Clerget 9B rotary engine

Status : private collection. Engine cut for didactic display - stored at owner's home.
The concept of the rotary engine (the whole engine running around a fix crankshaft) is a french innovation.

Although rotaries where made in UK, Italia and Germany, the french ones where seen as the best ones; to the extent that french engines (removed from crashed planes) where fitted to German aircrafts.

The last Fokker Dr. I of Manfred von Richtofen had a french engine! And Clerget engines where (and still are) the most sought after french engine of WWI

Clerget 9B characteristics :                       
Performances :
9 cylinders rotary engine Power : 130 hp at 1250 rpm
Bore : 120 mm Consumption of fuel: 27,71 l/h
Stroke : 160 mm Consumption of oil: 7,62 l/h
Total weight : 172,8 kg  
Aircraft powered with a Clerget 9B :
                     

Nieuport 12

Sopwith Camel

Sopwith Triplane

Sopwith Strutter


 
Clerget 9B on Sopwith Camel (canadianflight.org)