WWII was a war largely fought with piston engines. Trucks, tanks, Jeeps, airplanes, ships, and tractors all used pistons in the first fully mechanized war the world had ever seen. The advancements made in horsepower creation over the course of the war were incredible. If the eBay listing we found is correct, a small part of that horsepower creation is for sale right now. Is this guy selling a head assembly from a Wright R-1820 engine off of a B17 bomber? It is certainly the head off of a radial engine but we do not know the casting numbers or design tell tales to understand if this is actually WWII vintage or not. It is a damned neat piece, either way.
The R-1820 Wasp engine was super important in WWII and turned into one of the neatest engines of the war. The thing was being refined constantly and was in production from 1931 all the way until something like 1950. Not only powering airplanes, it also had versions used in tanks and armored vehicles. Horsepower ranged from 700 all the way up to 1,300 depending on a bunch of factors, boost perhaps being the biggest.
As B-17s were in the air as part of the Air Force long after WWII there’s a chance that this head is a later one or that some of the markings on it denote times when it was serviced or refurbished or something along those lines. If you happen to be restoring an R-1820 you’ll need to put some work into this one as there’s a valve and who knows whatever else missing. BUT…we’re guessing to the right person, this hunk of aluminum and steel is as good as gold.
eBay link: Selling A Head Assembly From A Wright R-1820 Engine Off Of A B17
There\’s still plenty of those around. It\’s not as rare as you would think. A lot of those engines are still flying!!
Ian Drysdale used 2 of these on a custom crankcase and put it in a bike 5litre v-twin it sounds awesome
There is an outfit just south of me that rebuilds them. They have an entire container of scrap jugs.
It’s still cool.
It could equally be from a DC-3/C-47. The R-1820 found it’s way into many aircraft over the years