by Jim Aamodt
In 1917, the U.S. prepared to enter World War I. Our Army Air Corps was ill-prepared as their planes had older model and lower powered engines. The U.S. needed a standard set of engine specifications for multi-powered applications.
Jesse Vincent, head of Packard Motor Co., and Elbert Hall, of Hall Scott Motor Car Company were commissioned by the government to design a new (soon to be named “Liberty”) series of engines. A modular concept unit of 6, 8 and 12 cylinders was to be engineered from a clean sheet of paper. These two men, with two draftsmen designed the engines in six days at the Willard Hotel, Washington D. C. The first prototype (a V8) was operational within 30 days.
The original production was about 100 V8 units, but demand soon came for the 400 H.P. V12 aircraft engines. Congress allocated $240 million dollars for 45,250 engines. By the time production was halted at the end of the war, 20,458 engines were built by Packard, Ford, Marmon Herrington, Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln. About 6,000 units were actually installed in airplanes.
After the war, the Army held a reserve supply of 11,810 units plus parts to build several hundred more. Howard Grant purchased the unbuilt parts, and combined with Chris Craft to offer high powered boats with Grant-Liberty engines. Garwood used stock 400 H.P. V12s and modified 500 H.P. V12s for several of his early “Miss Americas,”the Gold Cup and Harmsworth trophy winners. The “gentlemen’s runabout,” from 1922 through 1929 33′ Baby Gars, were all Liberty powered.
Marinized, the V12 had double the horsepower and half the weight of other 1920 vintage engines (about 1200 lbs. total). Conversion to marine use were primarily performed by Grant (Chris Craft), Detroit Aero Marine (Garwood), Vimalert, and Capital Marine. Capital was located on Hamline Avenue in St. Paul and was famous for Liberty and Hispano-Suiza marine conversions. All of these conversions were used in pleasure and racing boats well into the 1930’s. Vimalert marinized and sold “new” Liberties through 1948. They were also favorites for speed and power by rum runners. Vimalert supplied a “dual V12” Liberty unit for larger boats, and Garwood built specialty “commuters” with up to five Liberty V12s. One of these was government tested in the 1930’s for a new idea to be called the “PT” boat.
The display engine at the show is a 400 H.P. Capital conversion, completely original and in running order. This eventually will be restored.
A Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society
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