Propulsion Collection

Rolls-Royce Merlin R. M. 14S. M. Mk 100 V-12 Engine, 1944. Creator: Rolls-Royce
Formed in 1906 to produce automobiles, Rolls-Royce was asked to begin designing and building aircraft engines at the outbreak of World War I in 1914

Curtiss OXX-6, V-8 Engine, ca. 1916. Creator: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss

Liberty L-8 (Packard) V-8 Engine, 1917. Creator: Packard Motor Car Company
The Libertys purpose was American mass production of standard units when the U.S. entered World War I. Co-designed in a week in mid-1917 by Jesse Vincent of Packard Motor Car

Junkers Jumo 207 D-V2 In-line 6 Diesel Engine, ca. World War II. Creator: Junkers
Dr. Hugo Junkers started development of his Diesel aircraft engines in a small factory at Dessau, Germany in 1911. His early engines functioned on the two-stroke cycle principle with

Nakajima Mamoru 11, Radial 14 Engine, Circa World War II. Creator: Fuji Koku Keiki
Nakajima provided Japan with its first large radials by building licensed Bristols beginning in the late 1920s, and Gnome-Rhone engines beginning in 1936

Wright Vertical 4, In-line 4 Engine, 1906. Creator: Wright Company
The Wright vertical four-cylinder engine was designed by Orville Wright in 1906. These engines, of which more were built than any other Wright Brothers engine model

Allison V-1710-7 (V-1710-C4), V-12 Engine, 1936. Creator: General Motors
In early 1930, Allison manager N. H. Gilman sketched a design for a 559 kW (750-hp), 12-cylinder engine that would incorporate high-temperature glycol cooling and a turbosupercharger. The U.S

Continental Hyper I-1430-11, Inverted V-12 Engine, 1942
In 1932, the Army contracted with Continental for development of a cylinder with high specific power. Using the resulting Hyper No

Sterling (Sunbeam) Cossack, V-12 Engine, 1917. Creator: Sterling Engine Company
The Sunbeam Motor Car Co. Ltd of Wolverhampton, England began producing successful automobiles in 1910. Applying the expertise of French Chief Engineer Louis Coatalen

Roberts 4X In-line 4 Engine, 1912. Creator: Roberts Motor Company
An important objective of the Roberts Motor Company design was light weight, which was achieved through the extensive use of aluminum and magnesium alloys in the cylinders and crankcase

Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII, V-12 Engine, Circa 1917-1922. Creator: Rolls-Royce
The Eagle was the first production Rolls-Royce aircraft engine to be used in service during World War I. Resulting from a 1914 British Admiralty requirement for an engine of about 186 kw (250 hp)

Clerget 9 A Diesel, Radial 9 Engine, ca. 1928. Creator: Panhard-Levassor
Pierre Clerget was inspired by the Gnome to produce a supposedly improved rotary engine in 1911. It was a 7-cylinder, 11.88 liter (725 cu in) engine rated at 60 kW (80 hp) at 1, 200 rpm

Curtiss Ricardo R-6, In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1921. Creator
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss in his factory at Hammondsport, New York

Curtiss V-4, V-12 Engine, Circa 1915. Creator: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Toward the end of 1915, Curtiss conducted a design study for a large aircraft engine of 224 kW (300 hp) or more. The objective was a power plant for large seaplanes

Curtiss C-4 or D-4, In-line 4 Engine, ca. 1907. Creator
This engine, built by the Glenn H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company of Hammondsport, New York, about 1907 is believed to be a Model C-4 or D-4 engine

Roberts 4X, In-line 4 Engine, 1911. Creator: Roberts Motor Company
The Model 4X engine was built by the Roberts Motor Company of Sandusky, Ohio. An important design objective was light weight

BMW Model IIIA In-line 6 Engine, 1918. Creator: BMW
The Daimler-Benz companys virtual monopoly on the production of aircraft engines in Germany stifled research and development of other engines

Curtiss V-X, V-8 Engine, Circa 1915. Creator: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss in his factory in Hammondsport, New York

Packard B-12 (Model 905), V-12 Engine, Circa 1916. Creator: Packard Motor Car Company
The Model 905 was the second of the early aircraft engine designs of the Packard Motor Car Company, located in Detroit, Michigan

Hitachi Hatsukaze 11, Ha 11 Model 11, Inverted In-line 4 Engine, 1941
The Japanese conglomerate Hitachi manufactured aircraft engines from about 1929 until the end of World War II, with a concentration on low-power seven and nine cylinder radials

Curtiss Chieftain H-1640, Radial 12 Engine, ca. 1928. Creator
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York

Curtiss K-12, V-12 Engine, ca. 1918. Creator: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
In 1916 Curtiss engineer Charles Kirkham began designing an engine to compete with the Wright Corporations Hispano-Suiza. By late 1917, the prototype K-12 (K for Kirkham) was bench tested

Hispano-Suiza 12YCRS V-12 Engine, ca. 1932. Creator: Hispano-Suiza
Marc Birkigt, an inventor of Swiss origin, developed Hispano-Suiza (meaning Spanish-Swiss) engines, and first manufactured them in Barcelona for use in automobiles

Union Type 1-6, In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1917. Creator: Union Gas Engine Company
The Union Gas Engine Company of Oakland, California began producing marine engines in 1885, and started experimental construction of an aircraft engine in 1915

Liberty 12 Model A (Packard), Moss Turbosupercharged, V-12 Engine, October 31, 1918
The Liberty engine was Americas most important contribution to aeronautical technology during World War I. Jesse G. Vincent of Packard and Elbert J

Packard 1A-2775 X-24 Engine, Circa 1927. Creator: Packard Motor Car Company
The Packard Motor Car Company produced the worlds first quantity-production 12-cylinder automobile in in 1916, and belief in that engine carried over to aviation in the following year

Mitsubishi Ha 42 Model 41 Ru (Ha 214 Ru), Radial 18 Engine, ca. World War II
Mitsubishi was the first and largest series producer of Japanese engines during World War II, with a 1937 Pratt & Whitney arrangement possibly contributing to this success

Thomas-Morse Model 8, V-8 Engine, 1917. Creators: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
The Thomas brothers of Upstate New York began experimenting and flying Curtiss-type aircraft in 1908, and developed their own aircraft in the 1909-10 period

Rolls-Royce Condor IA, V-12 Engine, 1921. Creator: Rolls-Royce
Following its success as an automobile manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, Ltd. began design and development of aircraft engines at the request of the British Admiralty at the beginning of World War I

Curtiss Conqueror V-1570-53 (G1V-1570-F), V-12 Engine, ca. 1928
Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York, who built and raced bicycles early in the twentieth century, later raced, designed and built motorcycles and motorcycle engines

Royal Aircraft Factory RAF-1a, V-8 Engine, ca. 1914. Creator: Royal Aircraft Factory
During World War I several types of aircraft engines were designed and developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, a government facility located in Farnborough, England

Maybach In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1916-1917. Creator: Maybach Motorenbau
This World War I engine, built by Germanys Maybach, was of the type that powered the Zeppelin, Schutte-Lanz, and Parseval airships or airplanes such as the Rumpler C4 and C5

Kirkham, Vertically-Opposed 6 Engine, Experimantal, 1929. Creator: Charles B. Kirkham
Charles B. Kirkham of Savona, N.Y. one of the earliest and best known airplane engine designers and builders, originally built motorcycle engines, and did casting and machining for Glenn Curtiss

Packard Model 1A-1551, In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1922. Creator: Packard Motor Car Company
In early 1921, the Navy contracted with the Packard Motor Car Company, to develop the new Model 1A-1551 engine for its proposed ZR-1 airship, later named Shenandoah

Packard 2A-1500, Inverted V-12 Engine, Circa 1925. Creator: Packard Motor Car Company
In 1923, the Packard Motor Car Company began development of a new series of 12-cylinder aircraft engines that would more fully meet the requirements of the Army and Navy

Continental XR-1740-2, Sleeve Valve, Radial 14 Engine, ca. 1941. Creator: Continental
In 1925, Continental, a successful manufacturer of automotive engines, purchased the rights for a Burt-McCollum single-sleeve valve engine design

Wright H-3 V-8 Engine, ca. 1922. Creator: Wright Aeronautical
Famed designer Mark Birkigt was from Switzerland, but his aircraft engines were built elsewhere. Hispano-Suiza engines were built in company factories in France and Spain

Wright Whirlwind R-790-A (J-5) Radial 9 Engine, 1920s. Creator: Wright Aeronautical
The J-5 Whirlwind was a cornerstone aviation technology of the 1920s and 1930s. Charles L. Lawrance began work on the J-series of compact, lightweight, air-cooled radials for the U.S. Navy in 1921

Renault 80 hp, V-8 Engine, ca. 1913. Creator: Renault
The first versions of this engine were built in 1908, and set an 8-hour endurance record in 1910. It continued to be used through World War I, especially in British training planes

Maybach MB IVa, In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1916. Creator: Maybach Motorenbau
Originally the engine building subsidiary of the German Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin G.m.b.H.), Maybach Motorenbau G.m.b.H

Jacobs (Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. ) R-985-AN5, Radial 9 Engine, ca. 1940
The Wasp Jr. R-985 was the third engine type designed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, following the Wasp R-1340 and Hornet R-1690, all of which were nine-cylinder engines

Duesenberg H Direct, V-16 Engine, 1918. Creator: Duesenberg Motors Corporation
Originating in Iowa to build automobiles, the Duesenberg Motors Corporation of Elizabeth, New Jersey was organized in 1917 by German immigrant Fred Duesenberg

Irwin Meteor Model 72, X-4 Radial Engine, ca. 1926. Creator: Irwin Aircraft Company
Beginning around 1922, J.F. Irwins Irwin Aircraft Company of Watsonville, California designed and provided blueprints for small

Curtiss CD-12 Prototype (Serial Number 1) V-12 Engine, Circa1921
The CD-12 development history extended over several years, and involved a number of well regarded figures in the aircraft industry

Union Type 2-6, In-line 6 Engine, ca. 1917. Creator: Union Gas Engine Company
The Union Gas Engine Company (later the Union Diesel Engine Company) of Oakland, California designed this aircraft engine in 1915. In 1917, it was the first to pass the U.S. government 50-hour test

Hall-Scott A-7-A In-line 4 Engine, 1917. Creator: Hall-Scott
The Hall-Scott Motor Car Company, with general offices in San Francisco and factories at Berkeley, California, began specializing in the construction of airplane engines in 1911

Clement V-2 Engine, 1903. Creator: Clement-Bayard
This French engine powered the Santos-Dumont Airship No. 9 in 1903. It performed two tasks: propulsion and the operation of a belt driven blower to pressurize the airships envelope

Stringfellow Steam Engine, 1868. Creator: John Stringfellow
Like the Wright brothers, who followed, John Stringfellow and his associate William Henson are an important link to early aeronautical researchers

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