Object Details
Manufacturer
Lycoming (Stratford, Connecticut)
Physical Description
Type: Turboprop, two-shaft
Power Rating: 820 kw (1,100 shp)
Compressor: 5-stage axial and 1-stage centrifugal
Combustor: Annular
Turbine: Single-stage axial for gas generator, single-stage axial free power
Weight: 252 kg (555 lb)
Summary
In response to an Air Force request in 1952 for a 373 - 522 kW (500- to 700-hp) turboprop engine, Lycoming produced two designs, both of which could be converted to turboshafts to power helicopters by removing the propeller gearbox. Lycoming was awarded a contract to develop a free-turbine turboshaft engine, designated LTC1 (military designation T53-L-1). It was military qualified in 1958, and the first production engine delivered in 1959.
The front-drive, concentric-shaft design became a widely accepted U.S. standard for turboshaft engines. The T53 gave Lycoming its start in the aircraft gas turbine business and played a key role in the expansion of the Army's airmobile role during the Vietnam War. The T53 powered the Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) and AH-1 HueyCobra helicopters, and this turboprop artifact powered the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk airplane.
Credit Line
Transferred from the U.S. Army
Date
Circa 1960s
Inventory Number
A19830339000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
PROPULSION-Turbines (Jet)
Dimensions
Overall: 555lb. (251.7kg)
Other: 4 ft. 10 3/8 in. × 1 ft. 11 in. (148.3 × 58.4cm)
Storage: 100.3 × 185.4 × 109.2cm (3 ft. 3 1/2 in. × 6 ft. 1 in. × 3 ft. 7 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19830339000