Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-19
BY MAI. GEN. GEORGE OWEN
SQUIER, u. s. A. RETIRED,

At the time this country entered the
war there were being built in tha United
States only four makes of aviation en-
pines that were developed so far as to be
considered of any military value. and
even these were useful only for primary
training
We had no engines at all suitable for
services on the battle front, or e"ca for
the advanced training of pilots.
The largest engine of domestic manu-
facture developed about 220 horsepower
and had not proved satisfactory when
Judged from the standpoint of combat
service requirements. The others
ranged from 80 to 1876 horsepower. It,
therefore. was evident that the exist
ing American engines could be used for
preliminary instruction purposes only
and that their further manufacture
should be limited to the training re-
quirementS.
AS we look back on the record of ac-
compliShments in the problem Of OBJ
tanning large numbers of high-powered
engines for our Army and Navy Air
Services. both in this country and
abroad. it seems to those of us who were
in close contact with the work and the
difficulties more like fairy tale than
a statement of hard facts.
SSlllIanL NndELcE wa
On the face of things it certainly
would seem to be the height OF preSump-
ton to assume that this country could,
following its almost total neglect OF
aviation development in previous years,
have hoped to design, develop and pro-
duce in unprecedented quartltss an &C
ceptable aircraft engine of greater power
than had yet been evolved by any OF
the European nations, even under their
spurs of governmental encouragement
and tremendous war demands
Yet lust that and nothing else was
the only thing to DO, and the story OF
its doing is one of the most brilliant
chapters in the history of our country S
part in the war.
One of the serious mistakes the allies
had fallen into at the time the United
States entered the war was the devel-
opment of multiplicity of types OF
engines and planes which made it i'm
possible to have large number of any
one of these types. AS a further con-
sequence, the trained personnel on the
ground to operate and repair the ma
chimes had grown to such a proportion
that it was estimated that from 80
to so men were required on the ground
to keep each one Of the many types OF
planes in the air on the fighting line.
of trained men per fighting plane could
be reduced by some means 1t would be
hopeless to expect within reasonable
time to put into the air thousands OF
flying planes. because single thousand
planes on this basis would require from
10000 to $4,000 men in attendance.
The experience obtained in getting
two foreign engines into production in
this country and under our manufac-
4Ir0rYnl1lxy N
Strated the futility of attempting any
such solution of our service engine
problem as to eliminate at once its con-
tinued consideration. It was realized
that copies of foreign designs could not
be available in time and m adequate
size or numbers to answer the demand
for an overwhelming air force at the
front American air performance
would have been very small indeed II
limited by such handicap as this.
Wanted Engine of Our Own.
Moreover, in spite of the fact that a
technical commission was at once or
ganized and dispatched to get first
hand information on the front and IN
the aircraft centers of Europe, 1t was
JRtainkable that this country should
sit idly by and wait perhaps months
for the final definite report which
should decide the nature and extent Of
our part in the allied aircraft program.
Since the most successful plans are
designed around specific engines, and
as the engine involves the greatest ex-
penditure of time and effort in develop
ment, il was apparent to few Of us
who were in close contact with the
situation that it would in all likelihood
be possible to design, develop and pro-
duce an entirely nsw American engine,
embodying characteristics which would
render 1t particularly adapted TO manu-
facture under American conditions, in
less time than would be required by the
commission to determine the particular
European engines that offered the best
approximation to the various exacting
requirements Of service and production,
plus the time to get it into production
In this country.
Il was decided, therefore, that our
efforts should be directed along both
these channels simultaneously and in
addition to purchase in Europe what
ever service equipment might be avail
able to tide over the interval while we
were getting into production.
1t Is apparent that the fundamental
unit Of engine design or construction is
the cylinder, and that the evolution OF
engine power rested mainly with the
unit power capacity of that cylinder,
which could be taken as representing
the largest practicable size sanctioned
by the state Of the art at that time.
The cylinder size of inches bore
by inches stroke was selected after
a careful examination of the perform
ancs of both American and European
engines of the then modern design, as
being the largest that could be relied
upon TO give satisfactory service. While
f0iY lIty m fTnHIIrp l.
mately % horsepower this cylinder was
developed so as TO yield more than &C
horsepower, as the result of somewhat
increasing the sped and altering the
functioning characteristics. The stand
ard units of cylinders were TO b. used
in engines having four or more cylinders
each, and having outputs up to 1885,
horsepower for the IL cylinders.
Was Highly Standardized.
Thus, for the first time in the history
of the aeronautic engine for military
uses, a truly comprehensive design plar
was evolved which in a simple anc
direct manner provided for the produc-
ton of whole line of engines of wide
power capacities. but composed Of unit'
that were highly standardized anC
therefore could be really manufactured
instead of being merely built. This wa.
the only way In which TINS countr!
could meet the requirements of thi
most vital part of the program.
It must not be thought however, tina
such a revolutionary decision was cas-.
to make, or adhere to when made, II
the face Of all kinds of adverse criti
cism, some Of which seemed TO b.
based upon adequate grounds. The de
velopment of new types Of aircraft en-
gines heretofore had been such time
consuming matter that it was generally
regarded as a thing 10 be avoided
any eady-developed engine could b.
found anywhere which would at all an
swer the requirements.
Thus the numerical preponderanc,
of opinion was against the poSSibilit.
of a standardized American engine
haiKnnL dagiuInad danalnEAad and InrndiinA.