Pratt & Whitney XT57

XT57 / PT5
Artist's concept of the C-132 powered by 4 T57 turboprops
Type Turboprop
National origin United States
Manufacturer Pratt & Whitney
Major applications Douglas JC-124C Globemaster II
Douglas C-132 (intended)
Number built 6[1]
Developed from Pratt & Whitney J57

The Pratt & Whitney XT57 (company designation: PT5) was an axial-flow turboprop engine developed by Pratt & Whitney in the mid-1950s. The XT57 was developed from the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet.[2]

Design and development

One XT57 (PT5), a turboprop development of the J57, was installed in the nose of a JC-124C (BuNo 52-1069), and tested in 1956.[3][4]

Rated at 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,000 kW), the XT57 was the most powerful turboprop engine in existence at the time,[5] and it remains the most powerful turboprop ever built in the United States.[2] The engine had a split-compressor (also known as "two-spool") design.[6]

Intended for use on the Douglas C-132 aircraft, the XT57 turboprop used a Hamilton Standard Model B48P6A propeller with a diameter of 20 feet (6.1 meters), which was the largest diameter propeller to be used in flight at the time.[7] The single-rotation propeller had four hollow steel blades,[8] a maximum blade chord of 22 inches (56 centimeters), a length of 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m), and a weight of 3,600 pounds (1,600 kilograms).[9]

In the late 1950s, the XT57 was studied for use in a United States Navy-proposed, nuclear-powered conversion of a Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat.[10][11] Despite not having entered service, the engine was selected because it had passed a Pratt & Whitney 150-hour testing program, which involved running the engine for 5,000–7,000 hours.[12]

Variants

T57/PT5
A turboprop engine driving a 20 ft diameter (6.1 m) Hamilton Standard Turbo-Hydromatic propeller,[13] 15,000 hp (11,185 kW) turboprop to be used on the Douglas C-132, a Mach 0.8 speed military transport aircraft.[14]

Engines on display

The XT57 engine is on display at the Pratt & Whitney museum in East Hartford, Connecticut.[15]

Applications

T57 turboprop

Specifications (XT57-P-1)

General characteristics

  • Type: Split-compressor turboprop
  • Length:
  • Diameter:
  • Dry weight: 6,600 lb (3,000 kg)[1]
  • Propeller weight: 3,600 lb (1,600 kg)[9]

Components

  • Compressor:
  • Turbine: 4-stage low pressure turbine[2]

Performance

See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Culy, Doug. "Wright's T35 Turboprop Engine, et al". Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS). Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Dean, William Patrick (2018). Ultra-Large Aircraft, 1940-1970. pp. 84–87. ISBN 9781476665030. OCLC 1034989209.
  3. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 470.
  4. ^ Connors 2010, p. 294.
  5. ^ "United Aircraft Sales near Billion". Abreast of the Market. Wall Street Journal. October 17, 1956. p. 25. ISSN 0099-9660.
  6. ^ "News Digest". Aviation Week. Vol. 62, no. 26. June 27, 1955. p. 7. ISSN 0005-2175.
  7. ^ McWhirter, Norris; McWhirter, Ross (1964). Guinness Book of World Records. Bantam Books. p. 195. OCLC 803932209.
  8. ^ Gunston, Bill (1998). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines: All Major Aircraft Power Plants, from the Wright Brothers to the Present Day (4th ed.). Patrick Stephens. p. 135. ISBN 9781852605971. OCLC 754087992.
  9. ^ a b "Nose-Mounted Prop". Aviation Week. Vol. 67, no. 16. October 21, 1957. p. 106. ISSN 0005-2175.
  10. ^ Martin Nuclear Division (April 1 – June 30, 1959). "Summary to Part I.II: Nuclear Powered ASW System Studies" (PDF). Study of Seaplane Systems Employing Nuclear Power (Technical report). pp. v to I-28. doi:10.2172/1471210. OCLC 8160144848. OSTI 1471210.
  11. ^ Comassar, S. (April 30, 1962). "2.4: 'Princess' Flying Boat" (PDF). In Culver, D. H. (ed.). Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Application Studies (Technical report). Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program. pp. 40–48. OCLC 1065745839.
  12. ^ ANP Program, April 15, 1958: Another engine which we are looking at is the T-57. This is a Pratt and Whitney turboprop engine which was developed for the C-132 airplane. It has passed its 50 hour official qualification. It has passed a 150 hour company test which takes 5 to 7 thousand hour running in total. It has no bugs as far as we can determine. It is now sitting on the shelf and not being used because the C-132 has been cancelled. This as far as we can see is an excellent engine. (Captain Richardson, p. 71)
  13. ^ Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1957-58. Sampson Low, Marston & Company. p. 444. OCLC 495002766.
  14. ^ a b "First Douglas C-132 Details". Aviation Week. Vol. 65, no. 17. October 22, 1956. p. 35. ISSN 0005-2175.
  15. ^ "Official Program: Third Annual AEHS Convention" (PDF). Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS). July 6–9, 2006. pp. 3–4.

Bibliography