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Arthur Constantin Krebs (November 16, 1850 in Vesoul, France – March 22, 1935 in Quimperle, France) was a French officer and pioneer in automotive engineering.
Collaborating with Charles Renard, he piloted the first fully controlled free-flight made in the French Army airship La France, which was designed in 1884. The electric-powered flight covered 8 km (5 miles) in 23 minutes. It was the first full round trip flight with a landing on the starting point. On its seven flights the La France dirigible returned five times to its starting point.
Krebs shared the 1886 Ponti prize of the French Academie des sciences, with Charles Renard, for their contribution to Aerostation.
Krebs inspired Jules Verne, in Verne’s novel “Robur The Conqueror” written in 1886, he tells “the striking experiments of Captain Krebs and Captain Renard.”
In 1888 Krebs and Gustave Zede designed the first modern French submarine, the Gymnote. The submarine was fitted with the first naval periscope and the first naval electric gyrocompass. The latter allowed the Gymnote to force a naval block in 1890.
From 1884 to 1897 Arthur Krebs modernized the Ville de Paris fire department; not only its equipment but its organisation as well. His work left a lasting impression in this elite corps up until this very day.In May 1896 Arthur Krebs patented a new automobile, fitted with an electromagnetic gearbox and a front drive-train which recentred itself when the steering wheel was left alone, today this is known as the Castor Angle. Panhard-Levassor acquired a license to build 500 cars under the name of Clement-Panhard between 1898 and 1902 featuring the latter inovation.
Krebs succeeded Levassor as Panhard-Levassor’s General Manager from 1897 to 1916. He transformed the Panhard-Levassor Company to become one of the largest and most profitable automobile manufacturers before WWI.
In 1902 Krebs invented the automatic diaphragm carburettor which gave cars continuous power during acceleration providing a constant air-fuel ratio at all times; this also led to dramatic increase in fuel economy.
In 1906 Krebs traveled to the United States of America to plead in the Selden Case, associated with Henry Ford.
Krebs introduced many improvements in car design : the steering wheel (1898), non-reversible steering (1898), engine balance (1898), nickel steel alloys and other special steel alloys (1901), the shock absorber (1906), multi-disc clutch (1907), the electric brake dynamometer for testing high performance engines (1905), the global worm screw differential (1915).
Also, Krebs contributed significantly to improve the Systeme Panhard which became universally adopted before WWII.
In 1909, he became interested in the Knight patent (sleeve-valve engine) and was first in France to build that type of engine which Panhard-Levassor would produce during the thirty years leading up to World War II.
He made contributions to automotive racing with his powerful cars and motorboats.
In 1911 Krebs invented the first elastomeric flexible coupling (cf. John Piotrowski). It is known in French as the Flector joint. This device is still widely used today in industry for power transmission as a tyre coupling.
The truck was meant for military and civil purposes. Krebs designed it in 1911, jointly with the Chatillon Co, the all-terrain truck named Tracteur Chatillon-Panhard, had four wheel drive and four wheel steering. Many of these trucks have been used during the World War I as artillery tractors.
Krebs also utilized his former military membership to supply the French Army with engines and vehicles including the 1904 Genty Armored car, the 1916 St Chamond tank, the Chatillon-Panhard 4×4 truck, and others.
“Global worm screw differential” indeed. My first thought was of Maynard G. Krebs.
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