The Potez 6D is a French six cylinder inverted inline aircraft engine put into production after

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in normal and

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

versions. Unsupercharged, it produced a take-off power of at 2,530 rpm.

Design and development

In the 1930s Potez planned a series of new engines to replace their

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, An ...

-derived

radial engines The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is cal ...

. The

Potez 4D The Potez 4D was a four-cylinder, inverted inline aircraft engine. It was first built shortly before World War II, but did not enter full production until 1949. Like the other D-series engines, the cylinders had a bore of 125 mm (4.9 in ...

, a four-cylinder inverted inline engine ran before World War II but did not reach production until the late 1940s, when it was joined by another inverted inline, the six cylinder 6D, and an eight-cylinder inverted-V, the

Potez 8D The Potez 8D is the largest member of the Potez D series of air-cooled piston aircraft engines which share several common features. It is a supercharged eight cylinder inverted engine with a take-off power of . Design and development In the 1 ...

. The D-series engines had much in common, most obviously sharing pistons and cylinders, with the same stroke, bore and valve gear. The inlines also shared connecting rods and lubrication systems and were offered in normally aspirated or

versions.

Variants

''Data from Jane's All the World's aircraft 1956-57 pp. 430–1.'' ;6D-00: ;6D-02: Similar to 6D-30A without supercharger and 2x Hobson A1.55/j downdraught carburettors - at 2,530 rpm ;6D-30A:

Supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

version with a centrifugal blower (14.0:1 drive ratio) mounted horizontally on top of engine and with

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

, giving a normal power of with for take-off. ;6D-30B: Supercharger drive ratio 15.5:1, for take-off at 2,400 rpm.

Applications

Morane-Saulnier Alcyon The Morane-Saulnier Alcyon (en: Kingfisher) is a two or three-seat basic training monoplane designed and built in France by Morane-Saulnier. Design and development Designed as a basic trainer for the French military the prototype MS.730 first fl ...

- over 200 built *

Nord Noralpha The Nord 1100 Noralpha was a French-built and re-engined Messerschmitt Bf 108 produced by Nord Aviation. Development Construction of the Messerschmitt Bf 108 was transferred to the ''Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord'' ( ...

Nord Norécrin The Nord 1200 Norécrin is a French two or three-seat (later four-seat) cabin monoplane designed and built by Nord Aviation. Development The Norécrin was developed to meet a French ministry of transport sponsored design competition. The Norécri ...

Survivors

* Several Alcyons still fly in France. In 2014 there were 34 on the French civil register.

Specifications (Potez 6D-02)

References