The Napier Sabre was a British H-24-cylinder, liquid cooled, sleeve valve, piston aero engine, designed by Major Frank Halford and built by Napier & Son during WWII. The engine evolved to become one of the most powerful inline piston aircraft engines in the world developing from 2,200 horsepower (1,640 kW) in its earlier versions to 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) in late-model prototypes.
The first operational aircraft to be powered by the Sabre were the Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tempest; however, the first aircraft powered by the Sabre was the Napier-Heston Racer, which was designed to capture the world speed record. Other aircraft using the Sabre were early prototype and production variants of the Blackburn Firebrand, the Martin-Baker MB 3 prototype and one of the Hawker Fury prototypes. The rapid conversion to jet engines after the war led to the quick demise of the Sabre, because Napier also turned to developing jet engines.
Read more about Napier Sabre: Design and Development, Variants, Restoration Project and Engines On Display
Famous quotes containing the words napier and/or sabre:
“Not only do our wives need support, but our children need our deep involvement in their lives. If this period [the early years] of primitive needs and primitive caretaking passes without us, it is lost forever. We can be involved in other ways, but never again on this profoundly intimate level.”
—Augustus Y. Napier (20th century)
“Midnight Special on a sabre track movering movering,
first stop Mercy and the last Hallelujah.”
—Robert Earl Hayden (1913–1980)