The Alvis Leonides Major was a British air-cooled 14-cylinder
radial aero engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
developed by
Alvis
Alvis may refer to:
*Alvis Car and Engineering Company, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc
*Alvis plc (formerly United Scientific Holdings plc), a defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and beca ...
from the earlier nine-cylinder
Leonides.
Design and development
In 1951 Alvis started development of a 14-cylinder, two row radial of 1,118 cu in (18.3 L) displacement, based on the Leonides. Certification covered the Mk. 702/1 for aeroplanes at and the 751/1 for helicopters at . The only numerous model of the Major was the Mk. 755/1, a medium supercharged, de-rated, obliquely mounted direct-drive and fan cooled engine fitted to the
Westland Whirlwind Mks. 5, 6, 7 and 8.
[Lumsden 2003, pp.60-61.]
Variants
''Data from:British Piston Engines and their Aircraft.''
;Leonides Major 702/1
: for aeroplanes, also known as A.LE.M.1-1 in Air Ministry
;Leonides Major 751/1
: for helicopters, also known as A.LE.M.1-2
;Leonides Major 755/1
: for helicopters in a 35° canted mounting, also known as A.LE.M.1-6 and as Mk.155 in civil aircraft
;Leonides Major 755/2
: for helicopters in a vertical mounting, also known as A.LE.M.1-6 and as Mk.160 in civil aircraft
Applications
*
Bristol Type 173
The Bristol Type 173 was a British twin-engine, tandem rotor transport helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company.Jackson 1973, pp. 260–263 It was designed by Raoul Hafner as a civil transport helicopter but evoked interest from the m ...
Mk3 – 2x 755/1 (Mk.155) ; 2x 755/2 (Mk.160)
*
Handley Page HPR.5 Herald – four 702/1
*
Westland Whirlwind 1x 755/1 (Mk.155) or 1x 755/2 (Mk.160)
Specifications (Leonides Major 702/1)
See also
References