Wright R-1820
The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 was an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used on 1930s through 1950s aircraft.
Design and development
The R-1820 Cyclone 9 represented a further development of the Wright P-2 engine dating back to 1925. Featuring a greater displacement and a host of improvements, the R-1820 entered production in 1931. The engine remained in production well into the 1950s.
The R-1820 was built under license by Lycoming, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and also, during World War II, by the Studebaker Corporation. The Soviet Union had purchased a license for the design, and the Shvetsov OKB was formed to produce the engine as the M-25. In Spain the R-1820 was license-built as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V.[1]
The R-1820 was at the heart of many famous aircraft including the early Douglas airliners (prototype DC-1, the DC-2, earliest civilian versions of the DC-3, and the limited-production DC-5), B-17 Flying Fortress, and SBD Dauntless bombers, the early versions of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter (as M-25), and the Piasecki H-21 helicopter.
The R-1820 also found limited use in armored vehicles in two forms. The G-200 was a nine-cylinder gas-burning radial that developed 900 hp (670 kW) @ 2,300 rpm and powered the M6 Heavy Tank. The Wright RD-1820 was converted to a diesel by Caterpillar Inc. as the D-200 and produced 450 hp (340 kW) @ 2,000 rpm in the M4A6 Sherman.
Variants
Unit numbers ending in/with W indicate engines fitted with water-methanol emergency power boost system.
- R-1820-04
- 700 hp (522 kW)
- R-1820-1
- 575 hp (429 kW)
- R-1820-4
- 770 hp (574 kW)
- R-1820-19
- 675 hp (503 kW)
- R-1820-22
- 950 hp (708 kW)
- R-1820-25
- 675 hp (503 kW) , 750 hp (559 kW), 775 hp (578 kW)
- R-1820-32
- 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- XR-1820-32
- 800 hp (596 kW)
- R-1820-33
- 775 hp (578 kW)
- R-1820-34
- 940 hp (701 kW) , 950 hp (708 kW)
- R-1820-34A
- 1,200 hp (895 kW)
- R-1820-40
- 1,100 hp (820 kW), 1,200 hp (895 kW)
- R-1820-41
- 850 hp (634 kW)
- R-1820-45
- 800 hp (596 kW) , 930 hp (694 kW)
- R-1820-50
- 850 hp (634 kW)
- R-1820-52
- 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- R-1820-53
- 930 hp (694 kW), 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- R-1820-56
- 1,200 hp (895 kW), 1,350 hp (1,007 kW)
- R-1820-57
- 1,060 hp (790 kW)
- R-1820-60
- 1,200 hp (895 kW)
- R-1820-62
- 1,350 hp (1,007 kW)
- R-1820-66
- 1,200 hp (895 kW), 1,350 hp (1,007 kW)
- R-1820-72W
- 1,350 hp (1,007 kW) , 1,425 hp (1,063 kW)
- R-1820-74W
- 1,500 hp (1,118 kW)
- R-1820-76A,B,C,D
- 1,425 hp (1,063 kW)
- R-1820-78
- 700 hp (522 kW)
- R-1820-80
- 700 hp (522 kW), 1,535 hp (1,145 kW)
- R-1820-82WA
- 1,525 hp (1,137 kW)
- R-1820-86
- 1,425 hp (1,063 kW)
- R-1820-97
- 1,200 hp (895 kW), Fitted with turbosupercharger
- R-1820-103
- 1,425 hp (1,063 kW)
- SGR-1820-F3
- 710 hp (529 kW) , 720 hp (537 kW)
- SGR-1820-F2
- 720 hp (537 kW)
- R-1820-F53
- 770 hp (574 kW)
- R-1820-F56
- 790 hp (589 kW)
- GR-1820-G2
- 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- R-1820-G3
- 840 hp (626 kW)
- R-1820-G5
- 950 hp (708 kW)
- R-1820-G101
- 1,100 hp (820 kW)
- R-1820-G102
- 775 hp (578 kW)
- GR-1820-G102A
- 1,100 hp (820 kW)
- R-1820-G102A
- 1,100 hp (820 kW)
- R-1820-G102A
- 1,100 hp (820 kW)
- R-1820-G202A
- 1,200 hp (895 kW)
- R-1820-G103
- 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- R-1820-G105
- 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- R-1820-G205A
- 1,200 hp (895 kW)
- Hispano-Suiza 9V[2]
- Licence built R-1820
- Hispano-Suiza 9Vbr[2]
- variant of the 9V
- Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs[2]
- variant of the 9V
- Hispano-Suiza 9Vd[2]
- variant of the 9V
Applications
Vehicles
Engines on display
Preserved Wright R-1820 engines are on display at the following museums:
Specifications (GR-1820-G2)
Data from [3]
General characteristics
- Type: Nine-cylinder single-row supercharged air-cooled radial engine
- Bore: 6.125 in (155.6 mm)
- Stroke: 6.875 in (174 mm)
- Displacement: 1,823 in³ (29.88 L)
- Length: 47.76 in (1,213 mm)
- Diameter: 54.25 in (1,378 mm)
- Dry weight: 1,184 lb (537 kg)
Components
Performance
See also
- Related development
- Comparable engines
- Related lists
References
- Bridgman, L, (ed.) (1998) Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7
- Eden, Paul & Soph Moeng, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Amber Books Ltd. Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London, NI 9PF, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1), 1152 pp.
- Lage, Manual (2004). Hispano Suiza in Aeronautics. Warrendale, USA: SAE International. ISBN 0-7680-0997-0.
- "Aircraft Engines in Armored Vehicles". http://www.enginehistory.org/featured_engines.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
External links
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