Pratt and Whitney
The Pratt and Whitney Company was founded in 1860 by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney, with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut.
The company manufactured machine tools, tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War.
1924 Frederick Rentschler, Edward Deeds and engineer George Mead (who had designed an engine for Wright Company) acquired an interest in Pratt & Whitney. The successor to the gun company is now known as Pratt and Whitney Measurement Systems and is not connected with the modern Pratt and Whitney.
1925 Rentschler approached Pratt and Whitney looking for funds and a location to build his new Mead-designed light air-cooled radial engine. Pratt & Whitney loaned him $250,000, the use of the Pratt & Whitney name, and space in their building. This was the beginning of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company.
Mead's staff completed the engine, called the Wasp, before the end of 1925. It exceeded all expectations and won a strong recommendation from the head of the Navy's aeronautical section, Admiral William Moffett.
The Wasp developed 425 horsepower (317 kW) on its third test run. It easily passed the Navy qualification test in March 1926, and by October the Navy had ordered 200 engines. The Wasp exhibited speed, climb, performance and reliability that revolutionised American aviation.
1927 the US government opened mail delivery contracts to private airline companies. This caught the attention of aircraft manufacturer Bill Boeing, who used the Wasp engine in his Model 40 aircraft. The combination worked so well that Boeing decided to go into the air mail business. Frederick Rentschler and Boeing, acquaintances since 1918, joined efforts in this and other endeavours, purchasing Pacific Air Transport in 1928.
1928 Rentschler and Boeing decided to merge their companies with Thomas Hamilton, a Milwaukee propeller maker, and Chance Vought, another aircraft manufacturer. The companies were incorporated as the United Aircraft and Transport Company.
1934 the government changed its rules regarding air mail delivery, stipulating that no aircraft holding company could qualify for a contract. This prompted Rentschler to diversify his company to avoid losing its most profitable business. He spun off the unprofitable Boeing Company, but retained Pratt & Whitney, Vought, Hamilton Standard, and Sikorsky under the United Aircraft umbrella.
WWII: Pratt & Whitney turned out 129,505 engines and its licensees had produced another 234,114.
Post-WWII: Pratt & Whitney was asked to build two Rolls-Royce jet engines as a subcontractor. The company built several models that were used for aircraft that were in combat during the Korean War.
1953 Introduced the J57 with substantially more thrust than other engines then available, which was suited for Boeing's new eight-engine B-52 bomber.
By 1956 the company was turning out nearly 3,000 jet engines a year, dominating the military mark and came to dominate the civilian aircraft engine market with its engines used in both the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.
1970s Pratt & Whitney contributed 75 percent of United Aircraft's total revenues but margins were falling, so United Aircraft moved to reduce the company's reliance on aircraft engines. United Aircraft diversified and changed its name to United Technologies in 1975.
Engines
- R-1340 (Wasp)
- R-1690 (Hornet)
- R-985 (Wasp Junior)
- R-1535 (Twin Wasp Junior)
- R-1830 (Twin Wasp)
- R-2800 (Double Wasp)
- R-4360 (Wasp Major) - powering many post-WWII large bombers and transport aircraft.