René Lorin (24 March 1877 – 16 January 1933) was a French aerospace engineer and inventor of the ramjet."SP-4306 Engines and Innovation: Lewis Laboratory and American Propulsion Technology", Ch.4, p.68
In 1908 Lorin patented, FR390256, the first subsonic ramjet design.French patent 390256, filed in May 1908, on espacenet He published the principles of a ramjet in articles in the journal L'Aérophile from 1908Lorin, René. "Le propulseur à échappement et l'aéroplane à grande vitesse" L'Aérophile, Sept. 1908, 332-336.Gibbs-Smith, Charles. 1970 and 2000. Aviation: An historical survey from its origins to the end of the Second World War. Science Museum. pp. 163-164.Brockett, Paul. 1917. Bibliography of Aeronautics. to 1913, expressing the idea that the exhaust from internal combustion engines could be directed into nozzles to create jet propulsion.1941 Flight article explaining ramjets and mentioning Lorin's work"Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary," National Park Service web site He could not test this invention since there was no way at the time for an aircraft to go fast enough for a ramjet to function properly.Ricco, Philippe. "Leduc: the difficult beginning"Philippe Ballarini, translated by Marc Binazzi. "The ramjet: Past, present or future?"
When René Leduc applied for a patent on a ramjet design in 1933, FR705648, he discovered Lorin's publications and tried to contact him, only to learn that he had recently died. Leduc thereafter paid homage to Lorin's work.Ricco, Philippe. "Leduc: the difficult beginning." At Aerostories.free.fr.
René Lorin is a graduate of the École Centrale Paris.
References
German WW II research on Lorin RamJet