Société des Aéroplanes Henri Potez of Paris, France was an important aircraft builder from 1916. They also operated the Laboratoire d'étude de Moteurs, S.A at Suresne in the 1920s and bought the Anzani engine factory at Courbevoie when the latter ceased business in 1929. Potez became active in new aircraft engine development in the early 1930s and continued up to WWII with Potez engines of various configurations. They resumed their broad range of engine development after being reformed in 1949 at Argenteuil. Potez built the OL-915, in conjunction with the Rateau firm, and the O-1080 HOAE designs below before WWII. The firm continued the latter until 1950, followed by the smaller-stroke O-990 with direct fuel injection into the cylinders until about 1953. All three were 12-cylinder engines developed to be submerged in the wing panels of multi-engined aircraft. This was the same philosophy that led the U.S. Army to fund the Continental O-1430 and Lycoming O-1230 12-cylinder HOAEs and for development of the Fedden 6 AID-325 6-cylinder HOAE in the UK. Another Potez development, beginning in 1936, was a series of two-cylinder HOAEs for Auxiliary Power Units (APU). These are beyond the scope of this compilation. The O-210 and O-315 HOAEs below were built beginning in the late 1950s. As described below, the 4 E-20 won a French design competition and received a government contract for 100 engines.
Potez was purchased in 1963 by Avco, then the parent of Lycoming (BGE; J63-64 to J65-66). Potez-Avco continued Potez HOAE production, distributed Lycoming engines, and built some Lycoming models until about 1966. It is unkown to the compiler what engines were built, but the O-235-C1; O-290-D, -D2; O-320; O-340; O-360; O-435; and O-540 were included in the purchase agreement.
O-210 -- {4.331 / 3.543 / 208.8} / {110 / 90 / 3421}
Same bore and stroke as O-315.
4cyl; Potez 4 E-00; 90hp@2475rpm, 96@2530 (TO); 1959-1960; Wt = N/A.
Carbureted engine with dual-coil ignition.
J59-60toJ60-61.
Applications: None found.
4cyl; Potez 4 E-20; 105hp@2750rpm; 1960-1965; Wt = 203#.
This engine was the winning entry in a French design competition for a suitable engine of this size and performance. As the winner, 100 engines were manufactured and still are in use in some of the aircraft listed below.
Carbureted engine with dual-coil ignition.
Jodel Website; J59-60toJ64-65; S; W59-60toW62-63.
Applications: (France) AGB/Dabos JD-24P d'Artagnan; Centre Est Jodel DR 1051 Sicile Record; Chasle YCS-123 Tourbillon; Jurca MJ-2F Tempête, MJ- 5C Sirocco; Merville D.63; Morane Saulnier (later SOCATA) MS 880A, MS 881 Rallye-Club, MS 885; Piel CP 316 & CP 321 Emeraude; Reims/Cotelle JC-10 Scolair; Rigault-Deproux RD-3 gyroplane; SAN Jodel D 150 Mascaret, DR-1052 Excellence; Scintex CP 315 Emeraude, CP 1315 C3 Super Emeraude; Starck A.S.27.
O-315 -- {4.331 / 3.543 / 313.2} / {110 / 90 / 5132}
Same bore and stroke as O-210.
6cyl; Potez 6 E-30; 175hp@2800rpm; 1961-1965; Wt = 309#.
Fuel injection in the two throttle barrels, one for each bank of three cylinders.
J62-63toJ64-65; S; W59-60toW62-63.
Applications: None found.
OL-915 -- {4.528 / 4.724 / 912.8} / {115 / 120 / 14,957}
Same stroke as O-1080.
12cyl; Rateau-Potez 12As; 350hp@2400rpm, 420@N/A (TO); 1932-1935; Wt = 719#.
Liquid-cooled engine, turbocharged by a Rateau exhaust-driven turbine, which maintained normal power (350hp) to an altitude of 5500 m (~18,000 ft).
Ae39; S.
Applications: None found.
O-990 -- {4.921 / 4.331 / 988.6} / {125 / 110 / 16,199}
Same bore as O-1080.
12cyl; Potez 12.D-40; 620hp@2700rpm, 750@2800 (TO); 1950-1953; Wt = 946#.
Dual-ignition engine geared by planetary gears to 0.657 with direct fuel injection into the cylinders; supercharged by a centrifugal blower running at 8.75 times crankshaft speed. The engine did not proceed into production.
J50-51toJ52-53.
Applications: None found.
O-1080 -- {4.921 / 4.724 / 1078.4} / {125 / 120 / 17,671}
Same bore as O-990.
Same stroke as OL-915.
12cyl; Potez 12D, 12.D-30; 525hp@2700rpm, 650@2800 (TO); 1936-1950; Wt = 968#.
Dual-ignition engine geared by planetary gears to 0.806 initially, and then to either 0.767 or 0.657 after WWII. All versions were supercharged by a centrifugal blower running at about nine times crankshaft speed. The engine underwent many (interrupted) years of development, but did not proceed into production. The performance and weight data are for the final 12.D-30 version.
Ae39&Ae41; BGE; BGP; J47toJ49-50.
Applications: None found.