Evening star., 1940-11-03
Lack Of Engines Dims
Hopes Of Speeding
Planes 10 Britain
Production Will Not Reach
2,700 Motors q Month
Until December
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.


10000 additional American bonn
bardment airplanes for Great
Britain, in addition to the $4,000
warplanes already on order In this
country for the British Royal Air
Force. does not take into conSidera-
ton the limitations of aircraft en-
gine production, in the opinion of
dustry, who pointed out that pro-
duction of types suitable for COM
bat aircraft during the 1941 and
1912 fiscal years is expected to total
less than $4,000 engines.
1t is assumed that both two and
four engined bombers are contem-
plated for Britain and. even with
out indispensable replacements, an
average of three engines per air.
plane is not regarded as too high.
This would mean a minimum of
$4,000 engines for the 10000 bonn
bers and at least $4,000 more en-
gines for the $4,000 warplanes now
on order. This represents a total
of $4,000 engines for the British
orders alone
But the United States military
services also have aircraft on or
der. They have contracts calling
for $4,000 airplanes by April /, 1912
Many of these are four-engined
types and probably the 10000 air.
craft will require at least $4,000
engines, disregarding spares.
Output 2,700 a Month.
The total American British en-
gine requirements for the total of
$4,000 airplanes due for delivery by
the spring of 1912, therefore,
amount to at least $4,000 engines.
and the addition of 10000 more
British bombers might well bring
the total engine requirements to
100000 engines.
The aircraft engine manufactur-
ing industry is claimed to be the
faStest-growing industry in America
today. Yet its total production of
the largest-size aircraft engines, re-
quired for combat aircraft, during
the last month of this year. Deem
ber, Is expected to be only about
2,700 engines. BY early next sum-
mer, despite plant expansion pro-
grams on heroic scale, the produc-
ton of engines of warplane sizes is
expected to reach a level of only
about $500 to $500 per month.
At least year is expected to
elapse before production in the new
Ford Motor Co. and Packard Motor
Co. aircraft engine factories can be-
gin. No important production from
these factories is expected before the
end of the 1912 fiscal year.
Ford Difficulty Recalled.
The difficulty of setting up new
aircraft engine factories and putting
them into production is illustrated
by the Ford Motor Co. situation On
August 81, United Aircraft Corp
announced that license agreement
had been offered to the Ford Motor
Co. for production of the Pratt and
Whitney Double Wasp engine. Soon
afterward the War Department an
nounced that it had arranged with
the Ford Motor Co. for the manu-
facture of $500 engines of the 1000
horsepower Double Wasp type.
Last month the Ford Motor Co.
broke ground at Detroit for an
s11 100000 plant to manufacture
these engines. The new plant, to
provide about 100000 square feet of
space, will cost about 81 900 900 and
the remaining $1,000 900 will go into
the machinery and tools, virtually
all of which must be built from
scratch, since automobile engine
facilities are not suitable for the big
aircraft engines, with their better
materials and higher-precision ma
Ginning.
In an interview, Charles E. Soren-
sen, general manager of the Ford
Motor Co., was quoted as saying that
the Ford company would not at
tempt to introduce any improve
ments of its own into the engine but
would be satisfied If 1t could build
a sufficiently good copy to match the
original. AS to the starting of
production, Mr.. Sorensen said that
the Ford Motor Co. has given itself
a year in which to turn out its first
production engine but this estimate
can be improved.
Packard to Build 5000.
The Packard Motor Co. is prepar-
ing to build 5000 British Rolls Royce
Merlin engines at Detroit. These
are 12-cylinder milne, liquid cooled
engines of a type more closely re-
sembling automobile engines than
the Wasps Ford is preparing to
build. Packard is expected to build
5000 engines for England and the
remaining 5000 will go to the United
States military services. Production
may begin late in 1941.
Pratt & Whitney and Wright
Aeronautical, the two leading manu-
facturers of high-powered air cooled
aviation engines-the only producers
of these engines in warplane sizes
turned out about l 400 engines dur
ing September, according to re-
port by the Aeronautical Chamber
of Commerce. Present schedules call
for a step-up in output of these two
plants to total of 2,700 engines per
month by the middle of 1941.
Pratt & Whitney has con-
tracted to supply the Government
with 1900 engines during the 1941
and 1912 fiscal years and now is
constructing 100000 square feet of
new factory space adjoining its
plant at East Hartford, Conn.
Pratt & Whitney is one of the
few aviation plants which has
reached full-time production
schedule. 1t is working three eight
hour shifts seven days a week and
Is said to be well ahead of its cur
rent production schedules.
The company now holds contracts
q