The Bristol Hercules was a 14-cylinder sleeve-valve radial engine developed by Sir Roy Fedden and manufactured by BAC from 1939. It powered Bristol's own Beaufighter, but was more commonly used in bombers. From the 1375 hp Hercules I to the 1735 hp Hercules XVII, which was produced towards the end of the war, the variants powered the Avro Lancaster B.II, the Handley Page Halifax, the Short Stirling, the Vickers Wellesley and the Vickers Wellington, among others. The sleeve valve engine was an efficient configuration that allowed the use of lower octane fuels with the same compression ratio. It was clever and it worked. Gordon Wilson provides a biography of this ingenious workhorse that was developed and modified under wartime pressures. He had exclusive access to the restoration of a Handley Page Halifax, which provided him with picture details not available anywhere else.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Wilson, Gordon A.
Title
The Hercules. The other engine that helped win the war
Details
English text, 16 plates with bw-photos. 286 pages.
