Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 and was also used by American Expeditionary Force aviation units.

The company's first aircraft was the Salmson-Moineau S.M.1, an unusual three-seat reconnaissance biplane with twin propellers gear-driven from a single Salmson engine mounted sideways in the fuselage but it was not successful although it saw limited production.

The aircraft was of conventional construction with a two-bay biplane configuration, powered by the company's own 230 hp (170 kW) Salmson 9Z water-cooled radial engine.

Some minor control problems were quickly resolved in early testing, but the main defect of the Salmson 2, shared with the contemporary Airco DH.4, was that the pilot and gunner were widely separated, making communication difficult.

After First World War, the Salmson 2 A.2 produced by Latécoère were the first aircraft used by French pioneering airmail company Aéropostale.