Wright T-3 Tornado Explained

The Wright T-3 Tornado, also given the USAF designation Wright V-1950 was an American liquid-cooled aircraft piston engine, designed in the early 1920s.[1]

Development

The T-3 was the third in the line of 'T' (Tornado) series engines developed by Wright Aeronautical on the lines of the Wright-Hisso engines produced during the First World War using monobloc cylinder blocks and gear driven overhead camshafts. The T-1 of 1921 had a power output of 500hp, and went into production as the T-2 in 1922 with an increase in power to 525hp. The T-3 and T-3A appeared from 1923 producing 575hp with the final development, the T-4, producing 675hp by December of that year. Wright attempted to build a racing version of the T rated at 700hp to rival the Curtiss D-12, but this was not pursued.[2]

Applications

References

Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Notes and References

    1. https://web.archive.org/web/20130404155228/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=866 USAF Museum - Wright T-3 factsheet
    2. Gunston 1989, p. 179.