Military Wiki
in: Articles using infobox aircraft engine, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Turboprop engines 1950–1959, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines

Pratt & Whitney T34

Sign in to edit
This article is about an aircraft engine. For other uses, see T34.
T34 Turbo-Wasp
Pratt-Whitney T-34 B-17 testbed NAN10-50
A B-17 Flying Fortress testbed for the T-34 tuboprop engine. This aircraft was later flown on airshow circuits as the "Liberty Belle".[1]

The Pratt & Whitney T34 (company designation PT2) was an axial flow[2] turboprop engine designed and built by Pratt & Whitney. Its model name was Turbo-Wasp.[2]

Design and development[]

In 1945 the United States Navy funded the development of a turboprop engine. The T34 was produced from 1951 to 1960, but never used in a U.S. Navy aircraft production.[3] The YT34 engine with 3 wide-bladed propellers was made for two Navy Lockheed R7V-2 Constellation(C-121s) variants, for testing. Flight tests were 1 September 1954.[4]

In September 1950, a testbed Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress flew with a T34 turboprop mounted in the nose of the bomber. The first application for the T34 was the Boeing YC-97J Stratofreighter, which later became the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy. The next application for the engine was the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster.[3]

Variants[]

Douglas C-133A Cargomaster in flight

The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was the largest user of the T34.

YT34-P-5
5,229 hp (3,900 kW; 5,200 shp)[5]
YT34-P-12A
5,500 hp (4,101.35 kW)[6]
T34-P-3
6,000 hp (4469 kW)
T34-P-6
5,531 hp (4,120 kW; 5,500 shp)[7]
T34-P-7W
7,100 hp (5288 kW) w/water injection
T34-P-9W
7,500 hp (5586 kW) w/water injection
PT2F-1
5,500 hp (4,101.35 kW); Unbuilt civilian version planned to power the Lockheed L-1249B.[8]
PT2G-3
5,600 hp (4,200 kW); Unbuilt civilian version planned to power the Lockheed L-1449 and possibly the L-1549.[8]

Applications[]

Lockheed R7V-2 turboprop Connie in flight c1953

Lockheed R7V-2 Constellation

Engines on display[]

  • T34-P-3: National Air and Space Museum[10] (NASM)
  • T34-P-7W: NASM[10]
  • T34-P-7WA: Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM)

Specifications (T34-P3)[]

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62[11]

General characteristics
  • Type: Turboprop
  • Length: 156.8 in (3,983 mm)
  • Diameter: 33.75 in (857 mm)
  • Dry weight: 2,590 lb (1,175 kg)
Components
  • Compressor: 13-stage axial compressor
  • Combustors: annular combustion chamber with eight flame tubes
  • Turbine: 3-stage axial flow
  • Fuel type: JP-4
  • Oil system: closed circuit
Performance
  • Maximum power output: 5,500 shp (4,103 kW) plus 1,1250 lbf (5.57 kN) thrust, 6,000 ehp (4,476 kW) (take-off power)
  • Overall pressure ratio: 6.7:1
  • Power-to-weight ratio: 2.32 ehp/lb


See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ warbird registry.org - B-17G/44-85734; Retrieved 6/21/11
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flight Global: 1952 Archive
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pratt&Whitney: T34 Turboprop
  4. ↑ Google Books: Lockheed secret projects: Inside the Skunk Works By Dennis R. Jenkins; p.28-29
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 alternatewars.com - YC-97 Characteristics Summary; Retrieved 10/12/11
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Breffort, Dominique. Lockheed Constellation: from Excalibur to Starliner Civilian and Military Variants. Paris: Histoire and Collecions, 2006. p. 134 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Dom" defined multiple times with different content
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 alternatewars.com - YC-121F Charactaristics Summary; Retrieved 11/6/11
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Breffort, Dominique. Lockheed Constellation: from Excalibur to Starliner Civilian and Military Variants. Histoire and Collecions, 2006. p. 113
  9. ↑ US War Plane: Post WWII Aircraft Engine Guide
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Engine History: NASM Storage
  11. ↑ Taylor 1961, pp. 513–515.
  • Gunston, Bill (2006). World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines, 5th Edition. Phoenix Mill, Gloucestershire, England, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited. p. 79. ISBN 0-7509-4479-X. 
  • Taylor, John W. R. (1961). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company. 
  • Breffort, Dominique (2006). Lockheed Constellation: from Excalibur to Starliner Civilian and Military Variants. Paris: Histoire and Collecions. pp. 176. ISBN 2-915239-62-2. 

External links[]

Commons-Logo Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pratt & Whitney T34.
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Pratt & Whitney T34 and the edit history here.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.