The Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors (GM) was a leading research, design and production facility of diesel engines from the 1930s to the 1960s that was based in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. The Cleveland Diesel Engine Division designed several 2 stroke diesel engines for
submarines
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...
,
tugboats
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...
,
destroyer escorts, s and other marine applications. Emergency generator sets were also built around the Cleveland Diesel and were installed in many US warships. The division was created in 1938 from the GM-owned Winton Engine Corporation and was folded into the GM
Electro-Motive Division in 1962. The engines continue in use today on older tugs.
History
Cleveland Diesel traces it roots to the
Winton Gas Engine and Manufacturing Company, which was formed by the early Cleveland automobile manufacturer
Alexander Winton
Alexander Winton (June 20, 1860 – June 21, 1932) was a Scottish-American bicycle, automobile, and diesel engine designer and inventor, as well as a businessman and racecar driver. Winton founded the Winton Motor Carriage Company in 1897 in Clev ...
in November 1912. Winton soon expanded into production of heavy spark-ignition and diesel engines, introducing the first American diesel in 1913. Renamed the Winton Engine Works in 1916, it manufactured marine and stationary diesel engines and spark-ignition engines for heavy vehicles. It was renamed again as the Winton Engine Company. During the 1920s, Winton became the main supplier of engines for self-propelled railcars.
George W. Codrington replaced Winton as the president in 1928.
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
purchased the company on June 20, 1930 and renamed it the Winton Engine Corporation on June 30, 1930. GM changed the name in 1938 to the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors Corporation.
Cleveland Diesel was dissolved by GM in 1962, with its remaining production moved under the GM
Electro-Motive Division.
Winton Engine Corporation
Winton Engine Corporation embarked on a sustained research and development effort in partnership with the General Motors Research Division to develop diesel engines with improved
power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...
s and output flexibility.
That effort produced the first practical
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s in the 400 to 1,200 hp (300 to 900 kW) range. The 2-stroke Winton Model 201A engines featured
uniflow scavenging with intake ports in the cylinder walls and exhaust valves in the cylinder heads, and
mechanical injection, which would carry over to later Cleveland Diesel designs. The 12 and 16 cylinder variants were 60 degree V type engines. They powered early
Electro-Motive Corporation (another GM subsidiary)
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...
s and
U.S. Navy submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s. In 1934 an 8-cylinder, 600-horsepower (447 kW), 8-201A diesel engine powered the first American diesel-powered train, the
Burlington ''Zephyr'' streamliner passenger train. The research and development efforts in the mid-1930s branched into engines for locomotive (
Model 567) and marine and stationary (Models 268 and 268A) use, produced under Winton's successor, the GM Cleveland Diesel Engine Division, and smaller diesel engines suited for road vehicles, introduced by GM's
Detroit Diesel division in 1938.
Charles F. ("Boss") Kettering was the head of the GM Research Division in the 1930s. Boss Kettering oversaw the efforts that produced the Winton 201A, and the first engines produced under the Cleveland Diesel and Detroit Diesel names.
Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors
GM reorganized the Winton Engine Corporation in 1938 as the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors. Locomotive engines were moved to the authority of GM's
Electro-Motive Division in a January 1941 reorganization. The Cleveland Diesel Model 248 series resulted from a series of design changes to the Winton 201A engine. Further changes and increases in cylinder displacements resulted in the Model 278, and 278A during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Cleveland diesel engines were used widely by the U.S. Navy in World War II, powering submarines, destroyer escorts, and numerous auxiliaries. They were also installed as generator sets and as auxiliary drives in many US warships built during the 1930s into the 1960s.
98% of Cleveland Diesel's business was government contracts by 1939.
The plant was expanded in 1941, producing an estimated 70% of the diesel engines used in U.S. Navy's submarines during World War II. Employment rose to 5,000 during World War II but by 1947 dropped to 1,000. Production expanded again in the 1950s during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and Cleveland Diesel acquired the plants at 2160 W. 106th St. and 8200 Clinton Road in Cleveland, Ohio. The development and production of
nuclear powered submarines in the U.S. Navy during the 1950s reduced the need for Cleveland Diesels and in 1962 General Motors closed the Cleveland plants, moving their remaining production to the
Electro-Motive Division facility in
LaGrange, Illinois.
Cleveland Diesel Engines
Reliability issues with the Winton Model 201A led to its replacement with the improved Model 248 for marine use and Model 567 for locomotive use. The Model 16-201A diesels in early fleet submarines such as the
''Porpoise'' class were eventually replaced with the Cleveland diesel 12-278A during World War II.
The Model 248 was offered in 8, 12 and 16-cylinder V type layouts. The two-stroke, Uniflow-scavenged engines employ a gear driven
Roots blower
The Roots blower is a positive displacement lobe pump which operates by pumping a fluid with a pair of meshing lobes resembling a set of stretched gears. Fluid is trapped in pockets surrounding the lobes and carried from the intake side to th ...
on the front of the engine which provided aspiration for the cylinders. It is a medium speed marine diesel designed to operate at 750 rpm.
The Cleveland Diesel Model 248 cylinder displacement was increased in the Model 248A and further redesign for production simplification resulted in the Model 278 with aluminum pistons. In early World War Two it was redesigned again for increased cylinder displacement and horsepower resulting in the Model 278A with steel pistons. The Model 278A engine was built in 6, 8, 12, and 16-cylinder variants. The Cleveland Diesel Division product line produced it through the late 1950s.
The
Model 567 was a purpose-built locomotive engine introduced by Cleveland Diesel in 1938. It was a two stroke, uniflow scavenged, roots blown, unit injected engine with intake ports in the cylinder walls and exhaust valves in the cylinder head. It was produced in 6, 8, 12, and 16 cylinder variants. The 12 and 16 cylinder variants were in a 45 degree V configuration. In January 1941 production was moved under the authority of the GM
Electro-Motive Division.
Cleveland Diesel Engine Division produced the following engines:
* 248 (8, 12, 16 Cylinder)
** 3 of 6 s
*** 4 16-cylinder engines, 2 hydraulic drive, 2 electric
*** , ,
** 6 of 10 s
*** 4 16-cylinder engines
*** , (2 hydraulic, 2 electric)
*** , , , (4 electric)
** 7 s
*** 8 16-248 engines diesel electric drive, 8 motors, 2 gearboxes, 2 shafts
** a portion of 77 s (4 16-cylinder engines)
** a portion of 120 s (4 16-cylinder engines)
* 258 (12 Cylinder – 4 stroke, direct reversing)
* 258S (16 Cylinder – 4 stroke, turbocharged, direct reversing)
** 88 of 343 s (2 x 1,440 bhp 16-cylinder engines,
Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear)
* 268 (3, 4, 6, 8 Cylinder)
* 268A (3, 4, 6, 8 Cylinder)
** 195 of 438 s (2 × 8-268A)
** 481 s (2 × 8-268A 440shp driving 2 shafts)
** 97 s (including 32 s)
*** 2 × 8-268A (350HP) electrical systems
*** 2 × 3-268A (150HP) electrical backup and while docked
** 72 s
*** 2 × 8-268A (350HP) electrical systems
*** 2 × 3-268A (150HP) electrical backup and while docked
**
MS Chinook (automobile ferry, 1947)
*** 2 8-cyl. driving 2 200kw Westinghouse auxiliary generators
* 268A NM (8 Cylinder)
* 278 (6, 8, 12, 16 Cylinder)
** 24 of 95 s (2 x 1,766shp 12-cylinder electric drive. single reduction gear, 2 shafts)
** 10 of 29 s
*** 4 × 12-278 diesel-electric, 1 × Fairbanks Morse reduction gears, 1 shaft 3,000shp
* 278A (6, 8, 12, 16 Cylinder)
** 97 s (diesel-electric) (4 16-cylinder engines main propulsion)
** 72 s (diesel-electric) (4 16-cylinder engines main propulsion)
** 57 of 343 s (2 x 1,440 bhp 16-cylinder engines,
Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear)
** N of 68 (Falk single reduction gearing) (2 12-cylinder engines, 2 shafts)
*** ...
*** (replacing 567A engines),
*** ...
***
***
** a portion of 77 s (4 16-cylinder engines)
** a portion of 120 s (4 16-cylinder engines)
** 1 of 29 s (4 16-cylinder engines)
*** the only one built (and finished) by
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...
***
** 20 of 95 s (2 x 1,766shp 12-cylinder electric drive. single reduction gear, 2 shafts)
** 49 s
*** 2 × 12-278A diesel-electric engines, 1 × Fairbanks-Morse reduction gears, 1 × shaft, 1,200shp
** 16 of 29 s
*** 4 × 12-278A diesel-electric, 0 or 1 × Fairbanks Morse reduction gears, 1 shaft, 3,000shp or 3,600shp
** 23 s
*** 4 × 12-278A diesel-electric, 2 shafts, 3,300 hp
** 69 of 1052
Landing Ship Tank (2 12-cylinder engines, 2 shafts, 1,700shp)
*** 932 ... 979, 1060 ... 1080
**
MS Chinook (automobile ferry, 1947)
*** 4 16-cyl. diesels driving 4 DC generators, 2 motors, 2 shafts, 4,800shp total
* 278A NM (8, 12 Cylinder)
* 241 (6 cylinder – 4 stroke)
* 288 (12 Cylinder – direct reversing)
** 2 of 35 s (2 shafts, 6,080shp)
*** ,
*** the rest used
Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engines
* 338 (16 Cylinder – vertical radial)
* 498 (8, 12, 16 Cylinder)
* 498 NM (8 Cylinder)
* 358H (16 Cylinder – Horizontal radial)
* 567 (6, 8, 12, 16 Cylinder two-stroke locomotive engine, 1938–1940)
** 3 of 29 s
*** 4 × 12-567 diesel electric, 1 × Fairbanks Morse reduction gears, 1 shaft, 3,000shp
* 567A
** 49 of 68
*** 2 12-cylinder engines, Falk single reduction gear, 2 shafts
*** ... , , ...
*** ... , ... , ...
** 983 of 1052
Landing Ship Tank Mk.2 (2 12-cylinder engines, 2 shafts, 1,700shp)
*** 1 ... 931 minus 100 cancelled in that range, 980 ... 1059, 1081 ... 1152
Cleveland diesel-powered fleet submarines
The Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors built the majority of submarine engines during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Model 16-248 and 16-278A were installed in many of the , , , , and es of
diesel electric submarines built in World War II and they continued to operate in U.S. service until the 1980s and in foreign service until the 2000s. Two models of the Cleveland diesels were used as main engines in World War II era
fleet type submarines, the Model 16-248 and Model 16-278A. The 16-248 was installed in Cleveland diesel equipped submarines until the Model 16-278 was introduced. Cleveland diesel installations since early World War II were Model 16-278A engines.
They are of a 16-cylinder V-type engine with two banks of eight cylinders each. The engines operates on the 2-stroke cycle principle, are air started, and are rated at 1600 bhp at 756 rpm on the 16-248 and 750 rpm on the 16-278A. The size of the bore and stroke of the 16-248 engine is inches and inches respectively as compared to inches and inches for Model 16-278A. Both models were connected to
electric generators which charged the main batteries and/or powered the main propulsion motors which drove the ship’s propellers via
reduction gears (
Elliott Company,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
, or
Allis-Chalmers
Allis-Chalmers was a United States, U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various Industry (economics), industries. Its business lines included list of agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, electric ...
)
The Cleveland Diesel Model 268 inline diesel was used as an auxiliary engine in many fleet submarines and as emergency backup generators on larger warships. They also found use in commercial applications. The 8-cylinder, in-line, 2-cycle, air starting engine, rated at 300KW generator output at 1200 rpm. The size of the bore and stroke is inches and 7 inches respectively.
The small displacement
''Barracuda'' class used three 8-268A Cleveland diesels which developed 1050 shp.
See also
*
Diesel Engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
*
Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scale, weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinder ...
*
Hooven-Owens-Rentschler
*
Electro-Motive Diesel
Electro-Motive Diesel (abbreviated EMD) is a brand of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. Formerly a division of General Motors, EMD has been owned by Progress Rail since 2010.
Electro-Motive ...
References
External links
*
{{General Motors
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio
Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland
Former General Motors subsidiaries