''Argus Motoren'' was a German manufacturing firm known for their series of small inverted-

V engine A V engine, sometimes called a Vee engine, is a common configuration for internal combustion engines. It consists of two cylinder banks—usually with the same number of cylinders in each bank—connected to a common crankshaft. These cylinder ...

s and the

Argus As 014 The Argus As 014 (designated 109-014 by the RLM) was a pulsejet engine used on the German V-1 flying bomb of World War II, and the first model of pulsejet engine placed in mass production. License manufacture of the As 014 was carried out in Ja ...

pulsejet 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need ...

for the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

History

Started in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1906 as a subsidiary of Henri Jeannin's automobile business, ''Argus Motoren'' company spun off entirely in November 1906. Their early products were car and boat engines, but later that year they were contracted to produce engines for the French

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

, '' Ville de Paris'', supplying them with a converted boat motor. They turned increasingly to the aviation market, and were widely used by 1910, receiving an order from Sikorsky for one of his large airplanes under construction in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Argus produced engines for the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and air corps. After World War I the company manufactured automobile engines and acquired a majority interest in Horch Automobile in 1919. In 1926 they resumed aircraft engine design, producing a series of inverted inline and

s. Although all were at the "low-power" end of the market by the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, they saw extensive use in training aircraft and other utility roles. Most famous of these designs are the

Argus As 10 The Argus As 10 was a German-designed and built, air-cooled 90° cylinder bank-angle inverted V8 "low power" aircraft engine, used mainly in training aircraft such as the Arado Ar 66 and Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser and other small short-range r ...

, used in the

Fieseler Fi 156 The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

''Storch'', in the

Arado Ar 66 The Arado Ar 66 was a German single-engined, two-seat training biplane, developed in 1933. It was also used for night ground-attack missions on the Eastern Front. It was engineer Walter Rethel's last design in collaboration with Arado, before ...

and in the

Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the p ...

''Stösser''; and the

Argus As 410 The Argus As 410 was a German air-cooled inverted V-12 light aircraft engine that was first produced by Argus Motoren in 1938. Design and development The engine marked a departure from earlier Argus engines in that it had new construction tech ...

, used on many German trainers, including the

Arado Ar 96 The Arado Ar 96 was a German single-engine, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, produced by Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was the '' Luftwaffe''s standard advanced trainer during World War II. Design and development Designed by Walter B ...

and the

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 ''Uhu'' ("Eagle Owl") is a Nazi Germany, German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and Liaison aircraft, army cooperation aircraft. It first flew in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered s ...

. Argus provided also disc brakes, patented by Hermann Klaue (1912-2001), for the Arado Ar 96

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

and the

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...

tank drive train. The Berlin-

Reinickendorf Reinickendorf () is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel. Subdi ...

subcamp Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

provided labor for the Argus-Werke.

Argus aircraft engines

;Pre-War :

Argus 1908 4-cylinder Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

:Nowarra, Heinz J.. ''Die Deutsche Luftruestung 1933-1945 Vol.4 – Flugzeugtypen MIAG-Zeppelin''. Bernard & Graefe Verlag. 1993. Koblenz. (Gesamtwerk), (Band 4) :

Argus As I The Argus As I was a four-cylinder, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren from 1911 until about 1913. The engine saw widespread use in aircraft in pre-war Germany and initially was also sold under the brand name 'Avi ...

: 4-cylinder, 100 hp, year 1913Military Factory: ''Sikorsky Il'ya Muromets''
/ref> ;World War I :

Argus As II The Argus As II was a six-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren in 1914. The Argus As II produced at 1,350 rpm.Der Argus Flugmotor, 1916 Design and development The Argus As II was a major re ...

: 6-cylinder upright inline, 120 hp, year 1914 :

Argus As IIa Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

: 140 hp, particulars unknown :

Argus As III The Argus As III was a six-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren during World War I. The Argus As III produced at 1,400 rpm.Huth, 1920, pp. 232-233 Design and development Argus Motoren alre ...

: 6-cylinder upright inline, 180 hp :

Argus As IV (1916) Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

: 6-cylinder upright inline 250 hp, production uncertain :

Argus As IV Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

: 8-cylinder upright V, 225 hp, limited production ;Post-World War I :

Argus As 5 The Argus As 5 was a large 24-cylinder 6 blocks' star aircraft engine, designed and built in Germany in the early 1920s by Argus Motoren. Design and development Following the Armistice of 1918, Germany continued to build aircraft and engines ...

: double W, 3+3 banks of 4 cylinders each; never materialised :

Argus As 7 Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

: 9R 700 hp :

Argus As 8 The Argus As 8 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren in the 1930s. Variants ;As 8A:Initial production version maximum for 5 minutes, continuous. ;As 8B:A more powerful variant de ...

: 4-cylinder inverted inline :

: 8-cylinder inverted V :

Argus As 12 Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word '' Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of A ...

: 16H 550 hp : Argus As 16: 4-cylinder inverted inline 40 hp :

Argus As 17 The Argus As 17 was an air cooled six-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by the German engineering company Argus Motoren in the 1930s. Developed from the same company's smaller As 8, the engine was produced in ratings between . First dem ...

: 6-cylinder inverted inline 225 hp / 285 hp : Argus As 401: development and renumbering of the As 10 : Argus As 402: :

Argus As 403 Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word ''Argos (disambiguation), Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and ...

: radial engine project, not built. :

: 12-cylinder inverted V :

Argus As 411 The Argus 411 was a twelve-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted-V12 aircraft engine developed by Argus Motoren in Germany during World War II. Design and development The As 411 was a refined and more powerful version of the Argus As 410. Most 411 prod ...

: 12-cylinder inverted V : Argus As 412: 24-cylinder H-block, prototyped : Argus As 413: similar to 412, never built : Argus 109-014:

pulse jet engine 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need ...

for

and Tornado boat :Argus 109-044: Pulse jet similar to the Argus 109-014, but with "square intake" main valve bank at front

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Argus As 292 The Argus As 292 was originally developed in 1939 as a small, remote-controlled unmanned anti-aircraft target drone. A short-range reconnaissance version was also developed. The success of the project led to the Argus Fernfeuer UAV proposal. Dev ...

Argus Fernfeuer {{infobox weapon , name = Fernfeuer , image = , caption = , origin = Germany , type = Long-range surface-to-surface missile; aerial mine-layer , is_explosive = y , is ...

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of Germany Companies of Prussia Manufacturing companies based in Berlin Manufacturing companies established in 1906 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945 1906 establishments in Germany

History

Argus aircraft engines

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

See also

References

Bibliography