Wright Cyclone series explained

Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Background

The Wright Aeronautical Corporation was formed in 1919, initially to develop liquid-cooled Hispano-Suiza V8 engines under license. In 1923 the Wright purchased the Lawrance Aero Engine Company, and with the purchase Charles Lawrance came to Wright as the Vice-President. Later that year the US Navy awarded Wright a contract to develop two new air-cooled radial engines. The first, called the P-1, was a 9-cylinder single row design of displacement that was derived from an earlier Lawrence design, it produced . The second, the P-2, had the same displacement as the P-1, but was an improved design that produced . Neither engine entered production, with the Navy selecting the superior Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp, so in 1926 work started on the improved design, which became the R-1750 Cyclone.

Cyclone family

R-1300 Cyclone 7 (1942)

• 7-cylinder single row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:
• Power output:

R-1750 Cyclone (1926)

• 9-cylinder single row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:
• Power output:

R-1820 Cyclone (1932)

• 9-cylinder single row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:
• Power output:

R-2600 Cyclone 14 (Twin Cyclone) (1935)

• 14-cylinder two row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:
• Power output:

R-3350 Cyclone 18 (Duplex Cyclone) (1937)

• 18-cylinder two row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:
• Power output:

R-4090 Cyclone 22

• 22-cylinder two row air cooled radial
• Bore x stroke:
• Displacement:

Note: the designations refer to the engine configurations as follows: "R" = Radial, followed by the approximate displacement in cubic inches.

See also

• Pratt & Whitney Wasp series – contemporary competing line of engines
• Wright Whirlwind series – contemporary smaller displacement line of engines

References

Bibliography

• Book: Gunston, Bill . Bill Gunston . 1986 . World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines . Wellingborough, Northamptonshire . Patrick Stephens Limited . 0-85059-717-X .
• Book: Smith, Herschel . 1986 . Aircraft Piston Engines: From the Manly Balzer to the Continental Tiara . Corrected . Manhattan, Kansas . Sunflower University Press . 0-07-058472-9.
• Book: White, Graham . 1995 . Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II . Warrendale, Pennsylvania . Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc . 1-56091-655-9 .
• Book: White, Graham . 2006 . R-4360: Pratt & Whitney's Major Miracle . North Branch, Minnesota . Specialty Press . 978-1-58007-097-3 .