The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about 975 cu in (15.98 L) and power ratings of 300–450 hp (220–340 kW). They were the largest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family to be produced commercially, and they were also the most numerous.
Wright R-975 Whirlwind
A Grant tank R-975 engine being removed by Royal Army Ordnance Corps mechanics
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a "star engine" in some other languages.
Radial engine in a biplane
Master rod (upright) and slaved connecting rods from a two-row, fourteen-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior
Continental radial, 1944
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial mounted in Sikorsky H-19 helicopter