Alessandro Anzani began working in the Buchet factory as an apprentice. He was the son of a Milanese machinery repairing mechanic.

-It is said that around 1906 Alessandro put an establishment for the manufacturing of motorcycle engines in Courbevoie and in 1908 he decided to start with the development of aircraft engines. It was a department of Sena.

"Anzani Logo"

-They had already built several models in 1909 when the brand had the glory of a 3-cylinder, fan-shaped engine that was installed in the Bleriot XI Type (25-30 hp) monoplane. It was the first aircraft to cross the English Channel.

-In addition to the three-cylinder that made him famous in the early days of aviation, two other engines, a single cylinder and twin-cylinder, are known.

"Anzani 3 CV"

-In those days they relied on intake by the piston's suction effect and therefore the intake valve only had a light spring.

"Anzani with blower"

-There were various combinations for obtaining cycles, with valves, intake ports at the base, or exhaust at the base, assisted by light supercharges to facilitate filling, or stroking, etc.

-The 25 CV was a horizontally-opposed twin engine from 1909.

"Anzani 25 CV"

-Anzani engines had mainly Zenith carburetors and Gibaud magnetos.

-The V engines were produced between 1910 and 1912.

-The smallest V engine gave between 30/32 CV at 1,600 rpm. It had two cylinders.

-Later, a four-cylinder engine (two two-cylinder V engines coupled) gave 56 CV at 1,400 rpm.

"Anzani, two-cylinder V"

-As it is mentioned in the beginning, Anzani received fame with 3-cylinder fan-shaped engine.

-But there are several versions of this engine and they are easily confused with each other. Most of them had an angle of 60 degrees between cylinders.

"Anzani 25/30 CV"

-The 25/30 CV from 1909 had automatic valves in the cylinder head intake. The exhaust ports were at the lower part of the cylinder, just above the piston BDC.

-They had a 105 mm piston diameter and 130 mm stroke. The weight was about 65 kg.

-The 35/40 CV version had pistons with 120 mm diameter and 140 mm stroke.

It run at 1500 rpm maximum and its weight was 85 kg.

-The 45/50 CV measured 135 x 150 mm. Its maximum rotation was 1400 rpm and it weighed 105 kg.

"Anzani 35 CV diagram"

"Anzani 35 CV at 60^°"

-The geometric angle between cylinders was another distinguishing feature. If it was 60^°, the angle of useful work was 300^°-120^°-300^°. For the 72^° this ignition or useful angle was 288^°-144^°-288^°.

"Anzani 45 CV at 72^°"

"Anzani Military type"

-With the different series they refined the finish of the engine, as we see in the casting block of the following engine composed out of two halves and with smoother shapes.

-You can notice perfectly that the cylinders of the latter one are lower. Somehow a fan-shaped engine can be considered a semi-radial.

-The "Manica" was a smaller motor with a 105 mm diameter and a 120 mm stroke. "Manica" is Italian for "Sleeve".

-Its maximum power was 22/25 CV at 1,400 rpm. (1908-1909).

"Anzani Manica"

-The "military-type" had a displacement of 4'518 liters and gave 35 CV at 1,350 rpm. (1911)

"Anzani 3-cylinder engine"

-More powerful fan-shaped engines were made by joining two normal engines.

-There is the air-cooled version with an uncommon intake manifold, as it is crossed for supplying each cylinder equally in their respective suction strokes.

-It is a rather unknown engine, emphasizing the double carburetor mounted very high on top of the engine.

"Anzani fan-shaped 6-cylinder"

-The water-cooled, 6-cylinder fan-shaped engine is not very known either.

-The blocks and the finish are from the time of the refined engine we have seen before.

-It was said that when having water and cylinder-blocks with liquid chambers, their weight increased by 12 percent.

"Anzani 6 cyl. fan-shaped, water-cooled"

-We end this fan-shaped engines section showing the Bleriot XI.

"Anzani in Bleriot XI"

-If these Anzani engines were the best known, now we have a look at the major ones and how they came up to them.

-The next stage was the one of radial engines, let us say classic style.

-First using techniques of their fan-shaped motors with the cylinders attached at its base, to reach to those using long studs from the cylinder head to the crankcase. We will mention them by their number of cylinders.

"Anzani 3-cylinder radial"

-The star is formed by three cylinders at 120^o. It is the 3 ·A-2 with 35 CV.

-The piston diameter is 105 mm, the stroke 145 mm and the compression ratio is 4: 1.

-It has a magneto, spark plug, two intake valves and one exhaust valve per cylinder.

-The weight, including magneto, carburetor and propeller hub was 55 kgs.

-If interested, consumption per CV/h was 300 grams of gasoline per 30 grams of oil.

"Anzani Type 3 A-2 diagram"

-There was the 35 CV version but with 120 mm stroke and the cylinders were fixed with studs as mentioned above.

"Anzani 3, with studs"

"Small Anzani 3-cylinder"

-There was the 3-cylinder star engine with less power. It was the 25/30 CV with pistons of 89 mm in diameter and 105 mm stroke. It gave rise to the 6-cylinder engines by placing two three-cylinder engines together and interspersed to maintain cooling between them.

-The 5-cylinder Anzani star engine had a geometric angle of 72^o between each two cylinders . It gave about 50 CV at 1,300 rpm. (1910) It gave rise to the 100 CV 10-cylinder engine.

"Anzani 5 cylinders"

-The six-cylinder gave 45/50 CV. The following illustration is the 45 CV (90 x 120 mm, bore x stroke) at 1,300 rpm. This is the model 6 A-4.

"Anzani 6 A-4"

-These engines were manufactured under license in many countries, and in Italy by "Nazzaro" and "Franco Tossi".

-In Mexico, the largest version is known as the "Aztatl".

-Anzani made two larger versions of the six-cylinder engine, designed in 1910, the 50/60 CV and 75 CV.

-In England, the "British Anzani Engine Co." made Anzani engines for that country and its area of influence.

"Anzani type 6, 75 CV"

-From the 5-cylinder star engine came the 10-cylinder. Born in the Anzani prolific year of 1910.

-Nominal 100 CV, although they started with 60, 65 and 70 CV depending on the displacement.

-At first they used small cylinders, with 464 cu. in. of displacement for 60, 65 or 70 CV.

-With 504 cu. in. it came to 80 CV and with 738 it reached 100 CV.

-The 10 A-4 type with 90 CV (real 92 CV at 1,200 rpm).

"Anzani 10 A-4"

-The 10-cylinder with 952 cu. in. reaches 125 CV at 1,200 rpm, which is the same with 1043 cu. in.

-We have information about a 14-cylinder giving 150 CV. (1912).

"Anzani 14 cilindros"

-From the union of two 10-cylinder engines in 1915 appears the 20-cylinder. which is very interesting for those days because it had four rows of five cylinders.

-From 200/210 CV at 1,250 rpm, in the beginning and a lot of development-potential based on increasing displacement.

"Anzani 20-cylinder"

-Interestingly, star engines usually have the sump in the lower central part, generally between two cylinders.

-Here we see an accessory that does not match at that place as the four stars are embedded in such a way that the front does not leave the space. The same thing occurs with the 14-cylinder engine.

"Anzani 20-cylinder, side view"

-Another twenty-cylinder radial engine was the water-cooled engine that came out after the air-cooled one. The cylinders were in pairs (That is why we see just ten blocks), in the same way as for the 3-cylinder fan-shaped engine that we have seen before. It is mentioned that it would reach 700 CV in its latest developments.

"Anzani 20-cylinder, water-cooled"

-Below we show an advertisement that appeared in its time where the single-cylinder engine appears next to a radial, 20-cylinder, air-cooled engine that already reached 600 CV and listing the different types of engines by their number of cylinders.

"Anzani advertisement"

-The 10-cylinder 100 CV Anzani that we could not show in previous editions of this publication is shown below.

"Anzani 10-cylinder 100 CV"

-This extension is used to insert another view of the horizontally opposed twin-cylinder engine.

"Anzani twin-cylinder engine"

-We join an advertisement of the Anzani company from those days.

-The fan-shaped three-cylinder with 30-35 CV of power, model "Ecole Militaire".

-The three-cylinder radial, distance record holder for less than 40 CV and the larger radial engines.

"Anzani advertisement"

"Anzani 3-cylinder at the "Museo del Aire" in  Cuatro Vientos, Madrid, Spain"

-In the picture with the Anzani three-cylinder radial engine we clearly can see the two side studs by each cylinder. These studs secure the cylinders to the central block.

-Below we can see 6-cylinder, Anzani type 6 radial, maybe the A4 model.

"Anzani 6-cylinder"

"Anzani V2"

-This upright Anzani V2 is the one we see in the inverted V2 version in the main text.

-In 1911 Anzani was commercialized in England through its "The General Aviation Contractors, Ltd." dealer.

-They offer the new 35 hp engine, to which they attributed power, lightness and reliability.

-They indicate that Anzani engines have achieved a record in military approval tests. The 6-cylinder 50 hp mounted on a Bleriot is one of them.

"Anzani dealer advertisement in the UK"

-Later Anzani engines are built under license by British-Anzani and Luton Anzani.

"Anzani V2, at the MAE"

"Anzani 35 CV, from 1911, at the MAE"

 

-In 1929 appears an Anzani 15 hp two-cylinder, which is a small light-aircraft engine. Precisely in the years when Alessandro Anzani sold his factory to Henry Potez.

"Anzani 15 CV from 1929"

"From the Anzani parts catalog"

-What is truly nice, is seeing how in the 10-cylinder engine catalog the pieces' reference numbers are arranged in a "modernist" style for those days.

"Anzani inverted V"

-Apart from the licenses previously mentioned, in the USA Anzani engines were built by Brown-Back and in the UK by Luton Aircraft Ltd.

-Below there is information from the Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7.

-Curiosity: at the Vancouver Museum in Canada there is a three-cylinder Anzani installed on a rotatable workbench to facilitate different positions for dismounting and mounting processes.

"Anzani 3-cylinder"

-Looking more closely we see the brand "Anzani" at its front and across the central casing "Bte. SCDC ".

"Front view of the Anzani on a workbench"

-As already stated in several chapters of this publication, in France it was normal to put this inscription on their engines, not only on the Anzanis.

-The inscription "Bte. SCDC "is not correct. The appropriate one is "Bte. SGDG". There are missing two small brushstrokes.

"Bte. SCDC details"

-“Bte. SGDG” means “Breveté Sans Garantie du Government” or “Patented without Government guarantee”.

-Author's note: Regarding the name "Manica" of the engine in the main text, in Italian The English Channel is called Il canale della Manica. So this is the engine which Bleriot used to cross the English Channel.

-We found an illustration of an Anzani 3A2 model that is mentioned before in the main text but then there was no picture available.

"Anzani 3A2"

-The bifurcated exhaust duct of the upper cylinder is missing.

"Anzani V4, water cooled"

-Tip: Observe the style of those days for the engine mounting brackets.

"Water-cooled V4, diagram"

-This is the 35 CV engine. It has the cylinders in pairs and with an angle of 45°.

"Anzani himself with an engine of this type"

-The ignition order is from one cylinder at one side to another one at the other side but crossing diagonally. Thus we have two periods 180^° and two of 180-45^°= 135^°. Therefore, the crankshaft has two crankpins at 180^° with two rods in each.

-It delivers 35 CV at 1,600 rpm.

-Now we have a photograph with a front view of the inverted Y 3-cylinder Anzani that appears in the main text with a rear view.

End first part

Go to the Anzani second part.