SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT Volume 1 Number 3 NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM ...

124 Pages·2006·3.5 MB·English

SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT
Volume 1 Number 3
£
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Grover C. Loening and Smithsonian specimen Loening OA-1A Amphibian "San
Francisco" of 1926, powered by inverted L-12 Liberty Engine. Photo taken in 1967.
SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT
VOLUME 1 • NUMBER 3
THE LIBERTY ENGINE
1918-1942
PHILIP S. DICKEY III
Lieutenant Colonelj United States Air Force (Retired*)
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS • NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
WASHINGTON, D.C. • 1968
Second Printing, 1970
Third Printing, 1973
Fourth Printing, 1977
Fifth Printing, 1978
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price
Stock Number 047-005-00003-5
Contents
Page
FOREWORD vn
PREFACE ix
ANTE BELLUM 1
MISSIONS AND COMMISSIONS 5
BIRTH OF A CONCEPT 7
To DESIGN AN ENGINE 10
THE ENGINES 19
GROUND TESTS 33
FLIGHT TESTS 42
THE CRITICS 45
ORGANIZATION FOR PRODUCTION 55
THE PRODUCERS 61
THE LIBERTY GOES TO WAR 68
POST BELLUM 73
APPENDIX 83
1. Organization for Production 84
2. Production Summary 91
3. Statistical Charts 100
BIBLIOGRAPHY 109

Foreword
In this third number of the Smithsonian Annals of Flight, Philip S. Dickey
tells the history of America's remarkable contribution to early aviation,
the Liberty engine, the original model of which is now in the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
In delineating the history of the engine from its brilliant conception
through its role in World War I to its final production and use in World
War II and thereafter, the author draws on a wealth of information con
tained in letters, memoranda, reports, and personal accounts, most of
which have hitherto been unpublished. His accounts are reinforced by
statistical tables, charts, detailed photographs, specifications and details
of the engine's performance.
S. PAUL JOHNSTON, Director
National Air and Space Museum
2 January 1968
Vll