Arthur Krebs

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Image:Krebs Portrait 1910-01.jpg Arthur Constantin Krebs (November 16, 1850 in Vesoul, France – March 22 1935 in Quimperlé, France) was a French officer and pioneer in automotive engineering.

Image:Krebs-Renard LA-FRANCE 1884.jpg Collaborating with Charles Renard, he piloted the first fully controllable free-flight made in the French Army airship La France, which they designed in 1884. The electric-powered flight covered 8 km (5 miles) in 23 minutes. It was the first full circle flight with landing on the starting point. On his seven flights the La France dirigible returned five times to its starting point.

Krebs shares the 1886 Ponti price of the French Académie des sciences, with Charles Renard, for their contribution to Aerostation.

Krebs inspired Jules Verne in his novel Robur The Conqueror in 1886, when he tells "the striking experiments of Captains Krebs and Renard".

Image:Krebs Gymnote 1888.jpg In 1888, he designed, with Gustave Zédé, the first French modern submarine Gymnote. He fitted that experimental ship with the first naval periscope and the first naval electric gyrocompass. The latter allowed the Gymnote to force a naval blocus in 1890.

From 1884 to 1897 Arthur Krebs modernized the Ville de Paris fire department, its equipment as well as its organization. His work left a lasting impression in this elite corps until today.

Image:Krebs Electromagnetic-Gear 1896.jpg In May 1896 Arthur Krebs patented a new automobile, fitted with an electromagnetic gearbox and a front train comming back straight when the steering wheel was left. Panhard-Levassor acquired a license, and built 500 cars under the name of Clement-Panhard between 1898 and 1902.

Krebs succeeded to Levassor as Panhard-Levassor's General Manager from 1897 to 1916. He turned the Panhard-Levassor Company as one of the largest and profitable manufacturer of automobiles before WWI.

Image:Krebs Carburateur 1902.jpg In 1902 he invented the first automatic diaphragm carburetor giving to cars continuous accelerations in assuring at any time a constant air-gasoline rate and so reducing dramatically cars gasoline consumption.

In 1906 Krebs went to the USA to plead in the Selden affair, jointed to Henry Ford.

He introduced many improvements in car design : the steering wheel (1898), the irreversible steering (1898), balance of engines (1898), nickel steels and other special steels (1901), shock absorber (1906), multi-disc clutch (1907), the electric dynamometric brake for high speed engines power measurement (1905), the globic worm screw differential (1915).

Thus Krebs contributed to improve the Systeme Panhard quite universally adopted before WWII.

Image:Krebs Flector 08-1911.jpg In 1909, he believes in the interest of the Knight patent (sleeve-valve engine) and first in France build that type of engine which Panhard-Levassor will produce during 30 years, until the WWII.

He contributed in the automotive sport with his powerful racing cars and racing 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 the industry for power transmission as tyre coupling.

Image:Tracteur Chatillon-Panhard 1914.jpg For military and civil purposes, he designed in 1911, with the Chatillon cy, the all-terrain truck named Tracteur Chatillon-Panhard, which was four wheels drive and four wheels steering. Many of these trucks had been used during the WWI as artillery tractor.

He utilized his former military membership to supply the French Army with engines and vehicules dedicated to aerostation, submarines, aviation, the 1904 Genty Armored car, the 1916 St Chamond tank, the Chatillon-Panhard 4x4 truck etc.


Communications to the French Académie des sciences

  • 08/18/1884 – Krebs and Renard : about the “La France” dirigible.
  • 11/10/1884 – Krebs and Renard : the “La France” dirigible.
  • 1888 - Krebs : closed magnetic fields system of telephone.
  • 1888 - Krebs : electric engine trials for a submarine boat.
  • 1890 - Krebs : the first electric gyrocompass (presented par M. Dumoulin-Froment)
  • 11/24/1902 - Krebs : the automatic carburetor.
  • 11/13/1905 - Krebs : the electric dynamometric brake.
  • 01/15/1906 - Krebs : the progressive shock absorber.
  • 04/08/1907 - Krebs : the liquids flow measurement apparatus.


Several months before his death, the French government awarded Arthur Krebs the badge of Commandeur of the Legion of Honor in 1934 for his work in Aerostation and his automotive industry contribution.

See also

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