Shoda-Hikoki Shoda-Ken No. 1, Inverted V-12 Engine

Object Details

Manufacturer

Shoda-Hikoki Company

Physical Description

Type: Reciprocating, Inverted V-12, 12 cylinders, Air-cooled, Fluid-coupled supercharger; Fuel injection

Power rating: 895 kW (1,200 hp) at 3,200 rpm

Displacement: 24 L (1,464 cu in)

Bore and Stroke: 120 mm (4.72 in) x 177 mm (6.97 in)

Weight: 650 kg (1,433 lb)

Dual, fluid-coupled supercharger; fuel injection; missing spark plugs, exhaust manifold, data plate; on stand.

Manufactured circa 1945

Summary

The Shoda-Hikoki Company, a minor contributor to the Japanese World War II effort, began developing a scaled-down, air-cooled version of the liquid-cooled Daimler-Benz DB 601 aircraft engine in 1940. It was the Shoda Company’s only foray into aircraft engines. The Shoda-Ken was an experimental engine project, not intended for production, and never fitted to an airframe. The engine features two-stage supercharging and a viscous coupling supercharger drive.

The Shoda-Ken includes a unique technical development where the cylinder head cooling fins were “hot-fused” into the cylinder head during the forging process, a technique investigated by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in the late 1930s. The “hot-fused” fin process involves preassembly of sheet aluminum fins, placing them in a jig in the desired pitch and then forcing them into the partially molten cylinder head blank during the forging process. This type of head fin was produced by Shoda as a subcontractor to Nakajima for Homare cylinder heads during World War II.

Extensive testing engine began at the Yokosuka Naval Air Arsenal in 1943. Only two engines, plus spare parts sufficient for a third, were built with this one being the sole survivor.

Credit Line

Gift of the Antique Airplane Association and Air Power Museum

Circa 1945

Inventory Number

A19771008000

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary

Materials

Steel, Aluminum, Paint, Textile, Stainless Steel, Rubber

Dimensions

Length 208 cm (81.88 in.), Width 89.5 cm (35.25 in.)

Country of Origin

Japan

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