Beardmore Halford Pullinger

Beardmore-Halford-Pullinger (BHP) were a series of aircraft engines produced between 1916 and 1918.^[1] The engines were used on many First World War aircraft, including the Airco DH.4 and DH.9.^[2]

The name B.H.P is derived from surnames of three people:^[3]

• Sir William Beardmore of William Beardmore and Company: Responsible for funding and providing original engines from his production company, which manufactured aero engines used in many aircraft prior to 1916 such as the 120 hp, 160 hp and Beardmore Tornado (diesel). They also manufactured aircraft and airships, such as the Beardmore W.B.III, and R23X class airship. The company types were modified into the B.H.P. engines.
• Frank Halford: Responsible for proposing^[4] modifications to the engines originally taken from Beardmore designs. Brevet captain Halford worked for the Air Inspection Directorate (AID) at Farnborough. He later designed the first turbocharged racing car engine, the Halford Special, all the engines made by de Havilland including jets and rockets, and several engines for D. Napier & Son, including the Sabre.^[5]
• Thomas Pullinger: Halford's proposals were made a working proposition by engineer and managing director of the Arrol-Johnston car factory T C Pullinger.^[4]

Beardmore started building aero-engines in 1913 when the group acquired the rights for licensed production of the Austro-Daimler 6. Arrol-Johnson (a Beardmore subsidiary involved in automobile production) produced the Austro-Daimler 90 and 120 hp engines at their facility in Dumfries, Scotland. The 120 hp engine was further developed at the Arrol-Johnson works with inputs from Frank Halford who was assigned to the firm as a liaison officer. Changes included the introduction of twin carburetors and dual ignition. The resulting engine was sold as the Beardmore 160 hp.^[6]

Halford and Pullinger then designed a completely new engine to compete with the latest German inline six-cylinder models. A new company, Galloway Engineering Co. Ltd. was set up in Kirkcudbright, near Dumfries, to continue development and production.^[5][6] Although BHP's design was projected to produce 300 hp (224 kW) the engine's output came in below expectations. The original name given to the engine was the 200 hp BHP. The engine's name was later changed to the 230 hp BHP to better reflect its actual output. Finally, the engine's name was changed to the Galloway Adriatic.^[7]

The 230 hp engine was also licensed to Siddeley-Deasy, to be built at their Parkside works. In addition to building the Adriatic engines, Galloway also supplied components to Siddeley-Deasy. John Siddeley himself worked on the engine and, after making many changes, released the engine as the Siddeley Puma. The Puma was later developed into the ADC Nimbus.^[6]

In British military service both Siddeley and Galloway built engines were known as the 230 hp BHP although they had different dimensions and few interchangeable parts.^[6][8]

Relatively few Galloway Adriatic engines were built. At the end of WW1, the RAF had 89 Galloway Adriatic engines in service versus 3,255 engines built by Siddeley-Deasy. All of the Adriatic engines were fitted to aircraft based in the United Kingdom.^[9]

• Galloway Atlantic. Two cylinder blocks from the Galloway Adriatic combined on a single crank shaft to create the V12 configuration Atlantic, delivering 500 hp.
• Siddeley Pacific. Two cylinder blocks from the Siddeley Puma combined on a single crank shaft to create the V12 configuration Pacific, delivering 500 hp.^[6]

Related lists

• List of aircraft engine manufacturers