Wright J65 Turbojet Engine
Curtiss-Wright
Developed from British Sapphire, the Wright J-65 was an axial-flow turbojet engine produced by Curtiss-Wright under license from Armstrong Siddeley. Curtiss-Wright purchased a license for the Sapphire in 1950, with plans to have the production lines running in 1951.
However a series of delays led to its service introduction slipping a full two years, by which point the Pratt & Whitney J57 was on the market and took many of the J-65's potential sales.
Used in the Martin B-57, its original target, the J-65 went on to power versions of the A-4 Skyhawk, B-57 Canberra, F-11 Tiger, F-84F Thunderstreak, FJ-3 Fury, FJ-4 Fury, and Lockheed XF-104.
The XF-104 was fitted with a Wright J65 jet engine. A very long fuselage contained the cockpit and fuel cells, landing gear, and a single Wright YJ65-W-6 turbojet engine.
The first flight was on 5 March 1954. This design had enormous promise, but subsequent flights soon revealed that the J65 could deliver a maximum speed of only Mach 1.79 (1,324 mph), approximately double that of the F-86 but still short of the Air Force's requirement of Mach 2.0 or better.
The designers soon responded with a much-refined version of the plane. They stretched the already long fuselage by 5 feet, 6 inches in order to accommodate a new General Electric J79 axial-flow
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Erected by Joe Davies Heritage Airpark.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. A significant historical date for this entry is March 5, 1954.
Location. 34° 36.176′ N, 118° 5.271′ W. Marker is in Palmdale, California, in Los Angeles County. Marker is on E Avenue P, on the right when traveling west. Located at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2001 E Avenue P, Palmdale CA 93551, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. MK-20 Rockeye Cluster Bomb Unit (a few steps from this marker); A-4AR Cockpit Trainer (within shouting distance of this marker); F-101 Voodoo Escort Fighter (within shouting distance of this marker); William J. "Pete" Knight (within shouting distance of this marker); A.W. "Tony" LeVier 1913-1998 (within shouting distance of this marker); F-86 (within shouting distance of this marker); B-2 Spirit (within shouting distance of this marker); Stanley P Butchart 1928 - 2008 / C-140 Jetstar (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Palmdale.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 18, 2018, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 702 times since then and 112 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 18, 2018, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
