POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Renault 80 hp WWI aero engine made by Wolseley Motors, Birmingham, England, 1915

Renault 80 hp WWI aero engine made by Wolseley Motors, Birmingham, England, 1915

Object No. B2540

This French WWI Renault A52, 80 hp aero engine was made under licence in England in 1915 by Wolseley Motors Ltd of Birmingham. The 90 degree V8 engine became an early standard for aviation use alongside the other standards, the rotary radial, the radial and the upright inline four. The Moteurs Louis Renault Cie chose the 90 degree V8 as their preferred standard and improved on this basis with continual modifications and upgrading. Although the engines were unspectacular performers they were reliable. As one of the earliest mass producers of aero engines, the Moteurs Louis Renault Cie had its products copied by others. Most notable amongst the aero engines that used the Renault V8 as the basis was the Royal Aircraft Factory type 1A, better known as the RAF1A. Produced in 1913 it used larger cylinders than the Renault and with other modifications it produced 92hp at 1,600 rpm. The RAF1B, introduced in 1915, was a larger version again giving 115hp at 1,800 rpm. By the production of the RAF1E the engine was producing 150hp. The Renault V8 and the RAF V8 were produced in large numbers and used in a variety of aircraft during World War I. During World War 1 some automobile makers turned their production facilities over to the licence manufacture of aero engines. Automobile manufacturers of the Renault and RAF1A and B engines include Wolseley, Rolls-Royce, Brazil Straker, Standard, Star, Swift, Daimler, Austin, Lanchester and Siddeley-Deasy. The technology of aero engine development and production transferred to the motorcar industry thereby. This aero engine is part of the Museum's Barraclough Collection. Sir Henry Barraclough was Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sydney and was interested in military engineering. He made trips to Europe to acquire stationary engines for the University, and several rare and significant examples have been preserved by the Museum since they became outdated for teaching purposes. During World War I Barraclough supervised a large contingent of Australian ammunition workers in Britain, and at the end of the war he had the foresight to acquire a group of aero engines made in several countries that had been parties to the conflict. This group, which includes this Renault engine, was later donated to the Museum and is significant as a record of the diversity of engine designs in the early days of powered flight.

Loading...

Summary

Object Statement

Aircraft engine, Renault A52, WWI, upright V8, air cooled, eight cylinders, 85 hp, 1800 rpm, steel/cast iron, engine No.2014, made by Wolseley Motors Ltd, Birmingham, England, 1915

Physical Description

Aircraft engine, Renault A52, WWI, upright V8, air cooled, eight cylinders, 85 hp, 1800 rpm, steel/cast iron, engine No.2014, made by Wolseley Motors Ltd, Birmingham, England, 1915 Eight cylinder upright 90-degree Vee air-cooled poppet valve engine with 105mm x 130mm (4.13 inches x 5.12 inches) bore and stroke giving a capacity of 548.9 cu. in. Compression ratio: 4.16:1, spur geared propeller drive at 0.5:1, right hand pusher type (fitted with cooling fan). 'F' head arrangement for valves ie overhead exhaust, side inlet. This aero engine is an eight-cylinder, 90 degree, V8, air-cooled radial engine where the propeller was driven at half engine speed from an extension to the camshaft. The cylinders are made from cast iron with cooling fins cast into the body. The cylinder head is separate from the cylinder and the two are bolted to the crankcase by long bolts engaging a cruciform yoke at the top of the cylinder head. The pistons are also cast iron. The intake and exhaust poppet valves are located laterally to the cylinders, on the inner side. The intake valve was directly actuated from the cam shaft by a push rod, while the exhaust valve was actuated via a rocker arm. Cooling air was supplied from a centrifugal blower mounted at the rear of the engine. The single magneto is a Bosch 'shield' type which produces four sparks per revolution of the cam shaft which was driven at engine speed. Fuel was supplied through a Zenith 42 RA carburettor.The engine operated on the four-stroke cycle with cylinder firing in the order 1-4-2-3 for each of the four cylinders in one line. Speed is controlled through a throttle valve in the carburettor. Specifications Height: 760 mm Length: 1140 mm Width: 880 mm Cylinder diameter: 105 mm Piston stroke: 130 mm Weight: 210 kg Compression ratio: 4.16:1

PRODUCTION

Notes

One of 304 Renault type WS, 80 hp, 8-cylinder Vee engines manufactured under licence by Wolseley Motors Ltd. of Birmingham, England from August 1914 until December 1918. The addition of the cooling fan identifies this engine as a 'pusher' type having the propeller at the rear. This type was typically fitted to the Maurice Farman 'Longhorn' and 'Shorthorn' training aircraft. The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Ltd. began the design and manufacture of aero engines in 1907. Their first product was a 30 hp 4 cylinder in-line engine, completed in 1908 but proved to be underpowered. The next product was a water-cooled 8 cylinder 90 degree Vee engine rated at 50 hp with a geared propeller drive. There is some indication that an air cooled version may have been produced. During the First World War the Wolseley Motors Ltd, as it had become, manufactured under licence several aero engines; the Renault, the Hispano-Suiza and the air cooled engines designed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. These latter engines owed aspects of their design on the 80 hp Renault V8. At the end of the First World War the production of aero engines by Wolseley ceased. However, in 1931, when owned by Sir William Morris (Bart.), Wolseley Motors (1927) Ltd. initiated a subsidiary company, Wolseley Aero Engines Ltd, which began the design and production of small radial aero engines. This company was registered in 1935. In 1942 after organisational name changes the 'Aero' name was dropped leaving Nuffield Mechanisations Ltd. The Renault car company completed its first aero engine, an air-cooled 90 degree V8, in 1908. This first engine produced 35 hp at 1,400 rpm. The following year they introduced their uprated version which gave 55 hp at 1,600 rpm. They continued to uprate the engine until it was producing 70 hp and then 80 hp. Although the engines were heavy and required overhauls every 50-70 hours they were very reliable and many were produced in France and under licence in England. They also formed the basis for the Royal Aircraft Factory engine, the RAF.1A

HISTORY

Notes

The engine serial number A52/2014 was produced in 1915 at the Wolseley Motors Ltd factory at Birmingham. Its history of use is unknown at this stage but post World War 1 it was acquired by Sir Henry Barraclough, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sydney, along with other surplus aero engines from the English Ministry of Munitions to serve as a teaching collection for the School of mechanical engineering at the University. In the 1940s, as space at the University was required for the training of military engineers, the collection of aero engines was delivered to the Museum on loan. In 1983 this loan was converted to a donation by the University of Sydney.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of the University of Sydney, 1983

Acquisition Date

16 August 1983

Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.

Image Licensing Enquiry

Object Enquiry