RAF 3

RAF 3
Type Piston inline aero engine
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Royal Aircraft Factory
First run September 1914
Major applications Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7
Number built 289
Developed from RAF 1
Developed into RAF 4

The RAF 3 was a British liquid-cooled, V-12 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 Armstrong Whitworth and Napier & Son. The RAF 7 was a high compression version of the same engine.[1]

Variants

RAF 3
1914 - Prototype engine, 200 horsepower (150 kW).
RAF 3a
1914 - Main production variant, increased bore, 260 horsepower (194 kW). 29 built by Armstrong Whitworth, 260 built by Napier & Son.
RAF 7
300 horsepower (224 kW) high compression version with high-lift camshafts.

Applications

Specifications (RAF 3a)

Data from Lumsden[2]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also

Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists

References

Notes

  1. Gunston, 1989, p. 156.
  2. Lumsden 2003, p. 223.

Bibliography

  • Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
  • Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.