.
Our museum has acquired a very old ABC two cylinder engine set up with a cooling fan and base frame for either aircraft Auxillary Power Unit (APU) or Ground Power Unit (GPU) use.
ABC was the All British Engine Company Pty Ltd established in 1912 and later became ABC Motors Ltd.
The company owner was Ronald Charteris and the chief engineer was Granville Bradshaw. They built a variety of A.B.C. engine types until the end of WWI, including the unsuccessful Dragonfly radial (BGE; S). During WWI, the firm began development of horizontally-opposed auxiliary power units (APU) for aircraft and ground power units (GPU). A 5hp A.B.C. flat twin provided onboard electrical power for a nose-mounted searchlight on the Supermarine Night Hawk and was a pioneering APU application (JMB). A.B.C. did little with aeroengines from 1919-1923 and concentrated on motorcycles. Their initial HOAE were motorcycle engines converted into low-power aircraft engines. They then built some widely-used low-power HOAE until they left the business at the end of 1926. However, they did build the A.B.C. Robin light aircraft in 1929 with an A.B.C. Scorpion II. Subsequently, the firm concentrated on GPU and APU production through and after WWII.
Can anyone identify the ABC engine in the attached photos and confirm its vintage and application?
The 5hp ABC flat twin to provide onboard electrical power on the Supermarine Night Hawk seems a similar possibility as our engine is of a similar small size and has a based plate for something to be “driven” by the ABC motor, such as an electric generator, or perhaps bilge pump?
I doubt a relic of a rare Supermarine Night Hawk may have arrived in Australia, however the RAAF had both Supermarine Southhamptons and seagull III aircraft, perhaps they carried similar ABC APU’s based on the HOAE engines built by ABC until 1926 – as mentioned above?
I am aware the Sunderland also carried an ABC APU however I suspect it was much larger and more modern than our example?
Anyone recognise it? or have a source of further information?
Regards
Mark Pilkington
Secretary
The Australian National Aviation Museum
By: adrian_gray - 10th October 2007 at 15:38
Glad I’ve helped, Mark, and good luck with it. Please keep us posted as to what you find out (though I’ll probably see the Great War Forum thread).
Adrian
By: mark_pilkington - 10th October 2007 at 15:21
Adrian,
Thanks for your assistance, I have registered at that forum and am awaiting acceptance so I can post my question there as well.
I tend to agree with you that our engine looks more antiquated than the 1920 Sopwith motorbike engine, both in fins, and finish of the inlet port on the cylinder etc, but they are obviously very closely related in design, I suspect our engine in one of the APU / GPU referred to as being developed during WW1, and mentioned in the quote in my first post.
I have also sent a request to Hendon for assistance, given the possibility now that it could be a GPU from WW1 I will also send a request to the IWM as well.
Regards
Mark Pilkington
By: adrian_gray - 10th October 2007 at 14:10
I wonder, Mark, looking at the cylinder inning whether in fact your engine is earlier, at least in design, than the one in the ‘bike pictured.
Parallel finning seems to have given way to splayed finning around 1922-3, and the fin pattern on your cylinders looks earlier than on the ‘bike, which is about 1920.
I wonder if it is a WW1 production, in which case your best bet is to try here:
http://www.1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/
You’ll need to register but if anyone knows, they’ll be on there!
Adrian
By: mark_pilkington - 10th October 2007 at 13:01
Adrian,
thanks for the tip to look at ABC motorcycles as a way of trying to date the engine design, I agree the manifold piping on the 1914 engine looks very similar, it would be great to have a close up and detailed photo of that motorbikes engine installation?
Following your link I found this close up of a 1921 Sopwith aircraft Company built ABC motorcycle on the web and there are many similarities with our engine.
As you noted in the 1914 example, the high back casting holding the magneto, the general cylinder/fin design, and the valve at the top dead centre position and rocker arm attachment, as well as the square shape of the crankcase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_Motorcycle
1919-1922
Flat-twin engine of a 1921 ABC motorcycleThis was the real ABC motorcycle, built by Sopwith Aviation Company at Kingston-on Thames, a company which built aircraft during the Great War and afterwards took over Bradshaw’s newest creation. This was a transverse-mounted 398cc flat twin with overhead valves, 4 speed gearbox, chain drive, spring frame and fork with automatic lubrication. Often regarded as the predecessor of the first BMW motorcycle, the Sopwith-ABC was an advanced be under developed design when Sopwith put it on the market. The valve gear was unreliable, the lubrication poor and although they could sell more than they made the ABC failed and by 1921 ABC Sopwith were in liquidation, mainly because the cutting edge design led to many guarantee claims.
I have “reversed” my engine image to have it orientated the same as the engine in the bike to emphasise the comparisons.
there are differences in the inlet manifold location on the cylinder head but a lot of similarities much the same?
regards
Mark Pilkington
By: adrian_gray - 10th October 2007 at 09:35
For what it’s worth, I don’t think there is a lot of doubt that it’s an early motor. I’d be flabbergasted if it was as late as WW2.
I am no expert, but the parallel finning round the cylinder heads and the horseshoe magneto say no later than the early 1920s to me.
The big casting at the side carrying the mag over the engine looks suspiciously like this one: http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/abc/ABC%201914%20Spain.htm
An APU engine would probably not be updated as often as a motorbike engine, and I suspect a 1914 design might have been built all through WW1 for the sake of not interrupting production so it may be a bit later, but probably not by that long.
Bradshaw is alleged to have had some peculiar ideas on engines – see, for example, the post-WW2 Bradshaw Omega – and IIRC believed they ran best hot. So if anyone restores it to run it will probably run VERY hot!
I’d be very interested to see what a REAL expert says, though!
Adrian
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October 9, 2007 at 10:27 pm