René Moineau (August 11, 1887 – October 5, 1948) was one of the French pioneers of aviation and an inventor in various branches of aeronautics and fluid mechanics.
A pilot and engineer at Bréguet, he designed his own plane, the Salmson-Moineau SM-1, in 1915, then devoted himself to numerous inventions, several patented, including the Moineau pump still used in industry, and the first retractable landing gear (for which he filed the patent in 1918).
In November of that year, he flew for Bréguet in the Concours d'Aviation Militaire de 1911 (Reims Military Aviation Competition, 1911).
After a stint at the Camp Retranché in Paris, he served in the SFA (Service des Fabrications de l'Aviation).
In 1916 he joined the Salmson establishments and designed the Salmson-Moineau SM-1, an unusual reconnaissance aircraft with its engine placed transversely driving two propellers.