Clerget 9B

9B
Preserved Clerget 9B engine on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton.
Type Rotary engine
National origin France
Manufacturer Clerget-Blin
First run 1913
Major applications Sopwith Camel
Number built 6,500 (French production)[1]
3,650 (British production)
Developed into Bentley BR1

The Clerget 9B is a nine-cylinder rotary aircraft engine of the World War I era designed by Pierre Clerget. Manufactured in both France and Great Britain (Gwynnes Limited), it was used on such aircraft as the Sopwith Camel. The Clerget 9Bf was an increased stroke version.[2]

Variants

Clerget 9B

(1913) 130 hp (97 kW). 1,300 produced by Ruston Proctor & Co Ltd of Lincoln

Clerget 9Bf

(1915) 140 hp (104 kW). Extended stroke 172 mm (6.75 in) version, increasing capacity to 17.5 L (1,066.5 cu in). 1,750 produced by Gwynnes Limited and 600 produced by Ruston Proctor.

Applications

Clerget 9B

Clerget 9B powered Sopwith 1½ Strutter on display at the Royal Air Force Museum London

Clerget 9Bf

Engines on display

Operational (Airworthy) Rotary Engines

The Shuttleworth Collection based at Old Warden Aerodrome, UK, operate an airworthy late production Sopwith Triplane (G-BOCK)[4] fitted with an original 9B as well as an airworthy late production Sopwith Camel (G-BZSC)[5] fitted with an original long-stroke 9Bf. These aircraft can be seen displaying at home air displays through the summer months.

Specifications (Clerget 9B)

Clerget 9B

Data from Lumsden.[2][6]

General characteristics

  • Type: Nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine
  • Bore: 120 mm (4.72 in)
  • Stroke: 160 mm (6.30 in)
  • Displacement: 16.29 L (994.08 cu in)
  • Length: 920 mm (36.22 in)
  • Diameter: 1,020 mm (40.15 in)
  • Dry weight: 173 kg (381 lb)

Components

  • Valvetrain: Single inlet and exhaust valves operated by pushrods and rockers
  • Fuel system: Bloctube carburettor
  • Fuel type: Gasoline mixed with Castor oil lubricant
  • Oil system: Castor oil mixed with fuel
  • Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clerget 9B.

Notes

  1. ^ Hartmann, Gerard (2003). "La société des moteurs Clerget" [The Clerget Motor Company] (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Lumsden 2003, p. 133.
  3. ^ Powerhouse Museum - Clerget 9Bf Retrieved: 12 November 2010.
  4. ^ The Shuttleworth Collection - Sopwith Triplane Retrieved: 21 August 2018
  5. ^ The Shuttleworth Collection - Sopwith Camel Retrieved: 21 August 2018
  6. ^ Grey, C.G. (1969). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1919 (Facsimile ed.). David & Charles (Publishing) Limited. pp. 1b to 145b. ISBN 978-0-7153-4647-1.

Bibliography

  • Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 978-1-85260-163-8
  • Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 978-1-85310-294-3.
  • Grey, C.G. (1969). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1919 (Facsimile ed.). David & Charles (Publishing) Limited. pp. 1b to 145b. ISBN 978-0-7153-4647-1.