What is Bristol Taurus?

Information about Bristol Taurus

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Bristol Taurus engine


The Taurus was a 14-cylinder two-row radial aircraft engine, produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1936. The Taurus was developed by adding cylinders to the existing Aquila design, creating a design that produced just over 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) with very low weight.

Bristol had originally intended to use the Aquila and Perseus as two of its major designs in the 1930s, but the rapid increase in size and speed of aircraft in the 1930s demanded much larger engines than either of these. The mechanicals from both of these designs were then put into two-row configurations to develop much larger engines, the Aquila becoming the Taurus, and the Perseus becoming the Hercules.

Unlike the earlier engines, where the sleeve valve was a new and untried design, by the time the Taurus was being designed the problems had been worked out. Even the earliest versions produced high power, starting at 1,015 hp (760 kW). After several years of development, this improved only to 1,130 hp (840 kW), a testimonial to how good the first versions were.

The first Taurus engines were delivered just before World War II began and found some use primarily in the Fairey Albacore and Bristol's own Beaufort torpedo bomber. When the same plane was fitted with the famous Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp, its performance actually fell even though the Twin Wasp was both lighter and more powerful.

Nevertheless by the time the engine was in widespread production, designs had already demanded even higher power settings. The Hercules went on to see fairly widespread use, while the Taurus ended with the Beaufort after only a few years.

Specifications (Taurus II)

General characteristics
  • Type: 14-cylinder supercharged two-row radial engine with dual ignition
  • Bore: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.625 in (142.9 mm)
  • Displacement: 1,550 in³ (25.4 l)
  • Diameter:
  • Dry weight: 1,300 lb (590 kg)

Components
  • Valvetrain: Sleeve valve
  • Fuel type: 87-octane value to specification D.T.D. 230
  • Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

Specifications (Taurus XII)

General characteristics
  • Type: 14-cylinder two-row radial engine
  • Bore: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.4 in (137 mm)
  • Displacement: 1,550 in³ (25.4 L)
  • Diameter:
  • Dry weight: 1,300 lb (590 kg)

Components
  • Valvetrain: Sleeve valve
  • Fuel type: 87-octane value to specification D.T.D. 230
  • Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

See also

 •  • [ e]
Bristol / Bristol Siddeley aero-engines
Piston engines
Jupiter Mercury Draco Pegasus Phoenix Aquila Perseus Hydra Taurus Hercules Centaurus
Turbojet / Turbofan
Olympus Orpheus Pegasus BS100
Turboprop / Turboshaft
Theseus Proteus Orion Nimbus
Ramjet
Thor Odin
Rocket
Gamma Stentor
The radial engine is an internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. This configuration was very commonly used in aircraft engines before being superseded by turboshaft and turbojet
..... Read more.
The term aircraft engine, for the purposes of this article, refers to reciprocating and rotary internal combustion engines used in aircraft. Jet engines and turboprops are the other common aviation power plants; while operation differs substantially, the basics here apply to all
..... Read more.
The Bristol Aeroplane Company (formerly British and Colonial Aeroplane Company) was a major British aviation company. In 1956 its major operations were split into Bristol Aircraft and Bristol Aero Engines.
..... Read more.
The Aquila was a 9-cylinder one-row radial aircraft engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1934. It saw little use, as its power range was already covered by existing designs. Its primary use was to supply mechanicals to a 14-cylinder version, the Taurus.
..... Read more.
Horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. The most occurring conversion of horsepower to watt goes 1 horsepower = 745.7 watts. In scientific discourse, the term "horsepower" is seen as inferior and is rarely used because of its various definitions and
..... Read more.
The Perseus was a nine cylinder one-row radial aircraft engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1932. It was not widely used due to the rapid introduction of much more powerful two-row engines like the Bristol Hercules, but is notable as being Bristol's
..... Read more.
Bristol Hercules was a 14-cylinder two-row radial aircraft engine designed by Sir Roy Fedden and produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. It was the first of their sleeve valve designs to see widespread use, powering many aircraft in the mid-World War II time frame.
..... Read more.
sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines which have traditionally relied on the more common poppet valve.

Introduction

A sleeve valve consists of one or more machined sleeves.
..... Read more.
Allied powers:
 Soviet Union
 United States
 United Kingdom
 China
 France
...et al. Axis powers:
 Germany
 Japan
 Italy
...et al.
..... Read more.
Type Torpedo Bomber
Manufacturer Fairey Aviation
Maiden flight 1938
Introduced 1940
Retired 1944
Primary users Fleet Air Arm
Royal Canadian Air Force.
..... Read more.
Type Torpedo bomber
Manufacturer Bristol Aeroplane Company
Maiden flight 15 October 1938
Introduction 1939
Retired 1944
Primary users Royal Australian Air Force
RAF Coastal Command
Fleet Air Arm
Number built
..... Read more.
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with torpedoes, but they could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during WWII, when they were an important player in many famous battles,
..... Read more.
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp was an engine widely used in American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. It was a two-row, 14 cylinder, air-cooled radial design. It displaced 1,830 cubic inches (30 L) and its bore and stroke measured 5.5 and 5.5 in (140 and 140 mm), respectively.
..... Read more.
The radial engine is an internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. This configuration was very commonly used in aircraft engines before being superseded by turboshaft and turbojet
..... Read more.
sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines which have traditionally relied on the more common poppet valve.

Introduction

A sleeve valve consists of one or more machined sleeves.
..... Read more.
octane rating is a measure of the autoignition resistance of gasoline (petrol) and other fuels used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. It is a measure of anti-detonation of a gasoline or fuel.
..... Read more.
'''"War Emergency" power''' (WEP) is an American term for the throttle setting on some World War II military aircraft engines. For use in emergency situations, it produced more than 100% of the engine's total rated power for a limited amount of time, often about five minutes.
..... Read more.
In engineering, specific power, also known as power per unit mass or power density, refers to the amount of power delivered by an energy source, divided by some measure of the source's size or mass.
..... Read more.
Power-to-weight ratio (specific power) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and other mobile power plants to enable the comparison of one unit (design) to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine (power plant).
..... Read more.
The radial engine is an internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. This configuration was very commonly used in aircraft engines before being superseded by turboshaft and turbojet
..... Read more.
sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines which have traditionally relied on the more common poppet valve.

Introduction

A sleeve valve consists of one or more machined sleeves.
..... Read more.
octane rating is a measure of the autoignition resistance of gasoline (petrol) and other fuels used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. It is a measure of anti-detonation of a gasoline or fuel.
..... Read more.
In engineering, specific power, also known as power per unit mass or power density, refers to the amount of power delivered by an energy source, divided by some measure of the source's size or mass.
..... Read more.
Power-to-weight ratio (specific power) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and other mobile power plants to enable the comparison of one unit (design) to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine (power plant).
..... Read more.
List of aircraft engines:

Piston engines

Two- and four-stroke rotary, radial, inline.

A to E

ABC Motors
  • ABC Scorpion
  • ABC Wasp
Aeronca
  • Aeronca E-113
Aerosport-Rockwell

..... Read more.
The Bristol Aeroplane Company (formerly British and Colonial Aeroplane Company) was a major British aviation company. In 1956 its major operations were split into Bristol Aircraft and Bristol Aero Engines.
..... Read more.
Bristol Siddeley

Founded 1959
Headquarters Bristol, England

Industry aero-engine manufacture
Dissolved 1966
Bristol Siddeley was a British aero-engine manufacturer formed in 1959 from the merger of Bristol Aero Engines and Armstrong Siddeley Motors.
..... Read more.
The Bristol Jupiter was a British 9-cylinder one-row piston radial engine built by Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turned it into one of the finest engines of its era.
..... Read more.
Bristol Mercury was a 9-cylinder one-row piston radial engine used on British aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.

History

The Mercury was developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1925 as their Bristol Jupiter was reaching the end of its lifespan.
..... Read more.
The Bristol Draco was an air-cooled 9-Cylinder radial engine from the British manufacturer Bristol Aeroplane Company.

The Draco was tested with a fue;l injection system.
..... Read more.

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