Lawrance J-1

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The Lawrance J-1 was an engine developed by Charles Lanier Lawrance and used in American aircraft in the early 1920s. It was a 9 cylinder, air-cooled radial design.

Contents 1 Development 2 Aircraft usage 3 Specifications (J-1) 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Development

During World War I the Lawrance Aero Engine Company of New York City produced the crude opposed twins that powered the Penguin trainers, and the Lawrance L-1 60 hp Y-type radial^[1].

After the end of World War I, the Lawrance engineers worked with both the Army and the Navy in developing their L-1 onto a nine-cylinder radial engine, which became the 200 hp Model J-1. It was the best American air-cooled engine at the time and passed its 50-hour test in 1922^[1].

The U.S. Navy badly needed light, reliable engines for its carrierborne aircraft. As a means of pressuring Wright and other companies into developing radial engines, it gave a contract to Lawrance for 200^[2] of the J-1 radial and ceased buying the liquid-cooled Wright-Hispano engines^[1]. At the urging of the Army and Navy the Wright Aeronautical Corporation bought the Lawrance Company, and subsequent engines were known as Wright Radials. The Wright Whirlwind had essentially the same lower end as the J-1^[2].

[edit] Aircraft usage

• Naval Aircraft Factory TS-1
• Huff-Daland TA-2 trainer prototype - one example only re-engined
• Huff-Daland TA-5 trainer prototype
• Huff-Daland TA-6 trainer prototype
• Huff-Daland HN-2 naval trainer

[edit] Specifications (J-1)

_{Data from: "A History of Aircraft Piston Engines" by Herschel Smith, (Sunflower University Press Manhattan, Kansas, 1981, ISBN 0-89745-079-5), 255pp.}

General characteristics

• Type: 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
• Bore: 4.5 in (114 mm)
• Stroke: 5.5 in (144 mm)
• Displacement: 787 in³ (12.9 L)
• Dry weight: 476 lb (216 kg)

Components

• Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

• Power output: 200 hp (150 kW)
• Power-to-weight ratio: 1:2.38

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Wright J-5 "Whirlwind" (PDF), by Kimble D. McCutcheon, from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS), describes how the Lawrance J-1 led to the Wright Whirlwind engine series.
• Part 2 of "Air-Cooled Aircraft Engine Cylinders", by George Genevro, also from AEHS, mentions how the Lawrance J-1 influenced the development of air-cooled aircraft engines.
• Several photos of a Lawrance J-1 at the New England Air Museum (from this AEHS page): [1], [2], [3], [4].

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