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American aircraft maker (1919–1929) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey.[1] It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin.[1] It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the golden age of aviation.[1] Wright engines were used by Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.[1] In 1929, the company merged with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation to form Curtiss-Wright.[1][2]
| |
| Predecessor | Wright-Martin |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 |
| Defunct | 1929 (remained a division) |
| Fate | Merged |
| Successor | Curtiss-Wright |
Key people | Charles Lawrance |
| Parent | Curtiss-Wright (after 1929) |
In 1916, the Wright brothers' original aviation firm, the Wright Company, merged with Glenn L. Martin's firm, the Glenn L. Martin Company of California, to form the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation.[1] In September 1917, Martin resigned from Wright-Martin and re-formed an independent Glenn L. Martin Company of Ohio (later of Maryland). After World War I in 1919, Wright-Martin was renamed Wright Aeronautical.[1][2] It moved to Paterson, New Jersey in 1919.[1]
In February 1919, an airplane with a Wright engine broke the world's speed record at 163 2–3 miles per hour.[3] In November 1920, an airplane with a 300-horsepower Wright engine came in second place in the first Pulitzer Trophy Race in Long Island, New York.[3] Other planes using Wright engines came in fourth and fifth place in the race.[3]
In 1920, Wright produced a canon engine for the Army that allowed shells to be fired through the airplane's propeller.[3] In 1921, a 300 horsepower engine by Wright again came in second place at the Pulitzer Trophy Race in Omaha, Nebraska.[3] In 1921, Wright developed a new six-cylinder dirigible engine with 400 horsepower, testing it for nine months.[3] In 1922, a plane with a Wright H-2 engine won the Mitchell Trophy Race.[3]
In May 1923, Wright Aeronautical purchased the Lawrance Aero Engine Company, acquiring Charles Lawrance's J-1 radial engine.[4][1][5] Lawrance became a vice president of Wright.[1] In 1925, Wright's president, Frederick B. Rentschler, left the company to found Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company; Lawrance replaced him as company president.[5] Rentschler poached several talented personnel from Wright to join his new firm.
Working off Lawrance's designs, Wright Aeronautical developed an air-cooled engine, the Model J Whirlwind series.[1][6][3] In 1925, a Wright-Bellanca airplane won the Pulitzer Trophy Race using a Wright Whirlwind engine.[3] In 1927, a Wright J-5C Whirlwind engine was used by Charles Lindbergh in the Spirit of St. Louis when he flew from New York City to Paris.[1][5][7] Wright engines were also used by other famed aviators, including Richard E. Byrd, Clarence Chamberlin, and Amelia Earhart.[1]
Wright Aeronautical merged with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on July 5, 1929, to become the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.[1][2] Their engine divisions merged in 1931.[5]
During World War II, the Paterson plant had 24,000 employees, working in three daily shifts.[8] They made some 75,000 engines for the B-25, the Boeing B-17, and other aircraft.[8] Wright also made engines for 44 commercial airlines and rocket engines for space travel.[8] However, the Paterson plant closed in 1946.[8]
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright Vought | [3] | |||
| Wright Apache | 1926 | biplane | [3] | |
| Wright F2W | 1923 | 2 | Single-engine biplane racer | |
| Dayton-Wright XO-3 | 1 | Single-engine biplane observation airplane | ||
| Wright XF3W | 1926 | 1 | Single-engine biplane racer | |
| Navy-Wright NW-1 | 1922 | 2 | Single-engine monoplane racer | |
| Navy-Wright NW-2 | 1922 | 1 | Single-engine biplane racer | |
| Wright-Bellanca WB-1 | 1925 | 1 | Single-engine monoplane utility airplane | [3] |
| Wright-Bellanca WB-2 Columbia | 1926 | 1 | Single-engine monoplane utility airplane | |
| Bellanca 77-140 Bomber | 1934 | Twin-engine monoplane bomber | ||
| Wright WP-1 | 1922 | 1 | License built single-engine monoplane fighter | |
| Model name | Introduced | Type | Horsepower | Cooling | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright A | circa 1919 | V-8 | 150 | water | [9][10] |
| Wright B | V-4 | 75 | water | [10] | |
| Wright C | V-8 | 200 | water | [10] | |
| Wright D | V-8 | 200 | water | [10] | |
| Wright D-1 | 1920 | L-6 | 350 | water | [6] |
| Wright E | 1919 | V-8 | 150 hp | water | [11][10] |
| Wright E-1M Hurricane | 1925 - 1926 | V-8 | 240 | marine | [6][11] |
| Wright E-2 | Before 1921 | V-8 | 180 | water | [9][3][11] |
| Wright E-3 | V-8 | 189 | water | [10] | |
| Wright E-4 Tempest | 1922 - 1923 | V-8 | 200 | water | [3][6][11] |
| Wright E-4M Gold Cup | V-8 | 200-240 | marine | [3][11] | |
| Wright F | V-9 | 150 | water | [10][12] | |
| Wright H | 1920 | 300 | water | [9][3] | |
| Wright H-2 | 1920 | V-8 | 320 | water | [9][6] |
| Wright H-2 Super Fighter | Before 1921 | 360 | water | [9] | |
| Wright H-3 | Before 1921 | V-8 | 300 | water | [9][3][13] |
| Wright H-3 Super Fighter | Before 1921 | 360 | water | [9] | |
| Wright I | 1920 | 150 | water | [9][3] | |
| Wright J-I | 1923 | air | [3] | ||
| Wright J-3 | 1924 | R-9 | 200 | air | [3][6] |
| Wright J-4 Whirlwind | 1924 | R-9 | 200 | air | [3][6] |
| Wright J-4B Whirlwind | 1925 | R-9 | 200 | air | [6] |
| Wright J-5 Whirlwind / Wright R-790 | 1925 - 1926 | R-9 | 200 | air | [6][14][15][2] |
| Wright J-6 Whirlwind 5 / Wright R-540 | 1928 - 1930 | R-5 | 165-175 | air | [3][16][6] |
| Wright J-6 Whirlwind 7 / Wright R-760 | 1925 | R-7 | 225-320 | air | [3][16][6] |
| Wright J-6 Whirlwind 9 / Wright R-975 | 1928 | R-9 | 300-420 | air | [3][16][6] |
| Wright J-6 Cyclone | circa 1928 | 525 | air | [3] | |
| Wright K | water | [10] | |||
| Wright K-2 | water | [10] | |||
| Wright L-3 Gale | circa 1923 | R-3 | 60 | air | [17] |
| Wright L-4 Gale | circa 1923 | R-3 | 60 | air | [3] |
| Wright P-1 | 1925 | R-9 | 406 | air | [6][3] |
| Wright P-2 | 1925 - 1926 | R-9 | 435 | air | [6] |
| Wright R-1 | 1920 - 1923 | R-9 | 350 | air | [3][6] |
| Wright R-1200 Simoon | 1925 - 1926 | R-9 | 325 | air | [3][6] |
| Wright R-1300 Cyclone | 1939 | R-7 | 600 | air | [6] |
| Wright R-1510 Whirlwind | 1933 | R-14 | 600 | air | [18] |
| Wright R-1670 Whirlwind | circa 1935 | R-14 | 800 | air | [18] |
| Wright R-1750 Cyclone | 1927 - 1930 | R-9 | 525 | air | [3][6] |
| Wright R-1820 Cyclone | 1931 | R-9 | 1,000 | air | [19] |
| Wright R-2160 Tornado | 1940 | R-42 | 2,350 | air | [20] |
| Wright R-2600 | 1937 | R-14 | 1,750 | air | [21] |
| Wright R-3350 Cyclone | 1937 | R-18 | 2,200 | air | [22] |
| Wright R-4090 Cyclone | 1940s | R-22 | 3,000 | air | [23] |
| Wright T | V-12 | 525 | water | [3] | |
| Wright T-1 Tornado | V-12 | 600 | water | [3] | |
| Wright T-1M Typhoon | 1924 | V-12 | 500 | marine | [6] |
| Wright T-2 Tornado | 1922 - 1923 | V-12 | 525 | water | [3][6] |
| Wright T-3 Tornado / Wright V-1950 | 1923 | V-12 | 675 | water | [3][6] |
| Wright T-3A | 1924 - 1925 | V-12 | 525 | water | [6] |
| Wright T-3M Typhoon | 600 | marine | [3] | ||
| Wright V-1460 | 1928 | V-12 | 600 | liquid or air | [6][24] |
| Wright V-1560 | 1929 - 1930 | V-12 | 600 | air | [6] |
| Wright Gipsy | 1929 - 1931 | L-4 | 85 | air | [6] |
| Wright-Gipsy L-320 | 1927 | L-4 | 98 | air | [25][26] |
| Wright Morehouse WM-80 | 1926 | O-2 | 29 | air | [6] |
| Wright J65 | 1951 | Turbojet | 7,239 lbf | [27] | |
| Wright J67 | 1950s, not produced | Turbojet | est. 15,000 lbf | ||
| Wright TJ32 | |||||
| Wright TJ38 Zephur | not produced | Turbojet | |||
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