Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone
| R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Wright R-3350 | |
| Type | Radial engine |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Wright Aeronautical |
| First run | May 1937 |
| Major applications |
Boeing B-29 Superfortress Douglas A-1 Skyraider Lockheed Constellation Douglas DC-7 Lockheed P-2 Neptune |
| Developed from | Wright R-1820 |
The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone was one of the most powerful radial aircraft engines produced in the United States. It was a twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial engine with 18 cylinders. Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on the model. Developed before World War II, the R-3350's design required a long time to mature before finally being used to power the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. After the war, the engine had matured sufficiently to become a major civilian airliner design, notably in its Turbo-Compound forms. The engine is now commonly used on Hawker Sea Fury and Grumman F8F Bearcat Unlimited Class Racers at the Reno Air Races.
In 1927, Wright Aeronautical introduced its famous "Cyclone" engine, which powered a number of designs in the 1930s. After merging with Curtiss to become Curtiss-Wright in 1929, an effort was started to redesign the engine to the 1,000 hp (750 kW) class. The new Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 first ran successfully in 1935, and would become one of the most used aircraft engines in the 1930s and World War II, powering all frontline examples (the -C through -G models) of the B-17 Flying Fortress Allied heavy bomber aircraft to serve in the war, each powerplant assisted by a General Electric-designed turbocharger for maximum power output at high altitudes.
By 1931 Pratt & Whitney had started a development of their equally famous single-row, Wasp nine-cylinder design into a larger and much more powerful fourteen-cylinder, twin-row design - the Twin Wasp — of a nearly identical 30-liter displacement figure, that would easily compete with this larger, single-row Cyclone. In 1935 Wright decided to follow P&W's lead, and started to develop much larger engines based on the mechanics of the Cyclone. The result was two designs with a somewhat shorter stroke, a 14-cylinder design that would evolve into the Twin Cyclone, and a much larger 18-cylinder design that became the R-3350. An even larger twin-row 22-cylinder version, the R-4090, was experimented with as a competitor to the 71.5 litre-displacement four-row, 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major, but was not produced.
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