Bristol Hercules VI
The Bristol Hercules VI is an air-cooled, supercharged piston engine with fourteen cylinders arranged in two radial rows. Its moving sleeve valves control intake and exhaust in place of conventional poppet valves. The Hercules programme addressed the mechanical and manufacturing challenges of that arrangement, and the VI powered wartime aircraft including the Bristol Beaufighter and Short Stirling III. It is one Hercules mark; the ratings of later engines such as the Hercules 763 do not apply to it.
Identity
- Aliases
- Hercules VIBristol Hercules VIBristol Hercules 6
- Domains
- aviation
- Identity Level
- variant
- Kind
- piston-engine
- Name
- Bristol Hercules VI
- Status
- historical
Details
- Description
- The Bristol Hercules VI is an air-cooled, supercharged piston engine with fourteen cylinders arranged in two radial rows. Its moving sleeve valves control intake and exhaust in place of conventional poppet valves. The Hercules programme addressed the mechanical and manufacturing challenges of that arrangement, and the VI powered wartime aircraft including the Bristol Beaufighter and Short Stirling III. It is one Hercules mark; the ratings of later engines such as the Hercules 763 do not apply to it.
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 7, 2026 at 06:06:38 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 17, 2026 at 12:24:39 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-07
- Note
- The Smithsonian identifies the exact Hercules VI variant, its sleeve-valve architecture, and its wartime and postwar aircraft applications, supporting a precise historical identity without creating installations here.
- Publisher
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
- Title
- Bristol Hercules VI, 2-Row, Radial 14 Engine