Wright R-1820 Cyclone

The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Union as the Shvetsov M-25.

Design and development
The R-1820 Cyclone 9 represented a further development of the Wright P-2 engine dating back to 1925. Featuring a greater displacement and a host of improvements, the R-1820 entered production in 1931. The engine remained in production well into the 1950s.

The R-1820 was built under license by Lycoming, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and also, during World War II, by the Studebaker Corporation. The Soviet Union had purchased a license for the design, and the Shvetsov OKB was formed to metricate the American specification powerplant for Soviet government-factory production as the M-25, with the R-1820's general design features used by the Shvetsov design bureau for many of their future radials for the Soviet air forces through the 1940s and onwards. In Spain the R-1820 was license-built as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V.

The R-1820 was at the heart of many famous aircraft including early Douglas airliners (the prototype DC-1, the DC-2, the first civil versions of the DC-3, and the limited-production DC-5), every wartime example of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers, the early versions of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter (as the M-25), and the Piasecki H-21 helicopter.

The R-1820 also found limited use in armoured vehicles. The G-200 variant developed 900 hp at 2,300 rpm and powered the strictly experimental M6 Heavy Tank.

D-200 Diesel
The Wright R-1820 was converted to a diesel during World War II by Caterpillar Inc. as the D-200 and produced 450 hp at 2,000 rpm in the M4A6 Sherman.

Variants
• ;R-1820-04

• :700 hp

• ;R-1820-1

• :575 hp

• ;R-1820-4

• :770 hp

• ;R-1820-19

• :675 hp

• ;R-1820-21

• :690 hp

• ;R-1820-22

• :950 hp

• ;R-1820-25

• :675 hp, 750 hp, 775 hp

• ;R-1820-32

• :1000 hp

• ;XR-1820-32

• :800 hp

• ;R-1820-33

• :775 hp

• ;R-1820-34

• :940 hp, 950 hp

• ;R-1820-34A

• :1200 hp

• ;R-1820-40/42

• :1100 hp, 1200 hp

• ;R-1820-41

• :850 hp

• ;R-1820-45

• :800 hp, 930 hp

• ;R-1820-49

• :975 hp

• ;R-1820-50

• :850 hp

• ;R-1820-52

• :1000 hp

• ;R-1820-53

• :930 hp, 1000 hp

• ;R-1820-56

• :1200 hp, 1350 hp

• ;R-1820-57

• :1,060 hp (790 kW)

• ;R-1820-60

• :1200 hp

• ;R-1820-62

• :1350 hp

• ;R-1820-66

• :1,200 hp (895 kW), 1,350 hp (1,007 kW)

• ;R-1820-67/69

• :1200 hp, fitted with turbosupercharger

• ;R-1820-72W

• :1350 hp, 1425 hp

• ;R-1820-74W

• :1500 hp

• ;R-1820-76A,B,C,D

• :1425 hp

• ;R-1820-77

• :1200 hp

• ;R-1820-78

• :700 hp (522 kW), 1100 hp

• ;R-1820-80

• :700 hp, 1535 hp

• ;R-1820-82WA

• :1525 hp

• ;R-1820-84

• :1525 hp

• ;R-1820-86

• :1425 hp

• ;R-1820-97

• :1200 hp, fitted with turbosupercharger

• ;R-1820-103

• :1425 hp

• ;SGR-1820-F3

• :710 hp, 720 hp

• ;SGR-1820-F2

• :720 hp

• ;R-1820-F53

• :770 hp

• ;R-1820-F56

• :790 hp

• ;GR-1820-G2

• :1000 hp

• ;R-1820-G3

• :840 hp

• ;R-1820-G5

• :950 hp

• ;R-1820-G101

• :1100 hp

• ;R-1820-G102

• :775 hp

• ;GR-1820-G102A

• :1100 hp

• ;R-1820-G102A

• :1100 hp

• ;R-1820-G102A

• :1100 hp

• ;R-1820-G202A

• :1200 hp

• ;R-1820-G103

• :1000 hp

• ;R-1820-G105

• :1000 hp

• ;R-1820-G205A

• :1200 hp Notes: Unit numbers ending with W indicate engine variants fitted with water-methanol emergency power boost systems.

Hispano-Suiza 9V
The Hispano-Suiza 9V is a licence-built version of the R-1820.
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vr:9V with reduction gear
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vb:
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vbr:variant of the 9Vb with reduction gear
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vbrs:variant of the 9Vb with reduction gear and supercharger
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs:variant of the 9Vb with supercharger
 * Hispano-Suiza 9Vd:variant of the 9V
 * Hispano-Suiza 9V-10:575 hp driving fixed-pitch propeller
 * Hispano-Suiza 9V-11:as -10 but RH rotation
 * Hispano-Suiza 9V-16:650 hp driving variable-pitch propeller, LH rotation
 * Hispano-Suiza 9V-17:as -16 but RH rotation

Applications
• Bloch MB.221

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

• Boeing 307 Stratoliner

• Brewster F2A Buffalo

• Curtiss AT-32-A Condor

• Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver

• Curtiss P-36 Mohawk

• Curtiss SC Seahawk

• Curtiss-Wright CW-21

• Douglas A-33

• Douglas B-18 Bolo

• Douglas DC-2

• Douglas DC-3 (DST, G-102 and G-202)

• Douglas R4D-8/C-117D

• Douglas DC-5

• Douglas DF Wright SGR-1820G-2

• Douglas SBD Dauntless

• FMA AeMB.2 Bombi

• General Motors FM-2 Wildcat

• Grumman TF-1 / C-1 Trader

• Grumman E-1 Tracer

• Grumman FF

• Grumman F3F

• Grumman XF5F Skyrocket

• Grumman XP-50

• Grumman HU-16 Albatross

• Grumman J2F Duck

• Grumman S-2 Tracker

• Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra

• Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar

• Lockheed Hudson

• Martin B-10

• North American A-27

• North American O-47

• North American P-64

• North American T-28B/C/D Trojan

• Northrop N-3PB

• Northrop YC-125 Raider

• Piasecki H-21

• Polikarpov I-16

• Ryan FR Fireball

• Sikorsky S-58/HUS/HSS/H-34

• Vultee V-1

Vehicles

 * M4A6 tank
 * M6 heavy tank

Engines on display
Preserved Wright R-1820 engines are on display at the following museums:
 * American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum
 * Fleet Air Arm Museum
 * Delta Flight Museum
 * National Air and Space Museum
 * National Museum of the U.S. Air Force