Lincoln Motor Company Liberty V-12 Aircraft Engine, 1917
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The 400-horsepower Liberty V-12 engine powered military aircraft during World War I. When pacifist and General Motors head Billy Durant wouldn't let Cadillac build the engines, Cadillac founder Henry Leland quit in protest, formed Lincoln Motor Company, and manufactured 6,500 of them. Packard, Ford, Marmon, and -- after Durant relented -- Buick and Cadillac also built Liberty engines.
The 400-horsepower Liberty V-12 engine powered military aircraft during World War I. When pacifist and General Motors head Billy Durant wouldn't let Cadillac build the engines, Cadillac founder Henry Leland quit in protest, formed Lincoln Motor Company, and manufactured 6,500 of them. Packard, Ford, Marmon, and -- after Durant relented -- Buick and Cadillac also built Liberty engines.
Artifact
Aircraft engine
Date Made
1917
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Heroes of the Sky
Object ID
00.136.316
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Steel (Alloy)
Dimensions
Height: 4 ft
Length: 6.25 ft
Width: 4.1 ft
Inscriptions
On plate: LIBERTY - 12 / AIRCRAFT ENGINE / MODEL A / MNFD BY / LINCOLN MOTOR COMPANY / MNFG NO. - U.S. NO. - / L I 9 5 11 3 7 / FIRING ORDER / R 8 4 12 6 10 2
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