ly for military contracts permitted Renard and Stampe & Vertongen to obtain small
orders from the
Aéronautique Militaire for delivery of trainer- and combat-aircraft as the SV5 or the Renard R31.
Although the general opinion in Belgian aviation circles was that it was better to buy original new designs from manufacturers (build by foreign
companies…), the activity of the Belgian aircraft industry during the twenties and the thirties continue to focus on construction under
Sabca, Renard and Stampe & Vertongen also build their own designs but very few of these new machines reached production. In most of the
cases, the lack of interest by the public authorities in sustaining the emergence of prototypes in Belgium is a good explanation. Some aircraft
with great commercial potential such as the Renard R35 or R36 where abandoned after the first accident. If the US Government had applied the same
attitude towards the Boeing prototypes, neither the B-17 nor the B-29 would have been produced. Even more critical was the situation in the aircraft engine
industry. Sabca build an engine production plant but the activity did not generate benefits. Renard and Sarolea produced promising small
engines but on a general point of view, Belgium depended on foreign supply for aircraft engines.
trainer of 1938
Since 1938, the government decided to look for new aircraft in order to replace the
obsolete machines of the Aeronautique Militaire. Several precious
months were lost negotiating with foreign constructors. The then major foreign manufacturers were already
producing at full capacity to fulfill their national needs and could not divert aircraft for Belgium. Some local
prototypes were also developed as SABCA S40 & S47.
Finally Hurricane, Breguet 693 and Caproni Ca313 production rights were acquired to be build under license by
Some strange arrangements were concluded. For example Sabca prepared the production of Koolhoven FK53 fighters for the French Armée
de l’air and a part of the Breguet 693 to be produced in Belgium was intended to be delivered to France. There was
also some good news during
this obscure period. Stampe & Renard succeeded in exporting the SV4 to France and the same country expressed great interests in the acquisition of
some Renard R36 family of fighters, SABCA S47 fighters and SABCA S40 trainers.
In May 1940, the first locally produced Hurricanes was ready to leave the Avions Fairey factory. Plans were to dispose of modern hardware for
the spring of 1941. The dependence of foreign supply for engines was then critical, with Hurricanes waiting their Merlin at the factories. The
attack of May 10th 1940 stopped this process in its tracks. That morning, the airfields
of Deurne, Evere and Gosselies housing Stampe & Renard, SABCA and Fairey were bombed. The personal of the various companies evacuated to France, losing some precious
the prototype of the Renard R38 during the trip. In Bordeaux, some specialists worked for a short period with the local aeronautical companies.
The most successfull Belgian aircraft : The Stampe & Vertongen SV4
The Germans tried to use the limited aircraft production facilities located in Belgium
to their own advantage. The Stampe & Renard facilities in Deurne were used to repair
Messerschmidt fighters. In Brussels they tried to restart the activities of SABCA by
appointing a German administrator. However
faced with resistance of the administrators of the company they used the SABCA installations
only for limited repair work under full German control as wa the case at Deurne.
Back to work
In September 1944, when the country was liberated, the Stampe & Vertongen
plant was totally destroyed. The SABCA installations
were severely damaged and the usable workshops were requisitioned by the RAF to be used as transit hospitals. More dramatic was the fact
that most of the machine tools were destroyed. The Renard workshops were miraculously preserved and Stampe joined his former associated to
start a new business under the Stampe & Renard name. They quickly restarted negotiations
for the sale of SV4's to Fra