The Sunbeam Nubian, also called the Sunbeam 155 hp, was a British 8-cylinder aero-engine that was first run in 1916.

Design and development

In March 1916 Louis Coatalen, the chief designer at Sunbeam, responded to the

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's request for more powerful engines by designing the V-8 Nubian. The Nubian featured the twin overhead camshafts and four valves of his prewar engines for Grand Prix and TT racing cars. With a bore of and stroke of the Nubian displaced and was rated at with a reduction gear ratio of 0.615:1. The original engine was built with a 60-degree angle between cylinder banks, but severe vibration problems forced Coatalen to redesign it with a 90-degree angle, emerging as the Nubian II. Intended to power the Supermarine AD Flying Boat, the teething troubles of the Nubian forced Supermarine to use a Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine instead. Deliveries of the Nubian II began in October 1917, by which time the Nubian was overshadowed by the more powerful V-8s from Hispano-Suiza and the

Sunbeam Arab The Sunbeam Arab was a British First World War-era aircraft engine, aero engine. Design and development By 1916 the demand for aero-engines was placing huge demands on manufacturing. To help ease the pressure, the War Office standardised on e ...

. The only aircraft known to have been powered by a Nubian was the Saunders T.1, but some of the 36 engines built, of 50 ordered, are believed to have been supplied to the

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. The Nubian suffered from a poor design decision at first and was overtaken by events which prevented widespread use, but its cousin, the V-12 Sunbeam Afridi and its family members found greater success.

Variants

;Sunbeam Nubian :The initial V-8 engine with 60 degree V and rated at . ;Sunbeam Nubian II :Redesigned with 90 degree cylinder angle to alleviate severe vibration problems, the Nubian II was late in delivery and was not widely used.

Applications

* Saunders T.1 * Blackburn GP - handed left and right

Specifications (Nubian II)

References

Bibliography

* * Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * *

External links

Sunbeam Overhead Cam Engines
{{Sunbeam aeroengines Nubian 1910s aircraft piston engines