The Bentley BR.1 was a British rotary

aircraft 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 ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Designed by the

motor car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

engine designer

W. O. Bentley Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley Motors Limited in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft a ...

, the BR.1 was built in large numbers, being one of the main powerplants of the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

Design and development

The Clerget 9B was an important engine for the British

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

and

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, being license-produced in Britain and powering a number of important British aircraft, including the

. However, at £907 a copy it was expensive, and prone to overheating, so the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

asked Lieutenant

, an established pre-war engine designer, to produce a modified version to solve these problems. Bentley came up with his idea of an engine - fitted with aluminium cylinders with cast iron liners, and aluminium pistons. Dual ignition was introduced to improve reliability (much as the 160 CV Gnome 9N had already been), and the stroke increased to which allowed power to be increased to . The cost of the engine was also reduced, falling to £605 per engine. The resulting engine, initially known as the A.R.1 for "Admiralty Rotary", but later called the BR.1 ("Bentley Rotary") was manufactured in quantity, although initially against Admiralty orders. It was standardised for the Camel in RNAS squadrons, but unfortunately there were never enough to entirely replace the older and more expensive Clerget engine in British service, and most RFC Camel squadrons continued to use Clerget engines; in fact licensed production of the Clerget continued. The BR.1 was developed as the BR.2, a heavier, more powerful engine, which powered, among other types or aircraft, the Camel's eventual replacement, the

Sopwith Snipe The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of th ...

Applications

* Avro 536 * Port Victoria P.V.9 *

* Westland N.1B

Specifications

References

External links

{{Bentley Rotary aircraft piston engines Air-cooled aircraft piston engines 1910s aircraft piston engines

Design and development

Applications

Specifications

See also

References

External links