Wright Whirlwind series

Last updated
Whirlwind series
Wright J-6.jpg
Partially sectioned Wright J-4B at Canada Aviation Museum
TypeAir-cooled radial piston engine
National origin United States
Manufacturer Wright Aeronautical

The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to include five-cylinder and seven-cylinder varieties. Fourteen-cylinder twin-row versions were also developed, but these were not commercially produced.

Contents

The Whirlwind series was succeeded by more powerful but still air-cooled radial aero engines, notably the Pratt & Whitney Wasp series and the Wright Cyclone series.

Description

The Whirlwind was a direct descendant of the Lawrance J-1, a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial built by the Lawrance Aero Engine Company for the U.S. Navy. Because the Navy was very enthusiastic about air-cooled radials, but was concerned that Lawrance could not produce enough engines for its needs, it forced Wright to purchase the Lawrance company in 1923 and build the J-1 itself. Wright's J-1 was the first engine in its nine-cylinder R-790 Whirlwind series and was quickly followed by the J-3, J-4, J-4A, J-4B, and finally the popular and successful J-5 of 1925.

In 1928, Wright replaced the R-790 series with the J-6 Whirlwind family, in which a supercharger was added to boost engine power and the cylinders were enlarged by expanding the bore. This family included three members: the nine-cylinder R-975 , the seven-cylinder R-760 , and the five-cylinder R-540 , providing a range of different power levels using the same basic design. Of these, the R-975 proved the most popular, especially because of its use in armored fighting vehicles during World War II.

During the mid-1930s, Wright also developed two fourteen-cylinder double-row versions of the Whirlwind, the R-1510 of 600 hp (450 kW), and the R-1670 of 800 hp (600 kW). These were used in a number of military aircraft prototypes, but neither engine reached the production stage. [1] [2]

Air-cooled Whirlwinds were lighter and more reliable than liquid-cooled engines of similar power, since a liquid cooling system added weight and required extra maintenance. Thanks to these advantages Whirlwind engines were used widely and were built in large numbers. Licensed copies were produced by manufacturers such as Continental Motors, Hispano-Suiza, and adapted for Soviet government production by the Shvetsov OKB-19 design bureau. The Whirlwind's success led to the development of other air-cooled radial engines throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.

Whirlwind series

See also

Comparable engines

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial engine</span> Reciprocating engine with cylinders arranged radially from a single crankshaft

The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a "star engine" in some other languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright Aeronautical</span> U.S. aircraft manufacturer

Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the golden age of aviation. Wright engines were used by Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. In 1929, the company merged with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation to form Curtiss-Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone</span> 1937 18-cylinder radial piston engine family by Wright

The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly 3,350 cubic inches (54.9 L). Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp, depending on the model. Developed before World War II, the R-3350's design required a long time to mature before finally being used to power the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. After the war, the engine had matured sufficiently to become a major civilian airliner design, notably in its turbo-compound forms, and was used in the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation airliners into the 1990s. The engine is commonly used on Hawker Sea Fury and Grumman F8F Bearcat Unlimited Class Racers at the Reno Air Races. Its main rival was the 4,360 in3 (71.4 L), 4,300 hp (3,200 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major, first run some seven years after the Duplex-Cyclone's beginnings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone</span> American WWII-era aircraft engine

The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used in aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp</span>

The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series. It was a single-row, nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial design, and displaced 1,344 cubic inches (22 L); bore and stroke were both 5.75 in (146 mm). A total of 34,966 engines were produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-1300 Cyclone 7</span>

The Wright R-1300 Cyclone 7 is an American air-cooled seven-cylinder supercharged radial aircraft engine produced by Curtiss-Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas-Morse XP-13 Viper</span> Prototype biplane fighter

The XP-13 Viper was a prototype biplane fighter aircraft designed by the American company Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation. The airplane was delivered to the United States Army in 1929, but they did not adopt it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-975 Whirlwind</span>

The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about 975 cu in (15.98 L) and power ratings of 300–450 hp (220–340 kW). They were the largest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family to be produced commercially, and they were also the most numerous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss R-600 Challenger</span>

The Curtiss R-600 Challenger was a six-cylinder, double-row, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the United States in the late 1920s. It developed 170 to 180 horsepower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrance J-1</span>

The Lawrance J-1 was an engine developed by Charles Lanier Lawrance and used in American aircraft in the early 1920s. It was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-760 Whirlwind</span>

The Wright R-760 Whirlwind was a series of seven-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of 756 in³ (12.4 L) and power ratings of 225-350 hp (168-261 kW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travel Air 2000</span> American civilian biplane

The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Travel Air produced more aircraft than any other American manufacturer, including over 1,000 biplanes. While an exact number is almost impossible to ascertain due to the number of conversions and rebuilds, some estimates for Travel Air as a whole range from 1,200 to nearly 2,000 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss Kingbird</span> Type of aircraft

The Curtiss Model 55 Kingbird was an airliner built in small numbers in the United States in the early 1930s. It was a twin-engine aircraft with a fuselage derived from the single-engine Curtiss Thrush. The Kingbird had two engine nacelles mounted on the struts on either side of the fuselage that braced the wing and the outrigger undercarriage. A distinctive design feature was the aircraft's blunt nose, located behind the propeller arcs. This allowed the engines to be mounted closer to each other and to the aircraft's centerline, therefore minimising asymmetrical thrust in case of an engine failure. For the same reason, the Thrush's single tailfin was replaced by twin tails on the Kingbird, and the main production model, the D-2 fitted a second horizontal stabilizer and elevator between these fins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-790 Whirlwind</span> Series of nine cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines

The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about 790 cubic inches (12.9 L) and around 200 horsepower (150 kW). These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright R-540 Whirlwind</span>

The Wright R-540 Whirlwind was a series of five-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of 540 in³ (8.85 L) and power ratings of around 165-175 hp (123-130 kW). They were the smallest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming R-680</span> 1920s American aircraft piston engine

The Lycoming R-680 is a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, the first aero engine produced by Lycoming. The engine was produced in two types, the E and B series; both are essentially the same. The B4E was available in a trainer version with a front exhaust collector "ring" for use without cylinder air baffles. R-680 received Approved Type Certificate No. 42 on 4 Feb 1930.

Lawrance Aero Engine Company was an American aircraft engine manufacturer. Founded by engine pioneer Charles Lawrance, it designed one of the first successful air-cooled radial engines. It existed for only 5 years, being acquired by Wright Aeronautical, a much larger company better able to mass-produce Lawrance's radial engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartan C3</span> American 1920s three-seat utility biplane

The Spartan C3 is an American three-seat open-cockpit utility biplane from the late 1920s.

The R-4090 Cyclone 22 was an experimental radial piston engine designed and built in prototype form in the United States during the 1940s.

The Nakajima Ha5 is a twin row, 14 cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by the Japanese Nakajima Aircraft Company. The engine was a development of earlier single-row Japanese engines, the Kotobuki and Hikari, which had combined features of the Bristol Jupiter and Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp designs.

References

  1. Curtiss-Wright (1940), p. 13
  2. Curtiss-Wright (1983), p. 4-5.
  3. USGS site