Wright J65

J65
Sectioned Wright J65
Type Turbojet
Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright
First run 1 October 1948
Major applications A-4 Skyhawk
Martin B-57 Canberra
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
Developed from Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire

The Wright J65 was an axial-flow turbojet engine produced by Curtiss-Wright under license from Armstrong Siddeley. A development of the Sapphire, the J65 powered a number of US designs.

Design and development

Curtiss-Wright purchased a license for the Sapphire in 1950, with plans to have the production lines running in 1951. However a series of delays due to design changes by Curtiss-Wright, such as substituting the Sapphire's machined mid-section solid forged diffuser frame with a fabricated one of welded nodular iron,[1] led to its service introduction slipping a full two years, by which point the Pratt & Whitney J57 was on the market and took many of the J65's potential sales. Nevertheless, once it entered production it proved to be as good as the British versions, and along with the Martin B-57, its original target, the J65 went on to power versions of the North American FJ Fury, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, and the two Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter prototypes.

A 6,500-10,380ehp turboprop version of the J65 (Sapphire) was developed by Curtiss-Wright as the Wright T49, and a commercial derivative, the TP51A2 was also designed. The T49 first ran in December 1952 at 8,000 shp, followed by flight testing in a XB-47D test bed from 26 August 1955. By this time however, the market for the engine had vanished.[2]

Applications

Specifications (J65-B)

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also

Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ "World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines - 5th edition" by Bill Gunston, Sutton Publishing, 2006, p.249
  2. ↑ "World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines - 5th edition" by Bill Gunston, Sutton Publishing, 2006, p.249

External links

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