British Salmson was established in 1930 in Raynes Park, London to make engines for light aircraft. From 1934 to 1939 they also made a range of cars. With the outbreak of World War II they turned to general engineering. Raynes Park is a primarily residential area within the London Borough of Merton. ...
The French Salmson company had started a British branch company, Moteurs Salmson, as an aero engine maker for the British Empire market. This was taken over by British owners in 1930 and renamed British Salmson Aero Engines Ltd. They do not appear to have been very succesful in getting orders and in 1934 started making the French Salmson S4C car under licence.
The British S4C had the same twin overhead camshaft, 1471 cc, four cylinder engine and chassis as its French parent but the gearbox was updated to include synchromesh on the top two ratios. The coachwork was to a British design and was available in four door saloon, sports saloon, open tourer and drophead coupé versions bought in from Ranalah or Newns. Two engines were offered, the single carburettor 12/55 and the tuned, twin carburettor 12/70. The latter was claimed to take the car to 80 mph (130 km/h). About 230 are estimated to have been made. Synchromesh is the term used to describe a manual transmission in which gears are brought to the same speed during shifting by a synchronizer. ...
In 1937 the engine was enlarged to 1596 cc and the car became the S4D. Hydraulic brakes and transverse spring independent front suspension were fitted. The new car was heavier than the superceded S4C and in spite of the larger engine there was no significant increase in performance. A curved back saloon and drophead coupé were offered. About 75 were made, production stopping in 1938.
The S6D or 20/90 of 1936 to 1939 had no French equivalent. The engine was a six cylinder unit of 2580 cc, still with twin overhead cams and the car was available as either Sports Saloon, 2 seater sports or drophead coupé. A maximum speed of nearly 90 mph was claimed. Bendix cable brakes were fitted to the first few cars but later ones had Lockheed hydraulics. About 15 were made up to the outbreak of war.
Car production did not re-start after the war but a few small 31 cc engines for converting bicycles were made. The company eventually moved to Glasgow where they made printing machinery.
References
Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Editor Nick Georgano. The Stationery Office, 2000. ISBN 1-57958-293-1
A-Z of Cars of the 1930s. Michael Sedwick and Mark Gillies. Bay View Books 1989. ISBN 1-870979-38-9
BritishSalmson Aero Engines Ltd. had commenced operations in the early thirties, at Raynes Park, London, SW20, manufacturing, under licence, initially, a small radial aero engine, and from 1934 to 1938, the BritishSalmson car.
After hostilities had ceased, general subcontract work continued (including at one point, the machining of a batch of Vincent vee-twin crankcases), but in the early fifties, the company's fortunes declined, and the works passed into the hands of D Napier and Sons, the aero engine builders in nearby Acton.
The address was actually quoted as BritishSalmson Cyclaid, Larkhall, but in fact the manufacture of such parts as were not bought out, and the assembly work, was carried out under subcontract there.
About 20% of the BritishSalmsons made still exist, nearly all in the caring hands of the 50 or so members of the BritishSalmson Owners Club.
Membership of the Club is open to all, whether you own a BritishSalmson, or would like to, or are just interested in them.
With so few BritishSalmson Cars having been made, the Club is inevitably small so when you become a Member you are, in effect, joining a family with all the mutual self-help that this brings
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