Joseph-armand bombardier biography channel

Home / Scientists & Inventors / Joseph-armand bombardier biography channel

He continues manufacturing parts in Valcourt to maintain employment for village workers.

At the request of Canadian authorities, Joseph-Armand develops a prototype of an armoured tracked vehicle, named Kaki, in 1943. At a mere 13 years old, he manufactures one of his first mechanical toys ­ a miniature locomotive driven by a clock mechanism ­ and paints the object in great detail, showing his advanced sense of both the mechanical and aesthetic.

Triumph! But the inventor is always seeking to improve his products. Production even increases annually, going from 27 units in 1942-43 to 236 units in 1945-46.

As the war ends, Joseph-Armand Bombardier leaves Montreal to return to Valcourt where he continues expanding the company.

L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée board of directors.

Incorporation

Despite the war and its many restrictions, Joseph-Armand tirelessly pursues his research, trials, and inventions, and continues to submit patent requests in Canada and the United States.

At 13 years old, he built a miniature locomotive that was propelled by clock mechanisms he bought from a local jeweller. The first B7 snowmobiles equipped with solid wheels appear in 1940.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier and a B7 snowmobile, 1936

Personalized sales

Demand drives production upward over the following years, and Joseph-Armand strengthens that demand by giving vehicle demonstrations.

He’s only 19, but his remarkable ability to solve any mechanical problem, whether dealing with cars, bench saws, or agricultural pumps, earns him an outstanding reputation throughout the region. Six months later, on June 29, 1937, he receives a positive response from the Patent Office. His success allows him to pay back his father’s loan by 1929.

A concern through his youth is the isolation of Quebec villages in winter, which prevented motorized travel.

Known as the school snowmobile, it is sold as such in a number of regions in Quebec and Ontario.

In 1947-48, Joseph-Armand Bombardier’s company achieves total sales of $2.3 million, 10 times more than in 1942-43. On July 10, 1942, L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée is born, with a head office in Valcourt, Quebec and authorized capital of 3,000 shares.

Wartime restrictions and challenges brought out the best in Joseph-Armand Bombardier: an exceptional ability to adapt to the most limiting of circumstances, an almost limitless capacity for work, a heightened sense of responsibility toward his hometown, and a sense of open-mindedness to the changing horizons lying ahead.

The titles are written as they appear on the patents.


Véhicule à chenille - No 410471

Patent date: 1943/02/09
Date of demand : 1942/03/30
Patent title : véhicule à chenille
Patent number : 410471
Origin : Canada


Chain tread - No 2346351

Patent date: 1944/04/11
Date of demand : 1942/07/06
Patent title : chain tread
Patent number : 2346351
Origin : États-Unis


Ski suspensions - No 419642

Patent date : 1944/04/18
Date of demand : 1943/07/03
Patent title : ski suspensions
Patent number : 419642
Origin : Canada


Ski suspensions - No 2343526

Patent date: 1944/03/07
Date of demand: 1943/07/10
Patent title: ski suspensions
Patent number: 2343526
Origin: États-Unis


Wheel mountings - No 421051

Patent date: 1944/06/27
Date of demand: 1942/10/07
Patent title: wheel mountings
Patent number: 421051
Origin: Canada


Wheel mountings - No 2367751

Patent date: 1945/01/23
Date of demand: 1942/10/15
Patent title: wheel mountings
Patent number: 2367751
Origin: États-Unis


Traction devices - No 422405

Patent date: 1944/09/05
Date of demand: 1943/07/03
Patent title: traction devices
Patent number: 422405
Origin: Canada


Traction devices - No 2355266

Patent date: 1944/08/08
Date of demand: 1943/07/10
Patent title: traction devices
Patent number: 2355266
Origin: États-Unis


Sprocket wheels - No 428317

Patent date: 1945/06/26
Date of demand: 1943/07/03
Patent title: sprocket wheels
Patent number: 428317
Origin: Canada


Sprocket wheels - No 2374644

Patent date: 1945/05/01
Date of demand: 1943/07/10
Patent title: sprocket wheels
Patent number: 2374644
Origin: États-Unis


Vehicle track - No 437969

Patent date: 1946/11/19
Date of demand: 1945/05/14
Patent title: vehicle track
Patent number: 437969
Origin: Canada


Tractor unit - No 486645

Patent date: 1952/09/23
Date of demand: –
Patent title: tractor unit
Patent number: 486645
Origin: Canada


Tractor unit - No 2587813

Patent date: 1952/03/04
Date of demand: 1949/12/15
Patent title: tractor unit
Patent number: 2587813
Origin: États-Unis


Sprocket wheel - No 521164

Patent date: 1956/01/31
Date of demand: –
Patent title: sprocket wheel
Patent number: 521164
Origin: Canada


Sprocket wheel - No 2721485

Patent date: 1955/10/25
Date of demand: 1953/04/22
Patent title: sprocket wheel
Patent number: 2721485
Origin: États-Unis

Subscribe to our newsletter

Joseph-Armand Bombardier

Canadian inventor and entrepreneur, founder of the Bombardier company, inventor of the snowmobile.
Date of Birth: 16.04.1907
Country: Canada

Content:
  1. Biography of Joseph Armand Bombardier
  2. Early Life and Inventions
  3. The Creation of Bombardier Inc.
  4. Diversification and Legacy

Biography of Joseph Armand Bombardier

Joseph Armand Bombardier was a Canadian inventor and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Bombardier Inc.

and the inventor of the snowmobile. Between 1942 and 1951, L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée produced 2,817 B12 snowmobiles.

The B12 snowmobile is highly versatile, appealing to a variety of sectors for different applications: public and materials transport, ambulance and rescue services, and transport of missionaries in isolated regions of the Canadian north.

Then he mounts the new device on metal wheels, and demonstrates his mini-cannon at Paul’s house a week later.

joseph-armand bombardier biography channel

But the new motor tends to overheat, and the inventor has to return to the car engines ­ and the design of heavy vehicles.

Joseph-Armand’s son Yvon dies of peritonitis at the age of two in the winter of 1934, when the family is unable to get him to the hospital for treatment. Barely 200 snowmobiles were sold when the model was launched in 1959, but by the time of Bombardier's death in 1964 the idea was a success and more than 8200 units were sold annually.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier

Ingenuity is in our DNA

Joseph-Armand Bombardier’s ingenuity and individual excellence were born of a true collective strength that, over the years, led to the creation of the Bombardier and BRP companies, now global icons of the transport industry.

The Museum of Ingenuity J.

Armand Bombardier showcases the legacy that this famous inventor left for his successors through the innovations, trades and professions, and flagship products offered today by Bombardier and BRP.


1907-1925: Childhood and adolescence

Joseph-Armand Bombardier was born on April 16, 1907, in Valcourt, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

The company released a new version of the snowmobile, the "B-12," which could carry up to 12 passengers and had impressive strength and reliability. During the winter, the number of customers decreased, giving Joseph the opportunity to concentrate on developing new snowmobile models. He builds a steam engine out of old sewing machine parts.

Over time, these separate productions allowed him to refine and bring to life his long-held dream of the snowmobile. He convinces the local veterinarian, Mr. Archambault, the father of his friend Paul, to give him a broken 12-calibre gun. Joseph-Armand solves the problem by assembling a press that makes solid wheels, showing once again his capacity for innovation and self-sufficiency, as well as his preoccupation with quality.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier takes it as a challenge.