Curtiss Chieftain H-1640, Radial 12 Engine
date: label: Date
content: Circa 1928
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
notes: label: Physical Description
content: Type: Reciprocating, 12 cylinders, 2 rows, radial, air cooled
label: Physical Description
content: Power rating: 447 kW (600 hp) at 2,200 rpm
label: Physical Description
content: Displacement: 26.9 L (1,640.1 cu in)
label: Physical Description
content: Bore and Stroke: 143 mm (5.625 in.) x 140 mm (5.5 in.)
label: Physical Description
content: Weight: 415 kg (915 lb)
label: Summary
content: Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York. Early Curtiss engines were designed to power motorcycles. In 1904 a two-cylinder, V-type motorcycle engine, believed to be the first Curtiss aircraft engine, was modified to power Capt. Thomas S. Baldwin's California Arrow, a small dirigible.
label: Summary
content: In 1926, Curtiss began the design of a 12-cylinder, two-row engine, the H-1640, that it hoped would surpass the performance of Pratt & Whitney's Wasp engine while having a considerably smaller frontal area. It had cylinders of the second row directly behind those of the first row, and the valves were operated by an overhead camshaft for each pair of cylinders. The H-1640 was certificated on September 13, 1928. The H-1640 powered the Curtiss P-11, Thomas-Morse XP-13, and Curtiss XP-14 aircraft. However, partly because of its extremely small diameter, this engine was not very successful.
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. Navy
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19710917000
objectType: label: Type
content: PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Dimensions
content: Other: 45 5/16 x 51 11/16 x 51 x 65 x 55in. (115.1 x 131.3 x 129.5 x 165.1 x 139.7cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Approximate (On stand): 638.7kg (1408lb.)