The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a

turbojet engine The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

developed by

Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division The Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division (AGT) was established by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1945 to continue the development and production of its turbo-jet gas turbine engines for aircraft propulsion under contract to the US Navy ...

in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier

Westinghouse J30 The Westinghouse J30, initially known as the Westinghouse 19XB, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It was the first American-designed turbojet to run, and only the second axial-flow turbojet to run outside German ...

, the J34 produced 3,000 pounds of thrust, twice as much as the J30. Later models produced as much as 4,900 lb with the addition of an

afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...

. It first flew in 1947. The J46 engine was developed as a larger, more powerful version of Westinghouse's J34 engine, about 50% larger.

Development

Built in an era of rapidly advancing

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

engine technology, the J34 was largely obsolete before it saw service, and often served as an interim engine. For instance, the

Douglas X-3 Stiletto The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was a 1950s United States experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraf ...

was equipped with two J34 engines when the intended

Westinghouse J46 The Westinghouse J46 is an afterburning turbojet engine developed by the Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division for the United States Navy in the 1950s. It was primarily employed in powering the Convair F2Y Sea Dart and Vought F7U Cutlass. ...

engine proved to be unsuitable. The Stiletto was developed to investigate the design of an aircraft at sustained supersonic speeds. However, equipped with the J34 instead of its intended engines, it was seriously underpowered and could not exceed Mach 1 in level flight. Developed during the transition from piston-engined aircraft to jets, the J34 was sometimes fitted to aircraft as a supplement to other powerplants, as with the

Lockheed P-2 Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and ...

and

Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket (or D-558-II) is a rocket and jet-powered research supersonic aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the United States Navy. On 20 November 1953, shortly before the (17 December) 50th anniversary of p ...

(fitted with radial piston engines and a rocket engine, respectively). The afterburner was developed by Solar Aircraft, the first U.S. company to produce a practical afterburner.

Variants

;J34-WE-2: thrust ;XJ34-WE-4: thrust; originally designated J45 ;XJ34-WE-7: thrust ;J34-WE-11: Similar to -42 with short afterburner ;J34-WE-13: thrust ;J34-WE-15: Similar to -42 thrust, with short afterburner ;J34-WE-15: thrust ;J34-WE-17: Similar to -42 thrust ( thrust with long afterburner) ;J34-WE-19: thrust ;J34-WE-22: (24C-4B) thrustRou
2007, pp. 217–220.
/ref> ;J34-WE-30: (24C-4C) thrust ( thrust with afterburner) ;J34-WE-30A: 3,150 lbf (14.01 kN) thrust (4,200 lbf (18.68 kN) thrust with afterburner) ;J43-WE-32: Similar to -42 thrust ( thrust with long afterburner) ;J34-WE-34: (24C-4D) thrust ;J34-WE-34A: thrust ;J34-WE-36: (24C-4E) thrust ;J34-WE-36A: thrust ;J34-WE-38: thrust ;J34-WE-40: thrust ;J34-WE-42: thrust ( thrust with afterburner) ;J34-WE-46: thrust ;J34-WE-48: Single stage turbine. Contract awarded 1959 ;W-340:Commercial version of the WE-36 ;24C-4B: company designation for WE-22. ;24C-4C: company designation for WE-30. ;24C-4D: company designation for WE-34. ;24C-8: company designation for WE-32.

Applications

Aircraft

Convair F2Y Sea Dart The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was an American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis during takeoff and landing. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered mass production. It is the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of so ...

Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk (previously designated the XP-87) was a prototype American all-weather jet fighter-interceptor, and the company's last aircraft project. Designed as a replacement for the World War II–era propeller-driven P- ...

Douglas F3D Skyknight The Douglas F3D Skyknight (later designated F-10 Skyknight) is an American twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weath ...

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

(civilian variant modification) *

Grumman OV-1A - Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk is an armed military observation and attack aircraft that was designed for battlefield surveillance and light strike capabilities. It has a twin turboprop configuration, and carries two crew members in side-by-side seating ...

* Lockheed P-2E/G/H Neptune *

Lockheed XF-90 The Lockheed XF-90 was built in response to a United States Air Force requirement for a long-range penetration fighter and bomber escort. The same requirement produced the McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo. Lockheed received a contract for two prototype XP ...

* McDonnell 119/220 (prototype only) *

McDonnell F2H Banshee The McDonnell F2H Banshee (company designation McDonnell Model 24) is an American single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft deployed by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps from 1948 to 1961. A development of the FH Phant ...

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin is an American prototype fighter aircraft conceived during World War II by McDonnell Aircraft. It was intended to deploy from the bomb bay of the giant Convair B-36 bomber as a parasite fighter. The XF-85's intended r ...

McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo The McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo was a long-range, twinjet fighter aircraft with swept wings designed for the United States Air Force. Although it never entered production, its design was adapted for the subsequent supersonic F-101 Voodoo. Design a ...

* North American T-2A Buckeye * Ryan XFR-4 Fireball *

Vought F6U Pirate The Vought F6U Pirate was the Vought company's first jet fighter, designed for the United States Navy during the mid-1940s. Although pioneering the use of turbojet power as the first naval fighter with an afterburner and composite material const ...

Vought F7U Cutlass The Vought F7U Cutlass is a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. It was a tailless aircraft for which aerodynamic data from projects of the German Arado and Messerschmitt companies, obtain ...

Others

Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

jet truck * Snowzilla snow remover * Spirit of Australia jet boat

Engines on display

*A Westinghouse J34 is on public display at the

Aerospace Museum of California The Aerospace Museum of California is a private non-profit aviation museum located in North Highlands, California, outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base. The museum has a 4.5-acre outdoor Air Park ...

Specifications (J34-WE-36)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines'', 5th Edition. Phoenix Mill, Gloucestershire, England, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited, 2006. pp. 240–241. . * Kay, Anthony L. ''Turbojet History and Development 1930-1960 Volume 2: USSR, USA, Japan, France, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Hungary'' (1st ed.). Ramsbury, UK: The Crowood Press, 2007. . * Leyes, Richard A., II and William A. Fleming. ''The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines'' (Library of Flight). Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc, 1999. . * Roux, Élodie. ''Turbofan and Turbojet Engines: Database Handbook''. Raleigh, North Carolina: Éditions Élodie Roux, 2007. .

External links

* http://www.arkairmuseum.org/engines/engine-westinghouse.php * http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/j34.htm {{USAF gas turbine engines 1940s turbojet engines J34