Pratt & Whitney Engine

Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 Engine – Corsair

• Scale:                            1:15
• Release:                        2002
• Limited Edition:              15
• Model Size:                   7”L x 3.5”W x 4.5”H
• Base Type:                    Black Walnut
• Base/Case Size:           9.5”L x 5.5”Wx 6”H
• Availability:                    Sold out

The Pratt & Whitney Company, founded in 1860 by Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney, manufactured machine tools, tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War.  In 1925, Frederick Brant Rentschler approached Pratt & Whitney looking for funds and a location to build his new aircraft engine. Pratt & Whitney loaned him $250,000, the use of the Pratt & Whitney name, and space in their building. This was the beginning of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company.

Pratt & Whitney’s first engine, the Wasp, was completed on Christmas Eve 1925. The Wasp developed 425 horsepower (317 kW) on its third test run. It easily passed the Navy qualification test in March 1926, and by October the Navy had ordered 200 engines. The Wasp exhibited speed, climb, performance and reliability that revolutionized American aviation.

The R-2800

The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine, considered one of the premier radial piston engines ever designed, was a two-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial design.  It became legendary when used in several aircraft during World War II, including the F4U Corsair, P-47 Thunderbolt, and the Grumman F6F Hellcat. During the war years, Pratt & Whitney was continuously coming up with new ways to upgrade this already powerful workhorse, most notably water injection to give emergency power in combat.

After World War II, the engine was used in the Korean War, and surplus World War II aircraft powered with the Double-Wasp served with other countries well past the Korean War, some being retired as late as the latter part of the 1960s when the aircraft were replaced. The R-2800 also powered post-war propliners from Douglas, Lockheed and Martin. Today, more than 60 years after the first Double Wasp was built, it is still used in many restored vintage aircraft in air shows.

About the Model…

Fine Art Models has produced this limited edition, Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 aircraft engine model in a scale of 1:15 with exacting detail, including more than 600 scale .2mm nuts and bolts – all hand assembled – just as on the real engine.  

The model, also found in Fine Art Models’ F4U Corsair model, was reproduced using the actual drawings for Pratt & Whitney’s R-2800-8 engine and includes every detail, right down to the primer lines for each cylinder.  Made entirely of brass, the engine model has been produced on a display stand so the detail of the engine, normally hidden when incorporated into the Corsair model, can be seen from 360 degrees and fully appreciated.  As with all Fine Art Models, each Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 Aircraft Engine scale model comes complete with its own Black Walnut base and leaded glass display case.