Early Russian Engines.

[retread]

Looking at the photos of the early aircraft provided by YavorD got me wondering about engine production in Russia prior to and during the Great War. In the photos I recognize what I believe are an Anzani and an Argus. Presumably supplied directly from France and Germany and not built via licence in Russia. Also a closeup of an unusual horizontal engine on the twin prop machine, just what is that?
Two questions for the forum - were there any manufacturers of aviation engines (or even automobile engines) in Russia prior to or during the outbreak of World War 1?

and


What was the first Russian designed and/or manufactured aircraft engine?
The earliest I can find mentioned via the web is an engine designated the R-BVZ-6 designed by an engineer named Kiryev and manufactured in Riga, Latvia. Still, the suffix 6 seems to indicate this may not have been the first, assuming it is indicative of a series and not number of cylinders.

[Rbailey]

According to Maslov's book, there was no automobile industry and little emphasis given to engine development. Most of the Russian WWI machines were powered by mainly French and a few British designs, some of which may have been licence-built. Some Sikorski machines had the RBVZ-6, but I have no idea what the 6 means.

[Doc]

The RBZ-6 engine is described in "The Imperial Russian Air Service" as a copy of an Argus. Some of the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets S-23 "V" models were powered with them. The RBV-Z (Russian-Baltic Railroad Car Company) apparently produced 64 engines before the war. The Gnome and LeRhone Company of Moscow produced engines during the war, as did the Salmson Company of Moscow. The "Motor" Company of Moscow also produced engines at least from 1915-1917. The Joint Stock Carriage-Autocar Company built engines 1916-17. The Duflou and Constantinovitch Company produced a copy of the German Mercedes engine. The same book notes that: Engine prouduction is where Russia fell far behind. Russian industry had very limited tooling for such precision manufacturing. Most engine production was nothing more than assemblling French engine parts, with only simple machining procedures. Doc

[retread]

The plot thickens. I see Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of RVB-Z's aircraft plant in St. Petersburg in 1912. By that time he had built a number of aircraft designated S-1 through S-6 with results varying from complete failure to surprising success. These all seeemed to have been powered by engines that were at least foreign designed if not foreign built, from a 25 hp Anzani to a 100 hp Argus. The S-6, the most successful was powered by the last mentioned.

[retread]

I had mentioned above the horz. opposed engine on the twin prop aircraft. As far as I can tell there weren't many manufacturers of 4 cylinder engines of this type at the early date of the photograph, maybe 3-4 if that. My guess as the most likely candidate would be a Darracq from France which appeared "around 1909". If the finish looks nonferrous to you, thats because it was. Copper water jackets were soldered in place over the cylinder bank. The engines were rated at 48 hp @ 1500 rpm and wieghed a svelte 242 lbs. Info from "Airplane Engine Encyclopedia" by Glenn Angle, Otterbein Press 1921.

[YavorD]

An officer shown on this picture is probably G. V. Alekhnovich (Г. В. Алехнович).

Gackel VII (Гаккель VII) aeroplane with 80/100 hp Argus engine

Аeroplane shown on this picture was bilt by Yakov Modestovich Gackel (Яков Модестович Гаккель) and took part in 1911 Military Trials. Pilot was G. V. Alekhnovich (Г. В. Алехнович). Reportedly, this only aeroplane went through 1911 Military Trials programme. On this ground, 1911 Military Trials were declared non-event.

Length 8.9 m; Wing span 9.9 m (with ailerons 11.5 m); Wing area 40 sq.m;
Weight empty 560 kg; Fuel and Oil 100 kg; Useful load 140 kg; Take-off weight 800 kg;
Cruise speed 92 km/h; Climb to 500 m 9 minutes with passenger and 3.5-hour fuel supply.

References:

P. D. Duz (1979) History of Aeronautics and Aviation in Russia (before August 1914). 2nd edition. Mashinostroenie, Moscow, pp. 200/204.
П. Д. Дузь (1979) История воздухоплавания и авиации в России (период до 1914 г.). 2-е изд. Машиностроение, Москва, стр. 200/204.

V. B. Shavrov (1986) History of Aircraft Design in USSR before 1938. 3rd edition. Mashinostroenie, Moscow, pp. 59/67, 647.
В. Б. Шавров (1986) История Конструкций самолетов в СССР до 1938 г. 3-е изд. Машиностоение, Москва, стр. 59/67, 647.

V. M. Tkachev (2007) Wings of Russia. St Petesburg, pp. 106, 132, 133.
В. М. Ткачев (2207) Крылья России. Новое культурное пространство, Санкт-Петербург, стр. 106, 132, 133.

[YavorD]

Общий вид биплана конструкции [инженера] Касяненко.


Общий вид биплана конструкции [инженера] Касяненко с автоматической стабилизацией.


Вид мотора "Орликон", установленного на биплане конструкции [инженера] Касяненко.

Kasyanenko No. 3 "auto-stable" aeroplane. 50 hp Oerlikon engine. Completed in St Petersburg during Autumn of 1912. Crashed on October 28, 1912 during Military Trials. Abandoned.

References:
V. B. Shavrov (see above) pp. 81/83.

[YavorD]

Авиатор и инженер И.И.Сикорский в кабине биплана своей конструкции; размах крыльев биплана- 8м, длина- 7,5м, вес- 200кг,мотор "Анзани"- 25 лошадиных сил.


Авиатор и инженер И.И.Сикорский в кабине биплана своей конструкции.

BIS (БИС) No.2 aeroplane, 25 hp Anzani engine
BIS is an abbreviation for Bylinkin-Iordan-Sikorsky (Былинкин, Иордан, Сикорский).
Roll-out on June 2, 1910. Igor I. Sikorsky taxiing the following day. First flight on June 11, 1910, covering distance of 200 m and a height of 1.5 m, duration 12 seconds. On July 3, 1910, the aeroplane flew 600 m for 42 seconds.

Length 7.5 (8.0) m; Wing Span 8.0 m; Wing area 24 sq.m;
Weight empty 200 (190) kg; Fuel and Oil 10 kg; Useful load 60 kg; take-off weight 260 kg.

References:
P. D. Duz (see above) pp. 205/208.
V. B. Shavrov (see above) pp. 72/75, 648.

[YavorD]

F. G. Kalep (Ф. Г. Калеп) was the owner of the "Motor" (Мотор) works in Riga (Latvian: Rīga, the capital of Latvia). Negotiation for Gnome license production during early 1911 failed so Kalep went on derivative design accompanied by Shukhgalter (Шухгальтер). New engine was lighter by 7 kg in comparison to Gnome and number of parts counted 85 pieces less. 7 examples wee built up to February 1912.

Specs:
7-cylinder rotary;
Power 60 horsepower at 1200 rpm;
Diameter 835 mm; Length about 1000 mm; Bore 110 mm; Stroke 122 mm;
Weight 68 kg; Fuel consumption 0.315 kg/hp/hour; Castor oil consumption 0.1 kg/hp/hour.
Manufacturer warranted TBO 50 hours and 10 hours run without stoppage. Maximum engine speed of 1450 rpm was reported.
Trials at Sevastopol Flying School confirmed 1.5 to 2 hours MTBF.

In 1913, Victor Vladimirovich Dybovskiy (Виктор Владимирович Дыбовский) used 80 hp Kalep engine on "Dolphin" (Дельфин) monoplane of his own design, built at "Motor" works in Riga. Dybovskiy entered 3rd Military Trials with this aeroplane but suffered engine troubles.

References:

P. D. Duz (1979) History of Aeronautics and Aviation in Russia (before August 1914). 2nd edition. Mashinostroenie, Moscow, pp. 212/214.
П. Д. Дузь (1979) История воздухоплавания и авиации в России (период до 1914 г.). 2-е изд. Машиностроение, Москва, стр. 212/214.

V. B. Shavrov (1986) History of Aircraft Design in USSR before 1938. 3rd edition. Mashinostroenie, Moscow, pp. 121, 122, 651.
В. Б. Шавров (1986) История Конструкций самолетов в СССР до 1938 г. 3-е изд. Машиностоение, Москва, стр. 121, 122, 651.

[retread]

YavorD,
Thanks for your input and very complete information. I was able to find the Oerlikon included in the reference I mentioned earlier and see it was similar in a number of respects to the Darracq ( including the copper water jackets) although lighter (176 lbs. vs 242 lbs.) and more efficient ( 50 hp @ 1000 rpm vs. 48 @ 1500) or at least it was so rated.