Adolphe Kégresse

Adolphe Kégresse , born with Héricourt (Haute-Saône) in 1879, died in the Croissy-on-Seine in 1943.

After having followed the courses of a technical training school of Montbeliard, it left in 1905 to Saint-Pétersbourg. Very inventive mechanic, it began his career as technical manager of the first imperial garage of the tsar Nicolas II of 1906 to 1917. In 1910, at the request of the tsar, it develops Autochenille S original (starting from vehicles Packard, Mercedes-Benz and Delaunay-Belleville) able to move easily, particularly in the Neige. It tries out various light and flexible materials like cords, leather belts of braided and armed rubber. He had thus invented the principle of the “Halftrack” which was largely used by the majority of the armies during the Second world war.

In addition to the imperial vehicles, its system will apply to vehicles of the Russian army since 1914 in particular of the Packard ambulances and the Austin-Putilov armoured cars which the Bolchevik S. used later. Returned to France, it is with Citroen that it creates a department of vehicles “any ground” in 1919. The vehicles equipped with the Kégresse-Hinstin system will be produced of 1921 until in 1937.

These vehicles were a certain success and various versions were used by the army in France but also abroad by public services (Stations, Douanes) or by the army in the countries such as the Belgium, the Chile, the Great Britain, the Holland, the Poland, the Spain, etc

After having left Citroen, Kégresse continues its research tasks. In 1935 it develops an automatic gear box called “AutoServe” and in 1939 it tests a remote-controlled electric caterpillar.

During all its life, Kégresse deposited several hundreds of patents of all kinds but the majority concerning of the automobile bodies.

The Kégresse-Hinstin system

This system of caterpillars, adaptable to the existing frames, is composed of moulded and a thick armed rubber band being rolled up on two pulleys of which one is driving and the other free one on an axle carrying thus constituting a bogie with two axles having a rather broad freedom pitching to adapt to the rough ground. The driving pulley (diameter 500 mm) is with two mobile cheeks enclosing the caterpillar according to the efforts required during traction or of braking. A train of 4 grouped rollers two to two provides the carrying function. The principal interests of the system compared to the traditional caterpillars are its relatively quiet lightness and its operation. Its larger defect was the rather weak lifespan of the endless conveyer belt (2000 to 6000 km).

With the engineer Jacques Hinstin in 1922, Kégresse finalizes the first conveys “any ground” Citroen K1 which is a frame C 5cv equipped with the system. The system “Kégresse-Hinstin” will equip much with other models like C4 and C6.

Taking into account his performances, André Citroen launches out in several promotional operations of great scale to international repercussion:

Trans-Saharan forwarding in 1922 which was a success and the constitution of the General Company Trans-Saharan Citroen (Citracit) at ends of transport and tourism through the the Sahara, which was on the other hand a financial failure to which André Citroen put quickly fine;
the black Cruising in 1925;
the yellow Cruising in 1931 cofinanced by the National Geographic;
the loan of 3 C6 vehicles in 1933 with the Admiral Richard Byrd for his forwarding in the Antarctic;
the white Cruising in 1934 with the Canada which was a failure;
of the demonstrations at many military commissions.

Citroen vehicles equipped with “Kégresse” are manufactured until 1937 (P107 by Unic) and during this period the system improved while preserving the principle of origin: the modifications related on the drive of the caterpillar and the reinforcement of this one by an association of metal plates and blocks of rubber.

External bonds

photographs on Citroenet
the Citroen-Kégresse in the Polish army
the automatic box AutoServe Kégresse

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