Sunbeam, Wolverhampton, England, started to build aircraft engines in 1912.

Louis Coatalen Louis Hervé Coatalen (11 September 1879 – 23 May 1962) was an automobile engineer and racing driver born in Brittany who spent much of his adult life in Britain and took British nationality. He was a pioneer of the design and development of inte ...

joined Sunbeam as chief engineer in 1909, having previously been Chief Engineer at the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

company works in Coventry. The company quickly became one of the UK's leading engine manufacturers and even designed an aircraft of its own. Sunbeam discontinued the production of aircraft engines after Coatalen left the company in the 1930s.

Crusader engine

In the autumn of 1912, Coatalen designed a V8 engine, which delivered 120 hp at 2500 rpm. It was called the Crusader and was announced in the British aviation press in March 1913. Aircraft manufacturers welcomed this, as no really suitable British engines were available at the time. The company procured a French Farman biplane in which to test the new engine, and also hired a full-time test pilot for the project. This was John Alcock, who later became well known for his famous non-stop Atlantic flight with Arthur Brown. The test flights began in the middle of October 1913, and took place at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

. In December of that year, the aircraft began a long period of intensive flight tests, which ranged over most of southern England and continued until the outbreak of War in 1914.

Zulu engine

The Zulu was developed during 1915. It was identical to the Crusader, except that the bore was increased from 90 mm to 100 mm and the reduction gear ratio was changed, allowing the engine to develop 160 hp at 2000 rpm. The Zulu engine was used in some

Coastal Airship __NOTOC__ The Coastal Class (often known as the C-Class or simply the 'Coastals') were a class of non-rigid airship or "blimp" used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during World War I. The C-class blimp operated by the United States Navy ...

Mohawk engine

Coatalen's next engine was an enlarged Crusader and was called the Mohawk. The Mohawk was a V12, side-valve engine, and (like the Crusader) was initially built with an 80 mm bore, which was soon increased to 90 mm. With its initial bore it developed 200 hp, when enlarged to 90 mm, it developed 225 hp and became known as the Sunbeam 225. Short seaplanes using this engine were often called "225s" because of this. The engine had two poppet side valves per cylinder, was water-cooled, weighed 905 lb dry, had four

Claudel-Hobson Claudel-Hobson was a series of British carburettors manufactured by H. M. Hobson Ltd. Introduced in 1908, they were widely used on British car and aircraft engines in the early 20th century. Applications included Sunbeam automobiles as well as ...

carburettors, and two ignition magnetos.

Gurkha engine

The Gurkha was developed as a replacement for the Mohawk and was of identical design, except that the bore was increased from to and the reduction gearing was reduced from 2:1 to 1.86:1. This allowed the engine to develop 240 hp at 2000 rpm. Production ended in October 1916, after 74 units had been supplied to power the

Short Type 184 The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...

seaplanes of the Royal Naval Air Service. The Gurkha engine preserved at the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

, Yeovilton, Somerset, England, is the only surviving Sunbeam side-valve engine in the world. It is installed in the Short 184, aircraft number 8359, that played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland at the end of May 1916. The pilot on that occasion was Flight Lieutenant

Frederick Rutland Frederick Joseph Rutland, (21 October 1886 – 28 January 1949) was a British pioneer of naval aviation. A decorated pilot in the First World War, he earned the nickname "Rutland of Jutland" for his exploits at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. H ...

(who was ever after known as "Rutland of Jutland"),

External links

References

* {{Sunbeam aeroengines Sunbeam aircraft engines 1910s aircraft piston engines