Gnome-Rhône 14N Explained

The Gnome-Rhône 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône just before the start of World War II. A development of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and even one German aircraft.

Design and development

The 14K's reliability was poor, so Gnome-Rhône carried out major redesign, using different materials for the pistons and valves, and enlarging the cooling fins to increase surface area by 39%.

The 14N was introduced in 1937 and was quickly installed on several aircraft models. In 1939, minor improvements allowed Gnome-Rhône to increase the compression ratio from 6.1:1 to 6.8:1, which increased power.

The 14N was further developed into the Gnome-Rhône 14R featuring a 2-stage supercharger, but this type was not widely used until after World War II as production of improved engines was restricted by the armistice with Germany.

Variants

Data from:Aircraft engines of the World 1945,^[1] Aircraft engines of the World 1946^[2]

14N-2: Left hand (LH) rotation,
14N-3: Right hand (RH) rotation version of N-2
14N-10: LH rotation,
14N-11: RH rotation version of N-10
14N-16: LH rotation,
14N-17: RH rotation version of N-16
14N-20: LH rotation,
14N-21: RH rotation version of N-20
14N-44: LH rotation,
14N-45: RH rotation version of N-44
14N-48: LH rotation,
14N-49: RH rotation version of N-48
14N-50: LH rotation,
14N-54: LH rotation,
14N-55: RH rotation version of N-54
14N-58: LH rotation,
14N-59: RH rotation version of N-58

References

Bibliography

Danel, Raymond and Cuny, Jean. L'aviation française de bombardement et de renseignement 1918-1940 Docavia n°12, Editions Larivière

Notes and References

Book: Wilkinson, Paul H. . Aircraft engines of the World 1945 . 1945 . Paul H. Wilkinson . -New York . 3rd. 235.
Book: Wilkinson, Paul H. . Aircraft engines of the World 1946 . 1946 . Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. . London . 4th.