The Lorraine 12D, also referred to as Lorraine-Dietrich 12D, was a series of water-cooled

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

s produced by the French company

Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (known as ''De Dietri ...

. The first variant began production in 1917, and the engines were used to power

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

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 ...

. The Lorraine 12Da variant was the most powerful French engine at the time. After the war, the engines were licensed and produced by the Italian firm

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...

until 1925.

Design and development

In 1916, French engineer Marius Barbarou began working a new

oriented at a 60-degree angle and a bore, to improve on the existing Lorraine-Dietrich 8B engine by adding two cylinders on each side. The Lorraine 12D was approved in January 1917 at . Lorraine produced 50 of the 12D engines. In 1917, the Lorraine 12Da was produced with an increase to and 400 units produced. The Lorraine 12Da variant became the most powerful French airplane engine at the time of

. The more powerful design resulted in a heavier

powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

due to added

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

s for cooling. The extra weight meant that the planes could operate for two hours on the available fuel supply. The engines continued to be used by the military, but were unsuitable for commercial use due to the limited travel range. The engines were mass produced at a factory in

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

, to meet demands of the

for

s. At the time of the

armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, Lorraine had hundreds of surplus engines which were later used in French Navy prototypes. New models were not developed during this time, and Lorraine halted production of the 12D engines in 1922. In 1924 the Italian company

bought the rights for the engine under the license of the 12Db, and later marketed the engine under its own company name, Isotta Fraschini 12Db until 1925.

Variants

The Lorraine 12D had several variants produced which included:

Applications

The Lorraine 12D powered the first

Groupe Latécoère The Groupe Latécoère () is an aircraft company based in Toulouse, France. Founded by the aeronautics pioneer Pierre-Georges Latécoère during 1917, the company became well known in its first few decades for its range of seaplanes, such as the s ...

planes. The 12Da was mounted on the CAMS 37 prototype seaplane, and later used on the first

Potez Potez (pronounced ) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded as Aéroplanes Henry Potez by Henry Potez at Aubervilliers in 1919 in aviation, 1919. The firm began by refurbishing war-surplus SEA IV aircraft, but was soon building new examples of ...

planes. The successor 12Db engine was used mostly by the

Farman Aviation Works Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard Farman, Richard, Henri Farman, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 19 ...

, and the

Société Latham The Société Latham was a French aeronautical construction company which built seaplanes for the French Navy. It is best known for the prototype of the Latham 47 which disappeared in 1928 with Roald Amundsen on board during a rescue mission to t ...

. Isotta Fraschini 12Db used the Lorraine engines to power Italian aircraft including the

Macchi M.7 The Macchi M.7 was an Italian single-seat fighter flying boat designed by Alessandro Tonini and built by Macchi. A modified version of the M.7, the M.7bis won the Schneider Trophy in 1921. Development The M.7 was similar to the earlier M.5 ...

, Macchi M.24bis and Caproni Ca.73bis. Complete list of planes powered by the Lorraine 12D: 12D * Halbronn H.T.2, Latécoère 5, Latécoère 16 12Da * CAMS 37 (prototype), Latham 43,

Lioré et Olivier LeO H-10 The Lioré et Olivier LeO 10 or LeO H-10 was a prototype French Naval reconnaissance aircraft built. Only one example of this two seat, single engine biplane floatplane was built. Development The LeO H-10 (H for ''hydravion'' or waterplane) w ...

SEA IV The SEA IV was a French two-seat military aircraft of World War I and the immediate post-war era. Development The SEA IV was designed and built in 1917 by Henry Potez, Louis Coroller, and Marcel Bloch. It was a derivative of their previous SE ...

, Potez SEA VII,

Potez IX The Potez IX was an early airliner produced in France in the 1920s, a further development of the SEA IV that Henry Potez had co-designed during the First World War.Taylor 1989, p.747''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', p.2760 Design a ...

, Potez XII, Farman F.120, Percheron 18 12Db * Besson MB.26, Latham E-5,

Lioré et Olivier LeO 12 __NOTOC__ The Lioré et Olivier LeO 12 was a night bomber built in France in 1924.Taylor 1989, p. 578. Design and development The Lioré et Olivier LeO 12 was a large biplane of conventional design, with three-bay equal-span wings and twin engi ...

, Levasseur PL.3,

Potez XI The Potez XI was the first fighter aircraft designed by the French company Potez Potez (pronounced ) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded as Aéroplanes Henry Potez by Henry Potez at Aubervilliers in 1919 in aviation, 1919. The firm bega ...

Potez XV The Potez XV (also erroneously written Potez 15) was a French single-engine, two-seat observation biplane designed as a private venture by Louis Coroller and built by Potez and under licence in Poland. Design and development The aircraft was de ...

, Potez XVII,

Potez 23 The Potez 23 was a prototype French single-engine fighter biplane designed in 1923. History The Potez 23 was built by Potez in response to the C1 fighter program issued by the STAé in 1923. The C1 fighter specification called for a speed of ...

Potez 27 The Potez 27 was a French reconnaissance biplane first flown in 1924. 175 were operated by the Polish Air Force, most built in Poland by PWS under licence. Others went to Romania, where they were also used as light bombers. Design and developme ...

, Farman F.60 Goliath, Farman F.62, Farman F.63bis, Farman F.122,

Farman F.140 Super Goliath The Farman F.140 Super Goliath was a very large, four engine biplane night bomber, designed in France in the mid-1920s. Nine flew with the French Air Force until concerns about structural weakness grounded them in 1930. The prototype set several ...

, Farman F.150bis, Breda A.7 L.D., Breda A.8, CANT 6ter, CANT 10ter,

Caproni Ca.71 The Caproni Ca.71, originally Ca.70L, was a two-seat biplane night fighter produced in Italy in 1927. It was derived from the Caproni Ca.70 of 1925. Design Undaunted by the lack of interest the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Royal Air Force) h ...

, Caproni Ca.73bis,

, Macchi M.24bis, Savoia-Marchetti S.59,

Yokosuka E1Y The Yokosuka E1Y was a Japanese floatplane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane that was designed and developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal as a reconnaissance aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Navy, 320 were built as the T ...

12Dc * Farman F.72,

Specifications (12Da)

References

External links