I heard of Tanks having Chrysler engines, but were the largest Hemi's, the first Hemi's?

-

greymouser7

Vagrant Vagabond “Veni Vidi Vici”
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
3,729
Reaction score
1,493
Location
78002 down the road from Atascosa, Texas
The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design

If you look at a cutaway of this engine, and you're looking at a cutaway of the 1951 New Yorker engine, you'd think they were brothers, except these were upside down...

The XI-2220 was an experimental liquid-cooled inverted 60° V-16 developed by Chrysler during World War II, and flown in 1945 in a Republic XP-47H. It was rated at 2,500 hp @ 3,400 rpm. One of the three remaining engines was on display at the Walter P. Chrysler museum. The other two are at the New England Air Museum and National Air and Space Museum.

There were only about six of engines; it was purely a development program. They hit their power target at 2500 hp, with 2200 cubic inches, and that was in 1944.

Internal documents showed the engine beating 3,000 horsepower on the dyno.

It was designed to have a turbocharger; the engine has a compressor and charge air cooler. The problem would have been, if they ever got to the point where they were going to mass produce it, only General Electric made the turbocharger. Nobody else knew how to make them, and I don't think G.E. was willing to tell anybody else how to make them; they also, apparently, were unwilling or unable to expand their capacity. That explains a lot about World War II aircraft; the Army apparently had first choice of the turbochargers because Navy planes supposedly didn't have to fly at high altitude.

Video of P-47 with Chrysler Hemi at end of post->
General characteristics
  • Type: 16-cylinder turbo-supercharged liquid-cooled 60° inverted V aircraft piston engine
  • Bore: 5.8 in (147.3 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.25 in (133.4 mm)
  • Displacement: 2,219 cu in (36.36 l)
  • Length: 122 in (3,098.8 mm)
  • Width: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Height: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Dry weight: 2,430 lb (1,102.2 kg)
Components
Performance
  • Power output:
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 3,400 rpm for takeoff
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m) METO
  • 2,150 hp (1,603.3 kW) at 3,200 rpm normal rating
  • 1,450 hp (1,081.3 kW) at 2,800 rpm cruise
  • Specific power: 1.13 hp/cu in (51.2 kW/L)
  • Compression ratio: 6.3:1
  • Fuel consumption: 0.42 lb/hp/hr (0.2555 kg/kW/hr)
  • Specific fuel consumption:
  • 0.54 lb/(hp·h) (0.33 kg/kW/hr)) METO
  • 0.43 lb/(hp·h) (0.26 kg/kW/hr)) normal rating
  • Oil consumption: 0.005 lb/hp/h (0.003 kg/kW/hr)
  • Power-to-weight ratio: 1.02 hp/lb (1.84 kW/kg)

They proposed a large engine to provide 2,500 hp initially, with room for growth upwards. Instead of using advanced features such as sleeve valves for improved RPM, they instead decided to use a larger number of "normal sized" cylinders in a V-16 arrangement. The Army was interested, and sent them a development contract tender on June 22, 1940, to which Chrysler responded on July 2.

The extremely long profile of the new design meant that the crankshaft would be highly loaded if power was taken off at the propeller end. Chrysler's solution to this problem was unique; power was instead taken from the middle of the engine, placing the propeller reduction gear in a gap between two V-8 cylinder banks and sending power to the front of the engine via a long extension shaft running below the crankshaft. Additionally many of the accessories were driven off the drive shaft instead of the crank shaft. This solution also raised the weight of the engine by the amount of the shaft, but it was apparently a price worth paying.

A single overhead cam drove the two-per-cylinder poppet valves, arranged at an angle to the piston in a hemi-spherical cylinder head, with the spark plug arranged between the valves. This arrangement allowed for "cross-flow" scavenging of the charge, and had been used on various race and performance car engines for some time.

These are many of the people worked on the V16 plane engine, including Carl Breer, near the center (in a suit); George Heubner; Dean Engle, later chief engineer at Dodge and later an engine man at Central Engineering; and Bill Chapman was in charge of testing the later turbine, later becoming head of Ford's turbine truck projects.

Willem Weertman, in his Chrysler Engines book, noted that many of the team members went on to make "significant contributions" at Chrysler. He called out Syd Terry, Robert S. Rarey (later Chief Engineer of Engine Design and Development), R. Dean Engle (to be Chief Engineer at Dodge before succeeding Rarey), Ev Moeller (later assistant to Rarey and Engle), and George Huebner, then Carl Breer's assistant, who would succeed Breer as Director of Research and who would also lead the turbine program. Dyno man Herb Bevans later rose to become Executive Engineer of Powertrain Engineering.

Chrysler Museaum (enginehistory.org)

The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design | Allpar Forums

Chrysler IV-2220 - Wikipedia

Republic XP-47H Thunderbolt (militaryfactory.com)

Republic YP-47M Thunderbolt - Yanks Air Museum

(1) Republic XP-47H and the Chrysler XI-2220 engine - YouTube

republic-xp47h-thunderbolt-prototype-aircraft-united-states.jpg


XI-2220cyl.jpg
 
Reminds me of how I feel when I step onto an Iowa class battleship and gaze in awe at the fact that all that steel actually floats. Except with this it’s amazement that all that steel actually flies! Looks more like a tank motor, definitely neat, but not as sexy as a Merlin. At least as far as looks go.
 
The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design

If you look at a cutaway of this engine, and you're looking at a cutaway of the 1951 New Yorker engine, you'd think they were brothers, except these were upside down...

The XI-2220 was an experimental liquid-cooled inverted 60° V-16 developed by Chrysler during World War II, and flown in 1945 in a Republic XP-47H. It was rated at 2,500 hp @ 3,400 rpm. One of the three remaining engines was on display at the Walter P. Chrysler museum. The other two are at the New England Air Museum and National Air and Space Museum.

There were only about six of engines; it was purely a development program. They hit their power target at 2500 hp, with 2200 cubic inches, and that was in 1944.

Internal documents showed the engine beating 3,000 horsepower on the dyno.

It was designed to have a turbocharger; the engine has a compressor and charge air cooler. The problem would have been, if they ever got to the point where they were going to mass produce it, only General Electric made the turbocharger. Nobody else knew how to make them, and I don't think G.E. was willing to tell anybody else how to make them; they also, apparently, were unwilling or unable to expand their capacity. That explains a lot about World War II aircraft; the Army apparently had first choice of the turbochargers because Navy planes supposedly didn't have to fly at high altitude.

Video of P-47 with Chrysler Hemi at end of post->
General characteristics
  • Type: 16-cylinder turbo-supercharged liquid-cooled 60° inverted V aircraft piston engine
  • Bore: 5.8 in (147.3 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.25 in (133.4 mm)
  • Displacement: 2,219 cu in (36.36 l)
  • Length: 122 in (3,098.8 mm)
  • Width: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Height: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Dry weight: 2,430 lb (1,102.2 kg)
Components
Performance
  • Power output:
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 3,400 rpm for takeoff
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m) METO
  • 2,150 hp (1,603.3 kW) at 3,200 rpm normal rating
  • 1,450 hp (1,081.3 kW) at 2,800 rpm cruise
  • Specific power: 1.13 hp/cu in (51.2 kW/L)
  • Compression ratio: 6.3:1
  • Fuel consumption: 0.42 lb/hp/hr (0.2555 kg/kW/hr)
  • Specific fuel consumption:
  • 0.54 lb/(hp·h) (0.33 kg/kW/hr)) METO
  • 0.43 lb/(hp·h) (0.26 kg/kW/hr)) normal rating
  • Oil consumption: 0.005 lb/hp/h (0.003 kg/kW/hr)
  • Power-to-weight ratio: 1.02 hp/lb (1.84 kW/kg)

They proposed a large engine to provide 2,500 hp initially, with room for growth upwards. Instead of using advanced features such as sleeve valves for improved RPM, they instead decided to use a larger number of "normal sized" cylinders in a V-16 arrangement. The Army was interested, and sent them a development contract tender on June 22, 1940, to which Chrysler responded on July 2.

The extremely long profile of the new design meant that the crankshaft would be highly loaded if power was taken off at the propeller end. Chrysler's solution to this problem was unique; power was instead taken from the middle of the engine, placing the propeller reduction gear in a gap between two V-8 cylinder banks and sending power to the front of the engine via a long extension shaft running below the crankshaft. Additionally many of the accessories were driven off the drive shaft instead of the crank shaft. This solution also raised the weight of the engine by the amount of the shaft, but it was apparently a price worth paying.

A single overhead cam drove the two-per-cylinder poppet valves, arranged at an angle to the piston in a hemi-spherical cylinder head, with the spark plug arranged between the valves. This arrangement allowed for "cross-flow" scavenging of the charge, and had been used on various race and performance car engines for some time.

These are many of the people worked on the V16 plane engine, including Carl Breer, near the center (in a suit); George Heubner; Dean Engle, later chief engineer at Dodge and later an engine man at Central Engineering; and Bill Chapman was in charge of testing the later turbine, later becoming head of Ford's turbine truck projects.

Willem Weertman, in his Chrysler Engines book, noted that many of the team members went on to make "significant contributions" at Chrysler. He called out Syd Terry, Robert S. Rarey (later Chief Engineer of Engine Design and Development), R. Dean Engle (to be Chief Engineer at Dodge before succeeding Rarey), Ev Moeller (later assistant to Rarey and Engle), and George Huebner, then Carl Breer's assistant, who would succeed Breer as Director of Research and who would also lead the turbine program. Dyno man Herb Bevans later rose to become Executive Engineer of Powertrain Engineering.

Chrysler Museaum (enginehistory.org)

The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design | Allpar Forums

Chrysler IV-2220 - Wikipedia

Republic XP-47H Thunderbolt (militaryfactory.com)

Republic YP-47M Thunderbolt - Yanks Air Museum

(1) Republic XP-47H and the Chrysler XI-2220 engine - YouTube

View attachment 1715688788

View attachment 1715688808
Awesome post to say the least!
Thank you!
 
The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design

If you look at a cutaway of this engine, and you're looking at a cutaway of the 1951 New Yorker engine, you'd think they were brothers, except these were upside down...

The XI-2220 was an experimental liquid-cooled inverted 60° V-16 developed by Chrysler during World War II, and flown in 1945 in a Republic XP-47H. It was rated at 2,500 hp @ 3,400 rpm. One of the three remaining engines was on display at the Walter P. Chrysler museum. The other two are at the New England Air Museum and National Air and Space Museum.

There were only about six of engines; it was purely a development program. They hit their power target at 2500 hp, with 2200 cubic inches, and that was in 1944.

Internal documents showed the engine beating 3,000 horsepower on the dyno.

It was designed to have a turbocharger; the engine has a compressor and charge air cooler. The problem would have been, if they ever got to the point where they were going to mass produce it, only General Electric made the turbocharger. Nobody else knew how to make them, and I don't think G.E. was willing to tell anybody else how to make them; they also, apparently, were unwilling or unable to expand their capacity. That explains a lot about World War II aircraft; the Army apparently had first choice of the turbochargers because Navy planes supposedly didn't have to fly at high altitude.

Video of P-47 with Chrysler Hemi at end of post->
General characteristics
  • Type: 16-cylinder turbo-supercharged liquid-cooled 60° inverted V aircraft piston engine
  • Bore: 5.8 in (147.3 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.25 in (133.4 mm)
  • Displacement: 2,219 cu in (36.36 l)
  • Length: 122 in (3,098.8 mm)
  • Width: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Height: 33.5 in (850.9 mm)
  • Dry weight: 2,430 lb (1,102.2 kg)
Components
Performance
  • Power output:
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 3,400 rpm for takeoff
  • 2,500 hp (1,864.2 kW) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m) METO
  • 2,150 hp (1,603.3 kW) at 3,200 rpm normal rating
  • 1,450 hp (1,081.3 kW) at 2,800 rpm cruise
  • Specific power: 1.13 hp/cu in (51.2 kW/L)
  • Compression ratio: 6.3:1
  • Fuel consumption: 0.42 lb/hp/hr (0.2555 kg/kW/hr)
  • Specific fuel consumption:
  • 0.54 lb/(hp·h) (0.33 kg/kW/hr)) METO
  • 0.43 lb/(hp·h) (0.26 kg/kW/hr)) normal rating
  • Oil consumption: 0.005 lb/hp/h (0.003 kg/kW/hr)
  • Power-to-weight ratio: 1.02 hp/lb (1.84 kW/kg)

They proposed a large engine to provide 2,500 hp initially, with room for growth upwards. Instead of using advanced features such as sleeve valves for improved RPM, they instead decided to use a larger number of "normal sized" cylinders in a V-16 arrangement. The Army was interested, and sent them a development contract tender on June 22, 1940, to which Chrysler responded on July 2.

The extremely long profile of the new design meant that the crankshaft would be highly loaded if power was taken off at the propeller end. Chrysler's solution to this problem was unique; power was instead taken from the middle of the engine, placing the propeller reduction gear in a gap between two V-8 cylinder banks and sending power to the front of the engine via a long extension shaft running below the crankshaft. Additionally many of the accessories were driven off the drive shaft instead of the crank shaft. This solution also raised the weight of the engine by the amount of the shaft, but it was apparently a price worth paying.

A single overhead cam drove the two-per-cylinder poppet valves, arranged at an angle to the piston in a hemi-spherical cylinder head, with the spark plug arranged between the valves. This arrangement allowed for "cross-flow" scavenging of the charge, and had been used on various race and performance car engines for some time.

These are many of the people worked on the V16 plane engine, including Carl Breer, near the center (in a suit); George Heubner; Dean Engle, later chief engineer at Dodge and later an engine man at Central Engineering; and Bill Chapman was in charge of testing the later turbine, later becoming head of Ford's turbine truck projects.

Willem Weertman, in his Chrysler Engines book, noted that many of the team members went on to make "significant contributions" at Chrysler. He called out Syd Terry, Robert S. Rarey (later Chief Engineer of Engine Design and Development), R. Dean Engle (to be Chief Engineer at Dodge before succeeding Rarey), Ev Moeller (later assistant to Rarey and Engle), and George Huebner, then Carl Breer's assistant, who would succeed Breer as Director of Research and who would also lead the turbine program. Dyno man Herb Bevans later rose to become Executive Engineer of Powertrain Engineering.

Chrysler Museaum (enginehistory.org)

The XI-2220 Hemi V-16: first Chrysler engine with a Hemi head design | Allpar Forums

Chrysler IV-2220 - Wikipedia

Republic XP-47H Thunderbolt (militaryfactory.com)

Republic YP-47M Thunderbolt - Yanks Air Museum

(1) Republic XP-47H and the Chrysler XI-2220 engine - YouTube

View attachment 1715688788

View attachment 1715688808

M
 
-
Back
Top