The Galloway Adriatic was a WW1 era inline-six aircraft engine. In British military service the engine was known as the 230 hp BHP, a designation it shared with a version of the same engine built by Siddeley-Deasy. Although the Galloway and Siddeley-Deasy versions followed a similar design, they had different dimensions and few interchangeable parts.[1][2] Siddeley-Deasy developed their version of the 230 hp BHP as the Siddeley Puma.[3]

Adriatic
Galloway Adriatic
Type Water-cooled inline-six aero engine
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Galloway Engineering
First run 1916
Major applications Airco DH4
Number built 94
Developed from Beardmore 160 hp
Developed into Galloway Atlantic

Design and development edit

Beardmore-Halford-Pullinger (BHP) were initially tasked with developing an aero-engine to compete with the latest German inline six-cylinder models. Although BHP's design was projected to produce 300 hp (224 kW) the engine's output came in below expectations. The original name given to engine was the 200 hp BHP. The engine's name was later changed to the 230 hp BHP to better reflect its actual output. Finally, the engine's name was changed to the Galloway Adriatic.[3]

The Adriatic's cylinders were constructed in groups of three with each block being made from a single aluminum casting.[2][4] The relatively large and intricate aluminum casting was challenging to produce which led to significant production delays.[2]

Three steel cylinder liners were screwed into a single iron casting which formed the head. A single steel stamping formed the cooling water jacket for groups of three cylinders.[5] It is notable that the Siddeley Puma's cylinder heads and water jackets are made of aluminum.[6]

Each cylinder contained one large inlet valve and two smaller exhaust valves. This unusual three valve per cylinder design was common to both the Adriatic and Puma engines.[1]

The crankshaft was a hollow forging made of chrome-nickel steel supported by eight bearings. Seven were plain bearings made of babbitt alloy encased in steel shells. The other bearing was a double thrust rolling-element bearing which took all the axial load from the propeller.[4] The camshaft was fitted in an aluminum housing running the entire length of the engine.[5]

Ignition system had 100% redundancy with two spark plugs per cylinder and two magnetos. Cylinder firing order was 1,5,3,6,2,4.[4]

Some Adriatic engines were fitted with experimental superchargers designed by Harry Ricardo.[2]

Production edit

The Adriatic was produced at Galloway’s Kirkcudbright facility near Dumfries in Scotland. Galloway Engineering were a subsidiary of William Beardmore and Company specifically setup to produce Beardmore Halford Pullinger (BHP) engines. Some parts for the engines were produced by Arrol-Johnston (another Beardmore subsidiary) in the town of Dumfries.[2]

The Adriatic was one of a series of upright water-cooled inline aircraft engines produced by Beardmore and its subsidiary companies. Production of these engines had started in 1913 when Beardmore acquired the rights for licensed production of the Austro-Daimler 6. During the time the Adriatic was in production, Arrol-Johnson was producing the Beardmore 160 hp. Both the Galloway Adriatic and the Beardmore 160 hp were partly designed by Frank Halford.[2]

In addition to the 94 Adriatic engines produced by Galloway, the firm also supplied components to Siddeley-Deasy.[2] At the end of WW1, the RAF had 89 Adriatic engines in service versus 3,255 built by Siddeley-Deasy. All of the Adriatic engines were fitted to aircraft based in the United Kingdom.[6]

Applications edit

Specifications edit

Data from Engineering[4] and Lumsden[2]

General characteristics

  • Type: Water–cooled, upright, inline-6 piston engine
  • Bore: 5.71 in (145 mm)
  • Stroke: 7.48 in (190 mm)
  • Displacement: 1,149.24 cu in (18.83 L)
  • Length: 67.2 in (1,707 mm)
  • Width: 18.7 in (475 mm)
  • Height: 43.7 in (1,110 mm)
  • Dry weight: Engine Only: 605 lb (274 kg). With radiator and cooling piping:767 lb (348 kg)

Components

Performance

  • Power output: 240 hp (179 kW) @ 1400 rpm
  • Compression ratio: 4.96:1
  • Fuel consumption: 17.5 imp gal/h (80 L/h)
  • Oil consumption: 7 imp pt/h (4 L/h)

See also edit

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References edit

  1. ^ a b R.A.F Field Service Pocket Book. April 1918. pp. 10–11.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lumsden, Alec (2002). British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Airlife Publishing. pp. 81–86. ISBN 1853102946.
  3. ^ a b Black, Guy (2019). "Background History of the DH9 Aircraft". DH9: From Ruin to Restoration. United Kingdom: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 9781911621836.
  4. ^ a b c d "The "B.H.P" Aeroplane Engine". Engineering. 108 (2796). United Kingdom: 135–137. 1 August 1919.
  5. ^ a b Angle, Glenn D. (1921). Airplane Engine Encyclopedia. Dayton, Ohio, USA: The Otterbein Press. pp. 207–210.
  6. ^ a b Bruce, J.M; Noel, Jean (1965). The de Havilland D.H.4. 26. United Kingdom: Profile Publications. ASIN B0007JXD8K.