Westinghouse J32

The Westinghouse J32 was a small turbojet engine developed by the Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the mid-1940s.

J32
Cut-away Westinghouse 9.5A/J32 turbojet engine on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Type Turbojet
National origin United States
Manufacturer Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division
First run 1944
Number built 44
Developed from Westinghouse J30

Design and development

Development of the 9.5A (military designation J32-WE-2) began in late 1942, and Westinghouse delivered the first engine to the U.S. Navy in mid-1944. The Navy selected the 9.5A to power the Gorgon II-B and III-B air-to-air missiles, but these applications did not materialize.[1]

An improved version, the 9.5B, powered the TD2N-1 Gorgon high-speed target drone, which successfully flew in 1945. The engine's high cost and continuing development delays led to the cancellation of the TD2N-1 program in 1946. Westinghouse manufactured 24 of the 9.5A and 20 of the 9.5B engines. Despite their limited use, they constituted the first family of small turbojet engines successfully developed and produced in the United States.[1]

Variants
J32-WE-2
Military designation of the Westinghouse 9.5A
Westinghouse 9.5A
Company designation of the J32, denoting the diameter of the engine in inches
Westinghouse 9.5B
Company designation for the improved version of the 9.5A

Applications

Engines on display

A cutaway Westinghouse 9.5A/J32-WE-2 turbojet engine is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. This engine lacks a serial number as it was assembled from spare parts and was transferred to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from the U.S. Department of the Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics.[1]

Specifications (9.5A)

Data from [2]

General characteristics
  • Type: axial flow turbojet
  • Length: 55.2 in (1,402.1 mm)
  • Diameter: 9.5 in (241.3 mm)
  • Dry weight: 9.5A 143 lb (64.9 kg), 9.5B 145 lb (65.8 kg)

Components
  • Compressor: 6-stage axial
  • Combustors: annular stainless steel
  • Turbine: single-stage axial
  • Fuel type: 100/130 gasoline
  • Oil system: pressure spray at 65 psi (448.2 kPa)

Performance
  • Maximum thrust: 9.5A 275 lbf (1.22 kN) at 36,000 rpm at sea level, 9.5B 260 lbf (1.16 kN) at 34,000 rpm at sea level
  • Overall pressure ratio: 3:1
  • Air mass flow: 5.25 lb (2.38 kg)/s at 28,000 rpm
  • Turbine inlet temperature: 1,500 °F (816 °C)
  • Specific fuel consumption: 1.7 lb/(lbf⋅h) (48 g/(kN⋅s))
  • Thrust-to-weight ratio: 1.92
  • Normal thrust, static: 9.5A 175 lbf (0.78 kN) at 29,800 rpm at sea level, 9.5B 260 lbf (1.16 kN) at 34,000 rpm at sea level
  • Military thrust, flight: 215 lbf (0.96 kN) at 36,000 rpm at altitude
  • Normal thrust, flight: 160 lbf (0.71 kN) at 29,800 rpm at altitude

References
  1. "Westinghouse J32-WE-2 (9.5A) Turbojet Engine, Cutaway, Motorized | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu.
  2. Wilkinson, Paul H. (1946). Aircraft Engines of the world 1946. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. pp. 276–277.

Notes

Further reading
  • Christiansen, Paul J. (2019). Early Westinghouse Axial Turbojets. Olney, Maryland, USA: Bleeg Publishing, LLC. pp. 360–361.
  • Leyes, Richard A.; Fleming, William A. (1999). The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines. Reston, Virginia: Smithsonian Institution and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 1-56347-332-1.
  • Kay, Anthony L. (2007). Turbojet History and Development 1930-1960 Volume 2:USSR, USA, Japan, France, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Hungary (1st ed.). Ramsbury: The Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1861269393.
  • Wilkinson, Paul H. (1946). Aircraft Engines of the world 1946. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. pp. 276–277.
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