An experimental turbojet that reached a rotation speed of 30,000 rpm, giving it a thrust of 100 Kgp. This was around 1937.

“Sensaud de Lavaud at the MAE”

-It had the same elements as modern jets, suction mouth, finned compressor, straightener-diffuser, combustion chamber, turbine and nozzle.

-An intermediate chamber between the nozzle and the outlet had to allow afterburning to take place.

-It remained as a driving force for experimentation and study.

-We obtained more information confirming that the Sensaud de Lavaud turbojet engine dates back to 1937.

“Lavaud Sensaud engine schematic cross-section"

-As we see in the cross-section, the compressor is centrifugal, the combustion chamber is annular and single, the turbine is axial but the flow is concentrated in the center in a centripetal path, discharging into the large nozzle.

-But this nozzle in itself is a flow increaser since it allows the entry of fresh air that is heated by the outgoing jet of the engine, thus increasing its rearward speed.

“Real appearance of the engine”

-In the photograph we can see a cut at the height of the combustion chamber to see that inside there are a series of large triangular fins before entering the turbine.

-There is no doubt that a second combustion could take place in the exhaust booster nozzle, but there is no evidence that this was the case.

-In a bizarre story in an important French book describing the turbines built in that country, two engineers who collaborated with the inventor intervened.

-During the German occupation of France, the parts were distributed among the workers who intervened and they buried them in their gardens. Upon the death of the two engineers it was donated to the Paris Air Museum.