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Walter P. Chrysler Museum Exhibits Rare World War II Engines

22 May 2000

Walter P. Chrysler Museum Exhibits Rare World War II Engines

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 22 After more than a year of
searching the world, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum's Acquisition & Restoration
Team found and restored a Chrysler aircraft engine and a Chrysler tank engine,
both commissioned by the government to support the United States' war effort
during World War II.  The massive engines are currently on display at the
museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

    In 1941, Chrysler won a contract from the U.S. government to produce an
advanced reciprocating superior aircraft engine, the XI-2220.  The Chrysler
XI-2220 was comparatively small, produced minimal vibration and was extremely
powerful, with the potential to develop up to 3,000 hp.  The inverted, liquid-
cooled, V-16-cylinder Hemi engine was the original Hemi, and served as the
forerunner of the V8 Hemis used in the muscle cars of the 60s and 70s.  The
engine was successfully tested in an XP-47H aircraft, but the war ended before
the engine was put to use.

    Although only three of Chrysler's aircraft engines are known to still
exist, the Restoration & Acquisition Team found a XI-2220 aircraft engine in
Newbury, OH, and added it to the DaimlerChrysler collection.
    The Smithsonian Institution, which also exhibits a Chrysler aircraft
engine, provided photographs and access to the engine in perfect condition to
assist the Chrysler Museum's restoration process.

    In 1942, Chrysler was also commissioned by the U.S. government to build a
tank engine.  "The government needed Chrysler to create a solution," said
Bernard Robertson, Walter P. Chrysler Museum Board Member and Senior Vice
President -- Engineering Technologies and General Manager -- Truck Operations.
"Originally, aircraft engines were used to power the tanks, but they
eventually needed those engines to power aircraft.  Up to that point, Chrysler
had only dealt with motor vehicles, but the U.S. government asked for our help
and we gave it to them."

    Chrysler's solution was to combine five, six-cylinder passenger car
engines into a unique 30-cylinder powerplant that produced an output of
450 hp. and weighed 5,000 lb.  In two years, approximately 7,500 tank engines
were assembled and installed in M4A4 Sherman tanks that Chrysler made at its
tank arsenal.
    For more than 18 months, the Acquisition & Restoration Team searched for
one of the few tank engines that had not been destroyed during the war.

    The team found an intact engine in a museum in Argentina and added it to
the collection, after obtaining clearance from the State Department, the
Department of Defense and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Clearances were required because the engine was classified as a weapon of war.
    Both the Chrysler aircraft engine and the Chrysler tank engine are on
display at the new Walter P. Chrysler Museum.

    "We are proud to add these engines to the museum's collection and to be
able to share their history with museum visitors," said Robertson.  "These
engines are not only significant to DaimlerChrysler, but also to the United
States."

    The Walter P. Chrysler Museum offers families an unprecedented look at the
American Heritage of DaimlerChrysler.  Seventy-five vintage automobiles are on
display, as well as interactive videos and exhibits, technical explanations
and vintage advertisements and photographs that detail the history of Chrysler
Corporation's products, employees and customers.

    The museum is located at the North American Headquarters of
DaimlerChrysler, and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. (closed Mondays).  Admission is $6 for adults,
$3 for seniors, juniors and Chrysler retirees.  For more information visit
http://www.chryslerheritage.com or call 888-456-1924.