The Franklin Engine Company was an American manufacturer of aircraft engines. Its designs were used primarily in the civilian market, both in fixed wing and helicopter designs. It was briefly directed towards automobile engines as part of the Tucker Car Corporation, returning to aviation when that company failed. The company was later purchased by the Government of Poland.

History

The firm began as the H. H. Franklin Co. in 1902 in Syracuse, New York, USA, to produce Franklin air-cooled automobiles. Barely surviving bankruptcy in 1933, the company was purchased by a group of ex-employees and renamed Aircooled Motors in 1937. While the company kept the name of "Aircooled Motors," its engines continued to be marketed under the Franklin name. Engineers Carl Doman and Ed Marks kept the company alive through the depression by manufacturing air-cooled truck and industrial engines. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Aircooled Motors was very successful producing helicopter and airplane engines. Several aircraft carried its engines, including the

Aero-Flight Streak The Aero-Flight Streak was an American two-seat light aircraft built in 1946 by Aero-Flight Aircraft Corporation at Buffalo, New York. Advanced for its time, it was of all-metal construction with tricycle undercarriage, and accommodated the pi ...

, Bartlett Zephyr,

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first h ...

, Bellanca Cruisair, Brantly B-1, Goodyear Duck, H-23 Raven, Hiller 360, Piper J-3F Cub, Seibel S-4,

Sikorsky S-52 The Sikorsky S-52 is a utility helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the late 1940s. It was used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.Donald 1997, p. 840. The S-52 was the first US helicopter with all-metal rotor blades. Initia ...

, Stinson Voyager, Taylorcraft 15, Temco TE-1B, and the YT-35 Buckaroo. Aircooled Motors was purchased by Republic Aviation Company in 1945 to produce engines for its

Republic Seabee The Republic RC-3 Seabee is an all-metal amphibious sports aircraft designed by Percival Spencer and manufactured by the Republic Aircraft Corporation. Design and development The RC-3 Seabee was designed by Percival Hopkins "Spence" Spencer ...

light amphibious aircraft. After the war, demand for the engines dropped dramatically and Republic was unsure of the company's future. In 1947 Aircooled Motors was purchased for the price of $1.8 million by the Tucker Car Corporation to produce an engine for the

1948 Tucker Sedan The Tucker 48, commonly referred to as the Tucker Torpedo, was an automobile conceived by Preston Tucker while in Ypsilanti, Michigan and briefly produced in Chicago, Illinois in 1948. Only 51 cars were made including their prototype before the ...

.Egan, Philip S.; Design and Destiny: The Making of the Tucker Automobile; On the Mark Publications; 1989 After purchasing Aircooled Motors, Tucker cancelled all of the company's aircraft contracts so that its resources could be focused on making automotive engines for the Tucker Corporation. This was a significant event, since at the time of Tucker's purchase Aircooled Motors held over 65% of postwar U.S. aviation engine production contracts. For this reason, when the Tucker Car Corporation failed amidst allegations of stock fraud, Aircooled nearly failed with it. Tucker and the Tucker family owned the firm until 1961, when it was sold to Aero Industries, which restored the name Franklin Engine Company. In 1975 the

government of Poland The Government of Poland takes the form of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. However, its form of government has also been iden ...

bought the company and moved it to

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...

, first under the name PZL-Franklin and later PZL-F. The company is now called Franklin Aircraft Engines Sp. z o.o. with the address ul. Chełmińska 208 in 86-300 Grudziądz city in Poland. At Aero Friedrichshafen 2016 the company had new engines on display. The innovations include modifications to the type certificate of the 6A-350; the approval for MOGAS, as well as fuel injection is pending at

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitorin ...

Products

''Note: The engine displacement designations are fictional unless the engine was given a designation by the US military

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Gunston, Bill. (1986). ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines''. Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough. p. 57

External links