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Pratt & Whitney J75

Turbojet engine

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The Pratt & Whitney J75 (civilian designation: JT4A) is an axial-flow turbojet engine first flown in 1955. A two-spool design in the 17,000 lbf (76 kN) thrust class, the J75 was essentially the bigger brother of the Pratt & Whitney J57 (JT3C). It was known in civilian service as the JT4A, and in a variety of stationary roles as the FT4.

01Design and development

In military use, the J75 was used on the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, Lockheed U-2, and Republic F-105 Thunderchief. It was also utilized in the prototype and experimental Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, Lockheed A-12, Martin P6M-2 SeaMaster, North American YF-107, and Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III.

Before the arrival of the Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofan engine, the JT4A was used to power certain Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 models, bringing improved field performance in the medium-range Boeing 707-220 and Douglas DC-8-20, and intercontinental range in the Boeing 707-320 and the Douglas DC-8-30. By late 1959, P&W had considered introducing a turbofan version of the J75, which was to have tentatively been named the TF75 or JT4D. Apparently, little interest was shown by the aircraft industry, so the variant was dropped.

Marine & power generation

After its relatively short lifetime in the aircraft role, the JT4A found more enduring use in the naval role, where the FT4 was produced in a variety of models between 18,000 and 22,000 hp (13 and 16 MW). Well-known uses include the first all-turbine warships, the Canadian Iroquois-class destroyers, as well as the United States Coast Guard's Hamilton-class cutters, the 1970s-built icebreakers Polar Sea and Polar Star (each 3 engines in CODOG configuration), and it was considered for the US Navy's Asheville-class gunboat. The same basic powerplant saw much wider use as a peak demand power turbine running on natural gas. From its introduction in 1960 over 1,000 FT4s have been sold, with many of them still in operation for electrical generation. Outdated by modern standards, refits are available that add catalytic converters to lower their emissions.

A US Navy J75 used in the P6M-2 Seamaster
A US Navy J75 used in the P6M-2 Seamaster

02Variants

Thrust given in pounds-force (lbf) and kilonewtons (kN).

J75-P-1
J75-P-3
16,470 lbf (73.26 kN)
J75-P-5
17,200 lbf (76.51 kN)
J75-P-9
J75-P-11
J75-P-13B
17,000 lbf (75.62 kN)
J75-P-15W
24,500 lbf (108.98 kN) afterburning
J75-P-17
24,500 lbf (108.98 kN) afterburning
J75-P-19
24,500 lbf (108.98 kN) afterburning
J75-P-19W
26,500 lbf (117.88 kN) afterburning with water injection
JT4A-3
15,800 lbf (70.28 kN)
JT4A-4
15,800 lbf (70.28 kN)
JT4A-9
16,800 lbf (74.73 kN)
JT4A-11
17,500 lbf (77.84 kN)
JT4A-29
(J75-P-19W) 26,500 lbf (117.88 kN) afterburning with water injection

03Applications

J75
JT4A

04Specifications (JT4A-11)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1962-63, Aircraft engines of the World 1966/67, Flight:Aero Engines 1960

General characteristics

  • Type: turbojet
  • Length: 144.1 in (3,660 mm)
  • Diameter: 43 in (1,092 mm)
  • Dry weight: 5,100 lb (2,313.3 kg)

Components

  • Compressor: 2-spool axial compressor
    • LP compressor: 8-stage axial (4 stages titanium, 4 stages steel)
    • HP compressor: 7-stage axial compressor
  • Combustors: cannular with 8 burner cans in an annular combustion chamber
  • Turbine: 2-spool axial turbine
    • HP turbine: 1-stage axial
    • LP turbine: 2-stage axial
  • Fuel type: Jet A-1 / ASTM A-1 / MIL-J-5624 / JP-1 / JP-4
  • Oil system: return pressure spray system at 45 psi (310 kPa)

Performance

Watch videos about Pratt & Whitney J75Explainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Pratt & Whitney J75, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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