Sujet

DePalma, V-4 Engine, ca. 1918. Creator: DePalma Manufacturing Company.

Légende

C.H. Willis, Henry Ford’s Chief Engineer, who also led the DePalma Manufacturing Company, worked with famous inventor and General Motors executive Charles F. Kettering to develop this engine under an Army contract for the Kettering Bug, a flying bomb. This predecessor for later cruise missiles used a two-cycle engine because of its high power-to-weight ratio, simplicity of construction, and low cost. With twice the explosions, a two-cycle engine can produce higher power than a four-cycle engine, but does not throttle well, which was not important for this application. The Bug was to cost about $575 in large quantities, and have a range of fifty miles. Development of the aircraft was begun in 1918; but did not go into production because of largely unsuccessful flight tests in 1918 and 1919. The engine also powered Dayton-Wright aircraft such as the T-4 Messenger, another prototype aircraft that lost favor following World War I.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art

Notre référence

HRM21A87_499

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

90,5Mo (2,6Mo) / 55,0cm x 41,2cm / 6496 x 4872 (300dpi)

Mots clés

transport transportation technology education country flight color aircraft war location century engine aviation first world war concept air Transport United States of America Colour Smithsonian Institution World War I WWI rotary engine World War One National Air and Space Museum Educational Institution 1910s 20th century air and space museum American America USA 1st World War propulsion reciprocating motion scientific institution WW1 object united states Wills Willis Heritage Art NASM PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary Steel Paint Aluminum Preservative coating DePalma Manufacturing Company DePalma Childe Harold Wills Childe Harold C.H. C.H. Willis C.Harold C.Harold Willis