Between 1926 and 1928, at the Lorraine factory in Argenteuil (from 1930 known as Societe Nationale de Construction de Moteurs — SNCM), a family of multi-row engines was initiated, each featuring cast cylinder blocks, a supercharger, two camshafts per block, and a reduction gearbox.
Successive types were given “bird” names. Sterna (a genus of birds from the gull family) from 1936 was a development of the earlier Petrel. Several variants of the engine were created, which was used in the Dutch experimental fighter aircraft Koolhoven F.K.55.
| Configuration | 12-cylinder V |
| Cooling | water |
| Displacement | 30.6 l |
| Weight | 510 kg |
| Takeoff power | 1200 hp at 2800 rpm |
