The Wright R-1300 Cyclone 7 is an American air-cooled seven-cylinder supercharged radial aircraft engine produced by Curtiss-Wright.[1]
The R-1300 is basically a single row Wright R-2600. The engine was mass-produced but not widely used. Engineering began in 1942 but the first flight of an R-1300 did not take place until 1949. The engine was produced under license by Kaiser-Frazer and later by AVCO Lycoming.[2]
The engine was used in combat - the R-1300-1A and -1B in the A model North American T-28 Trojan and the R-1300-3, -3A, -3C and -3D in the Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw. The R-1300-1B was used to power the Ayres Thrush. The R-1300-4 and -4A were used in the N class blimp; 50 of these variants were produced by AVCO.
Early-production engines had vibration problems, an improved lateral dampener in the crank brought about most of the model changes.