Wright Whirlwind J-4B, Byrd North Pole Flight, Radial 9 Engine
date: label: Date
content: Circa 1926
name: label: Designer
content: Lawrance Aero Engine Corp
label: Manufacturer
content: Wright Aeronautical
notes: label: Physical Description
content: Type: Radial, 9 cylinders, air cooled
label: Physical Description
content: Power rating: 160 kW (215 hp) at 1,800 rpm
label: Physical Description
content: Displacement: 12.9 L (788 cu in)
label: Physical Description
content: Bore and Stroke: 114 mm (4.5 in.) x 140 mm (5.5 in.)
label: Physical Description
content: Weight: 231 kg (508 lb)
label: Summary
content: Charles Lawrance started his designs for an air-cooled engine in 1915. In 1921, Lawrance designed his first engine for a U.S. Navy contract, which wanted a compact lightweight engine not plagued with water leakage problems. Following a Navy encouraged merger with Wright, the Lawrance engine progressed through design stages, as the Wright Whirlwind J-3, J-4, J-5, and J-6 series. The most famous of these was the J-5, used by Lindbergh.
label: Summary
content: J-4 engines powered such aircraft as the Fairchild FC-1 and FC-2, Fokker Universal, Laird Commercial LC-B200, Stearman C2B and C3B, and Stinson Detroiter SB-1. When introduced in 1925, the J-4 was adopted by the Navy as a stock power plant. A total of 190 J-4 engines were built.
label: Summary
content: In 1926, Admiral Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett made a flight from Spitzbergen, Norway over the North Pole and back. This was the first airplane flight over the Pole, and used the J-4B engine in a Fokker F-VII Tri-motor.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transferred from the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. No known restrictions.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19750207000
objectType: label: Type
content: PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Steel, Paint, Aluminum, Copper, Rubber, Textile, Phenolic, Preservative Coating, Brass
label: Dimensions
content: Other: 52 x 51 x 42 in., 336.6kg (132.1 x 129.5 x 106.7cm, 742lb.)