Description
This is a post WW I German airplane engine identification plate. What is interesting is that the engine was manufactured under a license granted by the USA’s well-known Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company. The company was founded and first produced the R-1340 (Wasp) engine 1925. It was followed in 1927 by the R-1690 (Hornet) engine. Both air-cooled, radial engines were very powerful and reliable. [Parts for the engines are still being produced today by Pratt & Whitney, now a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, and an aerospace manufacturer with global service operations]. It is likely that this engine tag was for one of these two engines, which were used extensively in German military and civil aviation until WW II began in 1939. A box for the engine’s identification number appears on the plate, but it is blank. Thus, the plate was never installed on a motor. The plate measures 1 9/16″ x 3 ½” and is stamped as is featured below.
Lizenbau No (left blank)
Herstellungsrecht erworben
von
The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co.
Hartford, Conn. U.S.A.
U.S.A. PATENTE ERTEILT u. ANG. D.R.P. ANG.
Holes were drilled in each corner to allow the plate to be mounted to the engine.
