Falcon | |
---|---|
Preserved Rolls-Royce Falcon III at the Shuttleworth Collection | |
Type | V-12 aero engine |
Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Limited |
First run | 1915 |
Major applications | Bristol F.2 Fighter Blackburn Kangaroo |
Number built | 2,185 |
Developed from | Rolls-Royce Eagle |
The Rolls-Royce Falcon is an aero engine developed in 1915. It was a smaller version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle, a liquid-cooled V-12 of 867 cu in (14.2 L) capacity. Fitted to many British World War I-era aircraft, production ceased in 1927. The Falcon was designed by R.W. Harvey-Bailey. [1]
An airworthy Falcon survives today and powers a Bristol F.2 Fighter during summer displays.
Production of the Falcon began in September 1916 and was so successful that it was also manufactured under licence by Brazil Straker in Bristol. [2] Production continued until 1927, by which time 2,185 had been built. [3]
An unusual feature of this engine was the epicyclic propeller reduction gear which contained a clutch designed to limit the maximum torque, thus protecting the reduction gears. [4]
The Falcon was notably used in the Bristol F.2 Fighter and Blackburn Kangaroo bomber.
Note: [5]
List from Guttery and Lumsden: [3] [4]
Bristol F.2B Fighter, D-8096, is based at the Shuttleworth Collection and is powered by a Falcon III, this aircraft flies regularly in summer. [6]
Data fromJane's [7] and Lumsden. [3]
Related development
Related lists
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later called Merlin following the company convention of naming its four-stroke piston aero engines after birds of prey.
The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from the earlier Mercury and Jupiter engines, later variants could produce 1,000 horsepower from its capacity of 1,750 cubic inches by use of a geared supercharger.
The Bristol Mercury is a British nine-cylinder, air-cooled, single-row, piston radial engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from the earlier Jupiter engine, later variants could produce 800 horsepower (600 kW) from its capacity of 1,500 cubic inches by use of a geared supercharger.
The Bristol Perseus was a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aircraft engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1932. It was the first production sleeve valve aero engine.
The Napier Sabre is a British H-24-cylinder, liquid-cooled, sleeve valve, piston aero engine, designed by Major Frank Halford and built by D. Napier & Son during World War II. The engine evolved to become one of the most powerful inline piston aircraft engines in the world, developing from 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) in its earlier versions to 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) in late-model prototypes.
The Rolls-Royce Vulture was a British aero engine developed shortly before World War II that was designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. The Vulture used the unusual "X-24" configuration, whereby four cylinder blocks derived from the Rolls-Royce Peregrine were joined by a common crankshaft supported by a single crankcase. The engine was originally designed to produce around 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW) but problems with the Vulture design meant that the engines were derated to around 1,450 to 1,550 hp in service by limiting the maximum rpm.
The Rolls-Royce Peregrine was a 21-litre (1,300 cu in), 885-horsepower (660 kW) liquid-cooled V-12 aero engine designed and built by the British manufacturer Rolls-Royce in the late 1930s. It was essentially the ultimate development of the company's Kestrel engine, which had seen widespread use in military aircraft of the pre-war period.
The Rolls-Royce Kestrel is a 21.25 litre V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce. It was their first cast-block engine, and used as the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar period, it was fitted to a number of British fighters and bombers of the era, including the Hawker Fury and Hawker Hart family, and the Handley Page Heyford. The Kestrel engine was also sold to international air force customers, in this role it used to power prototypes of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bomber, as the Junkers Jumo 210 engines were not ready to be fitted. Several examples of the Kestrel engine remain airworthy today.
The Rolls-Royce Buzzard was a British piston aero engine of 36.7 litres capacity that produced about 800 horsepower (600 kW). Designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited it is a V12 engine of 6 in (150 mm) bore and 6.6 in (170 mm) stroke. Only 100 were made. A further development was the Rolls-Royce R engine. The Buzzard was developed by scaling-up the Rolls-Royce Kestrel Engine.
The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of other military aircraft.
The Rolls-Royce Hawk was a British aero engine designed by Rolls-Royce in 1915. Derived from one bank of six cylinders of the Rolls-Royce Eagle, it produced 75 horsepower at 1,370 rpm. Power was progressively increased to 91 hp by February 1916, and 105 hp by October 1918.
The Rolls-Royce Condor aircraft piston engine is a larger version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle developing up to 675 horsepower. The engine first ran in 1918 and a total of 327 engines were recorded as being built.
The Rolls-Royce Goshawk was a development of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel that used evaporative or steam cooling. In line with Rolls-Royce convention of naming piston engines after birds of prey, it was named after the goshawk.
The Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah is a seven-cylinder British air-cooled aircraft radial engine of 834 cu in capacity introduced in 1935 and produced until 1948. Early variants of the Cheetah were initially known as the Lynx Major.
The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar is an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar IV and in 1927 by the Jaguar VI. In 1925 the Jaguar became the first production aero engine incorporating a geared supercharger.
The Wolseley Viper is a British-built, high-compression derivative of the Hispano Suiza HS-8 liquid-cooled V-8 engine, built under licence by Wolseley Motors during World War I.
The Napier Rapier was a British 16-cylinder H pattern air-cooled aero engine designed by Frank Halford and built by Napier & Son shortly before World War II.
The ABC 8 hp is an 8 hp (6 kW) two-cylinder aero engine designed by the noted British engineer Granville Bradshaw for use in ultralight aircraft. The engine was derived from a specially tuned motorcycle unit and was built by ABC Motors, first running in 1923.
The Rolls-Royce Eagle XVI was a British experimental 16 cylinder aero engine designed and developed by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1925. The engine was test run but did not fly, the project, together with the planned larger variant, the Eagle XX, was cancelled in favour of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel, that was being developed concurrently.
The RAF 4 is a British air-cooled, V12 engine developed for aircraft use during World War I. Based on the eight–cylinder RAF 1 it was designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory but produced by the two British companies of Daimler and Siddeley-Deasy. The RAF 5 was a pusher version of the same engine.