The Le Rhône 9C is a nine-cylinder rotary aircraft engine produced in France by '' Société des Moteurs Le Rhône'' /

Gnome et Rhône Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp (81 kW) rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various license ...

. Also known as the Le Rhône 80 hp in a reference to its nominal power rating, the engine was fitted to a number of military aircraft types of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Le Rhône 9C engines were also produced under license in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

by various companies,Lumsden 2003, p. 160. and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Swedish version built by AB Thulinverken was designated Thulin A. German production and development was carried out by Oberursel Moterwerken as the UR.I.

Design and development

In common with other Le Rhône series engines, the 9C featured

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

induction pipes and used a single push-pull rod to operate its two

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

s. Unlike later engines, these were located on the front of the engine. Examples of Le Rhône 9C engines are on view in

aviation museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas ...

s either installed in aircraft exhibits or as stand-alone displays. A few examples of the 9C engine remain airworthy both in Europe and North America, one powering a vintage

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characte ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

in England, and a small number of others having powered reproduction WW I-era aircraft at

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a living museum in Rhinebeck, New York. It owns many examples of airworthy aircraft of the Pioneer Era, World War I and the Golden Age of Aviation between the World Wars, and multiple examples of roadworthy antiqu ...

and other American "living" aviation museums that fly their restored original engines in both similarly restored original, and airworthy reproduction period aircraft.

Applications

Survivors

Both the restored

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old ...

's airworthy

and the 1960s-buil
reproduction Pup of the Owl's Head Transportation Museum
(originally from

) are each powered by 80 hp Le Rhône 9C rotary engines, and fly regularly throughout the summer months. An operative Le Rhone 9C is shown at the Museo Nacional de Aeronautica in Buenos Aires Argentina.

Engines on display

A Le Rhône 9C is installed in the

on display at the

Royal Air Force Museum London The Royal Air Force Museum London (also commonly known as the RAF Museum) is located on the former Hendon Aerodrome. It includes five buildings and hangars showing the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force. It is part of the Royal Air Fo ...

. After renovation this aircraft flew for a brief period in the 1970s and is now retired.Royal Air Force Museum London - Sopwith Pup, ''N5182''- Full history
Retrieved: 17 November 2010. * a Le Rhône 9C is on public display at the Aerospace Museum of California

Specifications (Le Rhône 9C)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines''. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.

External links

Le Rhône rotary engine - Images and description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Rhone 9C Air-cooled aircraft piston engines 1910s aircraft piston engines 9C Rotary aircraft piston engines