View source for ABC Wasp

{{short description|R-7 piston aircraft engine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = ABC Wasp
|image = British ABC WASP.jpg
|caption = The WASP engine
}}{{Infobox Aircraft Engine
|type = [[Radial engine]]
|national origin = United Kingdom
|manufacturer = [[ABC Motors]]
|designer = [[Granville Bradshaw]]
|first run =1916
|major applications =
|produced =
|number built = 56
|program cost =
|unit cost =
|developed from =
|variants with their own articles =
}}
|}
The '''ABC Wasp''' was an experimental 170&nbsp;hp (127&nbsp;kW) seven-cylinder [[radial engine]] designed by the noted British engineer [[Granville Bradshaw]], and primarily built by [[ABC Motors|ABC Motors Limited]]. An order for twelve experimental ABC Wasp engines was placed with [[Guy Motors]] on 19 April 1918.<ref name="Aircraft Component Manufacturers - Guy Motors">{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/planes/components.htm |title=Aircraft Component Manufacturers – Guy Motors |accessdate=23 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601141943/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/planes/components.htm |archivedate=1 June 2008 }}</ref> Eight ABC Wasp engines were made by Crossley Motors Ltd of Manchester, England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collection.maas.museum/object/213314|title=Aircraft engine, ABC Wasp No.1|website=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305103456/https://collection.maas.museum/object/213314 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref>
==Design and development==
The ABC Wasp was one of the first large [[Rotary engine|non-rotary]] [[Air-cooled engine|air-cooled radials]]. At a weight of 290 pounds (131&nbsp;kg), it had a reasonable [[power-to-weight ratio]] at 0.6 horsepower per pound. This [[World War I]]–era engine is noteworthy because it was one of the first in which the cylinders were coated with [[copper]] in an attempt to dissipate heat. The ABC Wasp never evolved beyond the experimental stage, but it was the predecessor of the unsuccessful [[ABC Dragonfly|Dragonfly]] engine.<ref name="British ABC Wasp">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=816|title=Fact Sheets : British ABC Wasp : British ABC Wasp|accessdate=23 December 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229203610/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=816|archivedate=29 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ABC Wasp">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/collection/engines/ABC%20Wasp.htm |title=OLD RHINEBECK AERODROME – ABC Wasp |accessdate=23 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608024633/http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/collection/engines/ABC%20Wasp.htm |archivedate=8 June 2008 }}</ref>
==Variants==
;Wasp I
:1918, 160&nbsp;hp (119 kW) {{cvt|4.5|x|5.9|in}}<ref name="Angle">{{cite book |last1=Angle |first1=Glenn D. |title=Airplane Engine Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/airplaneenginee00anglgoog |date=1921|publisher=THE OTTERBEIN PRESS|location=Dayton, Ohio}}</ref>
;Wasp II
:1919, 200&nbsp;hp (149 kW) {{cvt|4.75|x|6.25|in}}<ref name=Angle/>
==Applications==
;Wasp I
*[[Avro 504|Avro 504K]]
*[[BAT Bantam]]
*[[BAT Baboon]]
*[[Sopwith Snail]]
*[[Westland Wagtail]]
;Wasp II
*[[Avro 504|Avro 504K]]
*[[BAT Bantam]]
*[[Saunders Kittiwake]]
*[[Sopwith Snail]]
*[[Westland Wagtail]]
==Specifications (Wasp I)==
[[File:BRITISH ABC WASP.jpg|thumb|The ABC Wasp on display.]]
{{pistonspecs
|ref= ''Lumsden.''<ref>Lumsden 2003, p.52.</ref>
|type=7-cylinder air-cooled radial
|bore=4.53 in (115&nbsp;mm)
|stroke=5.9 in (150&nbsp;mm)
|displacement=667.1 cu in (10.78 L)
|length=
|diameter=42 in (1,067&nbsp;mm)
|width=
|height=
|weight=290 lb (131&nbsp;kg)
|valvetrain=
|supercharger=
|turbocharger=
|fuelsystem= 2 [[Claudel-Hobson]] Carburettors
|fueltype=40–50 [[octane]] petrol
|oilsystem=
|coolingsystem=Air-cooled
|power=185&nbsp;hp (138 kW) at 1,750&nbsp;rpm
|specpower=
|compression=4.05:1
|fuelcon=
|specfuelcon=
|oilcon=
|power/weight=0.63&nbsp;hp/lb (1.05 kW/kg)
}}
==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[ABC Dragonfly]]
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
*[[List of aircraft engines]]
|see also=
}}
==References==
{{Commons category|ABC Wasp}}
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last= Gunston |first= Bill |title=World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines |year=1986 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location= Wellingborough |pages=9}}
* Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|1-85310-294-6}}.
{{refend}}
<!--==External links==  -->
{{ABC aero engines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abc Wasp}}
[[Category:1910s aircraft piston engines]]
[[Category:ABC aircraft engines|Wasp]]
[[Category:Aircraft air-cooled radial piston engines]]