Gnome-Rhône 14N

The 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône. A development of the pre-war Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and German aircraft of World War II.

History

Facing criticisms over the 14K's reliability, Gnome-Rhône undertook a major upgrade of its 14-cylinder design, using different materials for the pistons and valves, and enlarging cooling surfaces by 39%.

The new 14N was introduced in 1937 and was quickly adopted on several aircraft models. In 1939, minor improvements allowed Gnome-Rhône to increase the compression ratio from 6.1:1 to 6.8:1, which resulted in increased power for wartime production aircraft.

The 14N was further developed into the Gnome-Rhône 14R featuring a 2-stage supercharger, but this type was not widely used until after World War II as production of improved engines was prohibited by the terms of the armistice with Germany.

Specifications (14N 48/49)

pistonspecs

ref=Fact|date=August 2008
type=Fourteen-cylinder two-row air-cooled piston engine
bore=146 mm (5.74 in)
stroke=165 mm (6.49 in)
displacement=38.67 L (2,360 in³)
length=1.48 m (66 in)
diameter=1.29 m (50.8 in)
width=
height=1,289 mm (50.75 in)
weight=620 kg (1,370 lb)
valvetrain=Two inlet and two exhaust overhead valves per cylinder
supercharger=Single-stage single-speed centrifugal type supercharger
turbocharger=
fuelsystem=Stromberg carburetor
fueltype=87 octane rating gasoline
oilsystem=
coolingsystem=Air-cooled
power=
* 868 kW (1,164 hp) at 2,650 rpm for takeoff
* 728 kW (976 hp) at 2,400 rpm at sea level
* 780 (1,045 hp) at 2,400 rpm at 4,800 m (15,750 ft)
specpower=22.45 kW/l (0.49 hp/in³)
compression=6.8:1
fuelcon=
specfuelcon=
oilcon=
power/weight=1.4 kW/kg (0.85 hp/lb)

Applications

;FRA
*Amiot 351
*Amiot 354
*Bloch 131
*Bloch MB.151
*Bloch MB.152
*Bloch MB.155
*Bloch 174
*Bloch 175
*Bloch 210
*Farman F.222
*Latécoère 611
*Lioré et Olivier LeO 451
*Sud-Est SE.161 Languedoc

;flag|Germany|Nazi
*Messerschmitt Me 323

;NED
*Koolhoven F.K.58

;POL
*PZL P.24
*PZL.43 Karaś

ee also

* Pratt & Whitney R-1830 a comparable engine sometimes fitted as an alternative to the 14N on French designs

* BMW 801
* Bristol Hercules
* Wright R-2600
* Fiat A.74
* Mitsubishi Kinsei
* Nakajima Sakae
* Shvetsov ASh-82

References

* Danel, Raymond and Cuny, Jean. "L'aviation française de bombardement et de renseignement 1918-1940" Docavia n°12, Editions Larivière