Gobron engine (Autocar Handbook, Ninth edition)

Auguste Eugène Brillié (1863-1940) was a French engineer, who invented the first French battle

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

, the

Schneider CA1 The Schneider CA 1 (originally named the Schneider CA) was the first French tank, developed during the First World War. The Schneider was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare which on the Western Front prevailed durin ...

Biography

Early years

Brillié was born on 8 May 1863 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. After his studies at the

École Centrale Paris École Centrale Paris (ECP; also known as École Centrale or Centrale) was a French grande école in engineering and science. It was also known by its official name ''École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures''. In 2015, École Centrale Paris mer ...

, he began his career from 1887 to 1898 at the Compagnie des

Chemins de fer de l'Ouest The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as ''L'Ouest'' or ''Ouest'', was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909. History Birth of the company The Compa ...

Cars

;Gobron-Brillié He joined with Gustave Gobron to create the Société des Moteurs

Gobron-Brillié Gobron-Brillié was an early French automobile manufactured from 1898 to 1930.P. Roberts (1973). ''A Picture History of the Automobile'', Ward Lock Ltd, London, UK. The original company, ''Societé des Moteurs Gobron-Brillié'', was founded by t ...

and to develop an

opposed-piston engine An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and ...

he had invented. The Gobron-Brillié brand acquired a certain fame. It participated in the

Paris–Madrid race :''See also the 1911 Paris to Madrid air race.'' The Paris–Madrid race of May 1903 was an early experiment in auto racing, organized by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) and the Spanish Automobile Club, Automóvil Club Español. At the time ...

of 1903, and set speed records, including that of being the first car to exceed 160 km/h (100 mph). In 1903 the UK agents for Gobron-Brillié were Botwood and Egerton. In 1905 the Gobron-Brillie British Motor Company was established. ;Eugène Brillié In 1903, Eugène Brillié ended his partnership with Gobron. He created the automobile company Eugène Brillié and had cars of his design built by the workshops of

Schneider & Cie Schneider et Cie, also known as Schneider-Creusot for its birthplace in the French town of Le Creusot, was a historic French iron and steel-mill company which became a major arms manufacturer. In the 1960s, it was taken over by the Belgian Empain ...

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

(former Forge Artillery Workshops and Chantiers de la Méditerranée, bought by Schneider in 1897). His brand was then offering passenger cars and utility cars. Schneider gradually took over the Brillié Company. While working for Schneider he designed the

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Trac ...

for the first motorized artillery system for Portugal. The design was based on one of his dump trucks. ;Nagant-Gobron-Brillie In Belgium, Leon and Maurice Nagant of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

made some Gobron-Brillie products under licence.

Locomotive

Brillié designed an experimental

Naphthalene locomotive A Naphthalene locomotive was tested in France in 1913. It was built by Schneider-Creusot for use in their own plant. Overview At the beginning of the twentieth century, steam locomotives continued to dominate the railways but alternatives were b ...

, which was built by Schneider in 1913.

Tanks

During the

First World War 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 ...

, a meeting between Colonel Estienne and Brillié led to the development of a

project in December 1915. In early January 1916,

Marshal Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...

authorized the continuation of the project and, on 31 January, asked for the purchase of 400 of what were then called "land battleships" armed with 75 mm guns. These were the first French tanks, the

Death

Brillié died on 28 May 1940 in

Seignelay Seignelay () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. The regional historian Vaast Barthélemy Henry (1797–1884) was born in Seignelay. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The follo ...

(Yonne).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brillié, Eugène French engineers 1863 births 1940 deaths