Pratt & Whitney XT57

The Pratt & Whitney XT57 (company designation: PT5) was an axial-flow turboprop engine developed by Pratt & Whitney in the mid-1950s. The XT57 was developed from the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet.[2]

XT57 / PT5
Artist's concept of the C-132 powered by 4 T57 turboprops
Type Turboprop
National origin United States
Manufacturer Pratt & Whitney
Major applications Douglas JC-124C Globemaster II
Douglas C-132 (intended)
Number built 6[1]
Developed from Pratt & Whitney J57

Design and development

One XT57 (PT5), a turboprop development of the J57, was installed in the nose of a JC-124C (BuNo 52-1069), and tested in 1956.[3][4]

Rated at 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,000 kW), the XT57 was the most powerful turboprop engine in existence at the time,[5] and it remains the most powerful turboprop ever built in the United States.[2] The engine had a split-compressor (also known as "two-spool") design.[6]

Intended for use on the Douglas C-132 aircraft, the XT57 turboprop used a Hamilton Standard Model B48P6A propeller with a diameter of 20 feet (6.1 meters), which was the largest diameter propeller to be used in flight at the time.[7] The single-rotation propeller had four hollow steel blades,[8] a maximum blade chord of 22 inches (56 centimeters), a length of 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m), and a weight of 3,600 pounds (1,600 kilograms).[9]

In the late 1950s, the XT57 was studied for use in a United States Navy-proposed, nuclear-powered conversion of a Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat.[10][11] Despite not having entered service, the engine was selected because it had passed a Pratt & Whitney 150-hour testing program, which involved running the engine for 5,000–7,000 hours.[12]

Variants
T57/PT5
A turboprop engine driving a 20 ft diameter (6.1 m) Hamilton Standard Turbo-Hydromatic propeller,[13] 15,000 hp (11,185 kW) turboprop to be used on the Douglas C-132, a Mach 0.8 speed military transport aircraft.[14]

Engines on display

The XT57 engine is on display at the Pratt & Whitney museum in East Hartford, Connecticut.[15]

Applications
T57 turboprop

Specifications (XT57-P-1)

General characteristics

  • Type: Split-compressor turboprop
  • Length:
  • Diameter:
  • Dry weight: 6,600 lb (3,000 kg)[1]
  • Propeller weight: 3,600 lb (1,600 kg)[9]

Components
  • Compressor:
  • Turbine: 4-stage low pressure turbine[2]

Performance

See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Culy, Doug. "Wright's T35 Turboprop Engine, et al". Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS). Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. Dean, William Patrick (2018). Ultra-Large Aircraft, 1940-1970. pp. 84–87. ISBN 9781476665030. OCLC 1034989209.
  3. Francillon 1979, p. 470.
  4. Connors 2010, p. 294.
  5. "United Aircraft Sales near Billion". Abreast of the Market. Wall Street Journal. October 17, 1956. p. 25. ISSN 0099-9660.
  6. "News Digest". Aviation Week. Vol. 62, no. 26. June 27, 1955. p. 7. ISSN 0005-2175.
  7. McWhirter, Norris; McWhirter, Ross (1964). Guinness Book of World Records. Bantam Books. p. 195. OCLC 803932209.
  8. Gunston, Bill (1998). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines: All Major Aircraft Power Plants, from the Wright Brothers to the Present Day (4th ed.). Patrick Stephens. p. 135. ISBN 9781852605971. OCLC 754087992.
  9. "Nose-Mounted Prop". Aviation Week. Vol. 67, no. 16. October 21, 1957. p. 106. ISSN 0005-2175.
  10. Martin Nuclear Division (April 1 – June 30, 1959). "Summary to Part I.II: Nuclear Powered ASW System Studies" (PDF). Study of Seaplane Systems Employing Nuclear Power (Technical report). pp. v to I-28. doi:10.2172/1471210. OCLC 8160144848. OSTI 1471210.
  11. Comassar, S. (April 30, 1962). "2.4: 'Princess' Flying Boat" (PDF). In Culver, D. H. (ed.). Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Application Studies (Technical report). Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program. pp. 40–48. OCLC 1065745839.
  12. ANP Program, April 15, 1958: Another engine which we are looking at is the T-57. This is a Pratt and Whitney turboprop engine which was developed for the C-132 airplane. It has passed its 50 hour official qualification. It has passed a 150 hour company test which takes 5 to 7 thousand hour running in total. It has no bugs as far as we can determine. It is now sitting on the shelf and not being used because the C-132 has been cancelled. This as far as we can see is an excellent engine. (Captain Richardson, p. 71)
  13. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1957-58. Sampson Low, Marston & Company. p. 444. OCLC 495002766.
  14. "First Douglas C-132 Details". Aviation Week. Vol. 65, no. 17. October 22, 1956. p. 35. ISSN 0005-2175.
  15. "Official Program: Third Annual AEHS Convention" (PDF). Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS). July 6–9, 2006. pp. 3–4.

Bibliography
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