The Curtiss O was a water-cooled V-8 aero-engine, which was the basis of the commercially successful Curtiss OX series of engines.

Design and development

In 1909

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early ...

won the inaugural Gordon Bennett Trophy flying a Curtiss racing

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

powered by a V8 engine featuring a cross-flow OHV configuration (2 overhead valves, 1 rocker, 1 push-pull rod per cylinder). At that time most of Curtiss’s competitors were using less-efficient suction intake valves. Curtiss continued the development of their V8 OHV engines with demand for higher power outputs being driven by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

’s requirement for

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

. By 1912 Curtiss V8’s were developing 75 hp at 1,100 rpm and were known as the Model O. The Model O was further developed to achieve 90 hp at 1,200 rpm at which time it was designated as the Curtiss Model OX. Curtiss OX production started in 1913 and it became the first mass produced American aero engine series. The most successful engine in the series was the

Curtiss OX-5 The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, pa ...

which powered many early American aircraft including the

Curtiss Jenny The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for ...

, the standard trainer used by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

forces during

World War One World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Applications

* Curtiss Model E-8-75

Amphibious Aircraft An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft (typically fixed-wing) that can take off and land on both solid ground and water, though amphibious helicopters do exist as well. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes ( flying boats ...

Curtiss Model F The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the United States in the years leading up to World War I. Widely produced, Model Fs saw service with the United States Navy under the designations C-2 through C-5, later r ...

Flying Boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

. 1912 prototypes and 1913 models fitted with Curtiss "O“ engine. * Curtiss Model G

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

Biplane. Two aircraft completed for the

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. 1st aircraft (No.21) fitted with 75 hp Curtiss O engine driving a 3 blade propeller through a chain speed reduction system. 2nd aircraft (No 22) fitted with a 90 hp direct drive Curtiss OX engine.

Specifications

References

{{Curtiss aeroengines O 1910s aircraft piston engines