Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major
| R-4360 Wasp Major | |
|---|---|
| Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major on display at Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum | |
| Type | Four-row Radial engine |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Pratt & Whitney |
| First run | 1944 |
| Major applications | Boeing 377 Boeing B-50 Superfortress Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter Convair B-36 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar |
| Number built | 18,697 |
| Developed from | Pratt & Whitney R-2180-A Twin Hornet |
| Developed into | Pratt & Whitney R-2180-E Twin Wasp E |
.jpg){kind=link}
The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. At 4,362.5 cu in (71.5 L), it is the largest-displacement aviation piston engine to be mass-produced in the United States, and at 4,300 hp (3,200 kW) the most powerful. First run in 1944, it was the last of the Pratt & Whitney Wasp family, and the culmination of its maker's piston engine technology.
The war was over before it could power airplanes into combat. It powered many of the last generation of large piston-engined aircraft before turbojets, but was supplanted by equivalent (and superior) powered turboprops (such as the Allison T56).
Its main rival was the twin-row, 18-cylinder, nearly 3,350 cu in (54.9 L) displacement, up to 3,700 hp (2,800 kW) Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone, first run some seven years earlier (May 1937).