THE COMPANY AND ROADRUNNERS WHO BUILT
THE J-58 ENGINES
POWERING THE A-12 ARTICLES OF PROJECT OXCART AT GROOM LAKE
AND OPERATION BLACK SHIELD IN OKINAWA
THE
PRATT & WHITNEY ROADRUNNERS OF GROOM LAKE
The role of Pratt Whitney in Project Oxcart, like that
of all the other support companies, has remained shrouded in secrecy
until recent years. Only now, after the CIA declassification of our
activities, and even our existence, can the role of these Roadrunners
be told.
It remains unknown
the exact number of engine failures during the ground development and
flight test phase of the J-58 engines of the A-12, YF-12, and their
successor, the SR-71 Blackbird, but it was a lot. Many were minor and
many catastrophic where the engine would be destroyed. For instance, if
the failure was a compressor blade, it would likely take out many
components downstream. If there was an afterburner liner failure it
would just likely blow out the rear and do lesser damage. When all
failures are included the number would be quite high. In terms of
catastrophic failures, the number would be a lot less.
There were many
engine teams at Pratt & Whitney. Many of them experienced
catastrophic engine failures during a high mach tests. Until now, about
all that is known about the trial, error, and successes of these
unknown aviation pioneers has been a couple of test cell photos showing
the afterburner shock waves. As this web page develops, stories about
some of these engine failures during test cell tests will be told along
with the many stories of success.
GOLDEN
ANNIVERSARY - 1968
The landscape has changed
drastically in the 50 years since Pratt & Whitney officially
dedicated its new Florida facility (designated the Florida Research and
Development Center) on May 27, 1958. If you could step back in time and
survey the land for the first time, just as the first company officials
did more than 50 years ago, you might be taken aback by what you would
see, or more interestingly, what you wouldn't see.
There wouldn't be a gas station nor a race track; not even a traffic
light. You wouldn't see the Beeline Highway because it doesn't exist
yet, and you may well be surprised to find yourself standing knee-deep
in water. So why on earth would P&W officials pull up their New
England roots and replant them in a Florida swamp?
To fully understand this rationale requires a look back at our
company's history and an examination of the chain of events that led up
to the decision. 
After World War II, P&W faced a serious dilemma.
The gas turbine jet engine was clearly the future of aviation; however,
government policy dissuaded the company from jet powerplant research by
directing sorely needed development funds to a rival engine
manufacturer (General Electric). Moreover, the commercial market for
piston engines, P&W's chief product line, was declining.
The company needed to act fast or face the possibility of going out of
business. In a bold move, United Aircraft Corporation, P&W's parent
corporation at the time, staked $15 million of its own money - nearly
twice the value of its assets at the time - on the development of a new
and revolutionary gas turbine jet engine.
The gamble paid off when P&W debuted its first gas turbine jet
engine in 1948, the JT3. Success was cemented two years later when the
Air Force selected a JT3 variant, the J57, to power its B-52 bomber. In
one broad sweep, P&W's J57 jet engine effectively leapfrogged the
industry in technology and performance - producing more than 10,000
pounds of thrust, a feat previously thought unachievable. The J57 went
on to become one of the most widely used jet engines in the world and,
by the mid-1950s, firmly established P&W as America's premier jet
engine manufacturer.
Fueled by the J57's dramatic success, additional engineers were hired
and factories expanded, but it quickly became evident that the
company's East Hartford facilities were being stretched beyond their
limits. Compounding the problem was the fact that the company had been
awarded contracts to develop two new and highly-classified military
engines - the J58 and the 304. The J58 was a turbojet engine and the
304 was a liquid-hydrogen fueled engine code named 'Suntan.'
Testing these clandestine engines presented the
greatest challenge because of the heavy population surrounding the main
plant in East Hartford; clearly the experimental engines' roar had to
be muffled. Furthermore, protection was needed from volatile fuels such
as liquid hydrogen. To stay put in New England would require the
construction of new, and expensive, test cells.
In addition to plant overcrowding and a need for test facilities, the
highly-classified government engine programs called for increased
security. At the same time, the company was having difficulty
recruiting engineers locally. Company officials concluded that the best
solution would be to build a new facility outside of Connecticut. The
question was where?
Florida had two advantages. First, Florida state officials, hoping to
recruit high tech companies to augment their fledgling economy
(primarily tourism and agriculture), offered to help P&W find a
suitable location. Second, a favorable 30-to-one Florida job applicant
response ratio over similar positions offered in New England sealed the
deal.
The company selected a 7,000 acre tract in a remote area of Palm Beach
County that was part of a state-owned wildlife preserve. To obtain this
land the company purchased 9,000 acres nearby and exchanged it with the
state. This increased the preserve by 2,000 acres and, simultaneously,
provided the company with a large plant site surrounded by an even
larger wildlife preservation area.
On Nov. 1, 1956, a small staff opened P&W's Florida Operation in a
leased office in a downtown West Palm Beach building located on Datura
Street. The staff rapidly expanded to 825 employees before the end of
1957.
'When we first bought a chunk of this wild Everglades country, people
began to realize the world of Buck Rogers was about to change from a
dream to a reality.'
– Bill Gwinn, President United Aircraft Corporation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February
20, 2008
This article is the second in a series commemorating the 50th
anniversary of Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach
site.
The 1950s: The Birth of P&W's J58 and 304 Engines
The 1950s brought a flourishing economy to America. Emerging from the
tumultuous decade of World War II, people started to enjoy life again.
Unfortunately, all was not rosy. The Soviet Union, our ally in the war,
was now considered a grave threat because it also had 'the bomb.'
Ironically, the weapon that helped end the war had also begun a new
one, the Cold War. Both countries were scrambling to develop missiles
to deliver nuclear warheads and rockets to place payloads in orbit. The
space race was on and the Russians were ahead at the first lap with the
launch of Sputnik. Barely the size of a basket ball, the satellite
carried only a simple transmitter, but its monotonous beep sent a
chilling message to Americans.
With increasing Cold War tensions, the U.S. was eager to acquire
intelligence on Soviet military capability. At issue was the fact that
existing surveillance aircraft, mostly converted bombers, were
vulnerable to anti-aircraft artillery, missiles and fighters.
Furthermore, the nation's chief surveillance aircraft, the U-2, was
capable of flying at high altitudes well above the reach of Soviet
fighters, but its slow speed made it an easy target for Russian
missiles.
It became apparent that America needed a superior reconnaissance
platform and in 1956 Lockheed's legendary aircraft development
incubator, known as the 'Skunk Works,' designed just such a plane, the
CL-400. In turn, Pratt & Whitney was recruited to develop the
aircraft's radical new engine, the liquid hydrogen-powered 304. This
highly-classified project was code named 'Suntan.'
Hydrogen-fueled
304 Suntan engine
Not having any prior experience with liquid hydrogen, a
super-cold substance that boils at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit, there
was much for Pratt & Whitney engineers to learn. More sobering,
hydrogen had a nasty reputation for extreme volatility, conjuring up
visions of the Hindenburg disaster.
At the same time, another classified program was under development for
the U.S. Navy's new Mach 3 reconnaissance plane. The high speed spy
aircraft required the development of the most powerful jet engine yet;
what was to become Pratt & Whitney's J58.
These two highly-secretive programs were initially managed in East
Hartford, Conn., however, that facility's lack of space, noise
containment and security quickly made it apparent that another location
was needed. In a bold move, the company made the decision to relocate
the development of both the J58 and the 304 to West Palm Beach, Fla.
West Palm Beach's first general manager, Chuck Roelke, was faced with
the daunting task of making the move work. Exacerbating the situation,
the company would not part with its experienced employees that Roelke
desperately needed. Therefore, he was forced to recruit his workforce
outside of the company. At the same time, the customers wanted their
engines to progress as quickly as possible, and consequently, work had
to begin in makeshift shops.
The
J58 engine at test.
During the months that followed, plans were made to construct a 600,000
square foot main building that contained both office and manufacturing
space. With no direct access to the site available initially,
development was intimidating. The state of Florida agreed to build a
road (later to become known as the Beeline Highway) but the segment
from West Palm Beach to the plant was delayed when the swamp refused to
cooperate, swallowing tons of fill and two bulldozers.
Despite the primitive conditions, spirits continued to remain high for
Roelke and his employees, and in September 1957, the Florida swamp's
tranquility was rocked by a roar that could be heard for miles - the
bellow of the 304 engine's initial test firing. Later that year on
Christmas Eve, the J58 engine, progressing equally well, underwent its
initial run. Less than a year later, on May 27, 1958, the site was
officially dedicated as the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Florida
Research and Development Center (FDRC). With construction completed on
the office, manufacturing and test facilities, and the engine programs
progressing well, success seemed guaranteed for the Florida site.
In the ensuing months the Air Force continued to invest in liquid
hydrogen production and the 304 logged more than 25 hours of run time.
Then, in an unforeseen chain of events, the Air Force, bowing to
budgetary pressures and a groundswell of opinion that a hydrogen-fueled
aircraft was too dangerous and expensive to maintain, decided to cancel
the project. Landing a second blow, the Navy terminated development of
its attack plane, and subsequently, work on the J58 ground to a halt
after just a few test firings. Fate had turned the site's apple cart
upside down, leaving the company questioning the wisdom of its Florida
investment decision and Roelke's workforce pondering their future.
What the employees didn't know was that the setback would be brief and
their new facility was just beginning to blossom. The United States,
still requiring a long-range reconnaissance platform, had recruited
Lockheed to design a new plane, the A-11 (the prototype's design would
later evolve into the famous SR-71 Blackbird). And to meet the demands
of high altitude Mach 3 flight, the nation once again turned to Pratt
& Whitney and its J58 engine.
At the same time, America's growing need for space launch capability
led the Air Force to enlist Pratt & Whitney's newborn
liquid-hydrogen expertise in the development of a new upper-stage
rocket engine, the LR-115. In 1961, the program was transferred to
NASA, and the engine became known as the RL10. The last 304 tests were
still underway when RL10 development began. The transition was seamless
and the pulse of the company's progress never missed a beat.
Click on images to enlarge
GET RID OF TURBINE ENGINES
Author: Bob McKellar
