The Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major is a British five-cylinder (later seven-cylinder),

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

for aircraft, designed and built by

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following t ...

and first run in 1928. It developed 140 horsepower (104 kW). In

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

use the seven-cylinder version was known as the Civet I. The

Feliform Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Cani ...

names used are in line with company convention, the Genet and

Civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...

both being large cat-like carnivores.

Variants and applications

Genet Major I

The Genet Major 1 was a five-cylinder engine of that was closely related to the Genet I but with increased bore and

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. *

Avro Avian The Avro Avian is a series of United Kingdom, British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and ...

* Avro 619 * Avro 624 * Avro 638 Club Cadet * Cierva C.19 Autogiro *

Civilian Coupé The Civilian Coupé is a British, single-engined two-seat private monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A ...

* Saro Cutty Sark *

Southern Martlet The Southern Martlet was a single-engined, single-seat biplane sports aircraft. Six were built, including the rather different and unsuccessful Metal Martlet. Design and development The Southern Martlet was the first aircraft designed by tea ...

Westland IV The Westland IV and Westland Wessex were British high wing, three-engined light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft. Design and development In 1928, Westland began work on a small three-engined airliner, suitable for low volume, "fee ...

Genet Major 1A (Civet I)

Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IV MLP 07

The Genet Major 1A (or Civet I in RAF service) was a seven-cylinder development of the Genet Major I, nominally rated at . *

ANBO V The ANBO V was a parasol wing monoplane training aircraft designed for the Lithuanian Army in 1931. A developed version, the ANBO 51 followed in 1936 and 1938. Design The ANBO V was of conventional configuration with fixed, tailwheel underc ...

(upgrade) *

Avro Cadet The Avro Cadet is a single-engined British biplane trainer designed and built by Avro in the 1930s as a smaller development of the Avro Tutor for civil use. Design and development The Avro 631 Cadet was developed in 1931 as a smaller, more e ...

* Avro Rota *

Cierva C.30A Autogiro The Cierva C.30 is an autogyro designed by Juan de la Cierva and built under licence from the Cierva Autogiro Company by A V Roe & Co Ltd (Avro) as the Avro 671, Lioré-et-Olivier as the LeO C.301, and Focke-Wulf. Design and Development Befo ...

RWD-6 The RWD 6 was a Polish sports plane of 1932 in aviation, 1932, constructed by the RWD (aircraft manufacturer), RWD team. It was a winner of the Challenge 1932 international tourist aircraft contest. Development The aircraft was designed specially ...

(not specified 7-cylinder Genet Major sub-type) * Saro Cutty Sark * SEA-1 *

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the rep ...

Genet Major III

As Genet Major IA but with cylinders using cast rocker boxes.

Genet Major IV

A geared propeller drive version of the Genet Major IA, . * ANBO 51

Surviving engines

An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major powers

(G-AAYX) which is owned and operated by the

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aviation, automotive and agricultural collection located at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire, England. History The collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While ...

at Old Warden and flies at home air displays throughout the summer months. An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major 1A engine also powers the only surviving Civilian Aircraft Co.Ltd. 1931 vintage Civilian Coupe 02 monoplane (G-ABNT), which is airworthy and owned and operated by Shipping and Airlines Ltd based at Biggin Hill Airport, England.

Engines on display

* An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IA is on display at the

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, located at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, is a free museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departmental public ...

. * An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IV can be seen in

Polish Aviation Museum The Polish Aviation Museum () is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport. This airfield, established by Austr ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. *

Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia) The Aviation Heritage Museum is a museum located in Bull Creek, Perth, Western Australia. Created and maintained by the Air Force Association of Western Australia, it houses many military and civilian aircraft, aircraft replicas and aircraft en ...

Aviation Heritage Museum
/ref>

Specifications (Genet Major IA/Civet I)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . {{Armstrong Siddeley aeroengines Genet Major 1920s aircraft piston engines Aircraft air-cooled radial piston engines