown by the Belgian Air Force in its attempt to repel the Germans, being flown on the afternoon of 27 May 1940. Following the German occupation of Belgium, the Luftwaffe had no interest in the machines and those that had survived the initial onslaught were unused or were destroyed. Overall, these machines had no significant impact on the war although they were briefly involved.
As not a single Renard R.31 remains anywhere in the world, a number of volunteers at the Royal Army Museum at Brussels is building a 1/1 scale replica using the original blueprints.
This 4 passenger tri-motor was designed in response to an official Belgian request for a long range transport aircraft for the Belgian Congo. It met all the design requirements but by the time it flew in 1931 it was already obsolete and only one was completed.
Engines: 3 x 120 h.p. Renard 5 cylinder radials Span: 49’3″ Length: 32′ 10″ Height: 11′ 2″ Wing area: 360 sq ft Empty Weight: 3,410 lb Gross Weight: 5040 lb Max Speed: 131 mph Range: 700 miles Service ceiling: 23,000 ft
Designed by Georges and Alfred Renard to compete in a government-sponsored design contest, the Epervier (Sparrowhawk) single-seat all-metal fighter monoplane was intended for a 12-cylinder liquid-cooled Hispano- Suiza 12 J Vee-type engine. Unavailability of this power plant led to installation of a 480hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VI nine-cylinder radial in the first prototype, which was built by Stampe et Vertongen as the Epervier Type 2 and flown in 1928. The Epervier Type 2 carried an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm guns and was lost on 11 September 1928 after failing to recover from a flat spin.
A second prototype, the Epervier Type 2bis, introduced revised streamlined fairings for the cantilever mainwheel legs, mainwheel spats and cylinder aft-fairings, and was built by SABCA (Societe Anonyme Beige de Constructions Aeronautiques) under contract for Alfred Renard. Since Alfred Renard was both chief designer for Renard and technical director of Stampe, it is hard to keep the two firms separate. Demonstrated early in 1930 in competition with various foreign types for an Aviation Militaire order, the Epervier Type 2bis was rejected in favour of the Fairey Firefly.
A further development of the basic design, the Epervier Type 3 powered by a 480hp Rolls-Royce “F” engine and utilising mixed construction and a redesigned wing, was studied under government contract, but was not built.
Type 2bis Powerplant: 1 × SABCA Jupiter, 360 kW (480 hp) Wingspan: 10.20 m / 33 ft 6 in Wing area: 20.00 sq.m / 215.28 sq ft Length: 7.00 m / 23 ft 0 in Height: 2.76 m / 9 ft 1 in Empty weight: 794 kg / 1750 lb Max take-off weight: 1300 kg / 2866 lb Wing loading: 62.5 kg/m2 (12.8 lb/sq ft) Power/mass: 3.49 kg/kW (5.74 lb/hp) Maximum speed: 273 km/h (170 mph, 147 kn) Maximum speed at 4,000 m (13,000 ft): 265 km/h (165 mph; 143 kn) Maximum speed at 5,000 m (16,000 ft): 261 km/h (162 mph; 141 kn) Stall speed: 99 km/h (62 mph, 53 kn) Service ceiling: 9,300 m (30,500 ft) Practical ceiling; 8,600 m (28,200 ft) Time to 4,000 m (13,000 ft): 8 minutes 30 seconds Time to 5,000 m (16,000 ft): 12 minutes 35 seconds Crew: 1 Guns: 2x synchronised fixed forward firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine-guns
Societe Anonyme Avions et Moteurs Renard Constructions Aeronautiques G. Renard
Belgium Societe Anonyme Avions et Moteurs Renard was established in 1927 as aero-engine manufacturer, and produced the Epervier all-metal single-seat fighter in 1928-1929 with Sabca Jupiter engine designed by Alfred Renard.
Constructions Aeronautiques G. Renard founded about 1929 to build commercial aircraft designed by Renard. First two types were R.17-100 four-seat single-engine cabin monoplane and R-30-300 tri-motor five-passenger cabin monoplane. R-31 reconnaissance and R-33 training monoplanes appeared in 1932-1933; advanced low-wing single-seat fighter R-36 with Hispano-Suiza engine exhibited at 1937 Brussels Aero Show.
Company was inactive during Second World War, but began to reorganise in 1945.
The 12R was developed by Renault in the 1930s, derived from the Renault Bengali, using the same construction techniques and being of essentially steel construction. It was based on the 4.46, a test engine developed by mounting two 6Q six-cylinder engines on the same crankshaft. The engine retained the bore and stroke of the smaller engine. The cylinders and pistons were made of forged steel and connected in pairs to an eight bearing crankshaft. The crankcase was made of aluminium alloy coated with magnesium. A centrifugal supercharger was mounted to the rear. The engine was produced in both right handed and left handed versions, the difference being the direction of propeller rotation.
Designed to be fitted to a range of aircraft, both civil and military, the engine was originally rated at 450 horsepower (340 kW) when first introduced in 1935. However, the majority manufactured, 290 out of a total production of 325, were the 500 hp (370 kW) 12Rc introduced in 1939. Of these, 120 powered the Caudron C.714 light fighter that served in World War II.
In addition to examples of the aircraft ordered the French Air Force, thirty-five were delivered to the Polish Air Force in France and a further six to the Finnish Air Force, although the latter were not used in combat.
300 hp
The engine was rated between 450 and 500 hp (340 and 370 kW), although a high performance version built for the sole Caudron C.712 racing special produced 730 hp (540 kW). More than one third of production went to power the Caudron C.714 light fighter that fought in the early stages of World War II for the French and Polish Air Forces.
Renault 300 hp on a Farman 60
The most powerful version was the 12R Spécial of 1937 which produced 730 hp (540 kW) at 3250 rpm and powered the single C.712 racing aircraft derived from the fighter.
Variants:
Renault 12R 450 hp (340 kW)
Renault 12Rb 470–480 hp (350–360 kW)
Renault 12Rc 500 hp (370 kW)
Renault 12Rm 480 hp (360 kW)
Renault 12Ro 450 hp (340 kW)
Renault 12R-00 Type: 12-cylinder, air cooled V12 engine LH rotation Bore: 120 mm (4.7 in) Stroke: 140 mm (5.5 in) Displacement: 19 L (1,159 in3) Length: 2,072 mm (81.6 in) Width: 680 mm (27 in) Height: 929 mm (36.6 in) Dry weight: 439 kg (968 lb) Valvetrain: 2 x overhead valves per cylinder operated by pushrods Supercharger: Single speed centrifugal compressor Fuel type: 87 Octane petrol Cooling system: Air-cooled Take-off power: 500 hp (373 kW) at 2500 rpm Cruise power: 300 hp (224 kW) at 2500 rpm at 4,000 m (13,123 ft) Military power: 450 hp (336 kW) at 2100 rpm at 4,000 m (13,123 ft) Compression ratio: 6.4:1 Fuel consumption: 225 g/(hp•h) (0.50 lb/(hp•h)) Oil consumption: 10 g/(hp•h) (0.022 lb/(hp•h))
All Aero 