J.A.P. V4 Engine (1910) 

 "J.A.P." Engines were the products of J A Prestwich Industries in the UK, named after its founder J. A . Prestwich, an engineer, who formed the company in 1895.

John Prestwich formed the company in his early twenties, initially behind his father's house, and expanded to a new plant in Tottenham in 1911 where he became known for the creation of cinematography projectors as well as a line of internal combustion engines used in early aircraft, motorcyles and stationary engines for plant and machinery.

The company produced 240,000 industrial petrol engines during WW2, and in 1945 production was taken over by Villiers Ltd and the company completely absorbed into the Villiers Engineering Company in 1964.

Early aircraft were light and basic, and need a reliable and lightweight engine to power them. JAP motorcycle engines were often used in this application.

A JAP engine was used in AV Roe's 1909 triplane, regarded as the first all-British aircraft, and for a while Prestwich and Roe had a partnership. JA Prestwich at first would deliver the same engine to the aircraft manufacturer, allowing them to make local modifications - mainly larger venturi tubes for the carburettor, to allow for greater air intake at altitude.



Our JAP engine is understood to be built in 1910, is of 35 HP, four cylinder "vee" air cooled configuration, and was used to power one of the early Australian made aircraft, built by Lawrence Marshall in 1911, and flown in 1912.

In 1909, a Melbourne man Lawrence Marshall was one of 21 competitors in the 5000 pound Australian Government competition to build and fly an aircraft for military purposes.

Marshall built a tractor biplane 30' long with a wing span of 32' resembling early Avro construction, it was built in a shed adjacent to the Grand View hotel in Fairfield, and his airstrip being paddocks between Darebin Road and Bell Street Northcote.

The Marshall 1912 Tractor Biplane fitted with the later JAP V4 Engine.

The original engine was a flat four aircooled design built locally in Melbourne by Aubrey Lock in High Street Armidale, (and now in the collection of the Museum of Victoria - and loaned to Nowra, the second oldest Australian designed aircraft engine - after the Tilley used by Duigan).

Flights were attempted in 1911 but the aircraft would not leave the ground and the engine suffered numerous blown pots. Marshall was injured in a subsequent nose over on the ground breaking his arm.

Marshall imported a JAP 1910 V4 Engine (similar to that used by A V Roe) and made his first successful hop on the 18th of February 1912, however it ended in another crash.

On the 14 of April 1912, three successful flights were achieved, the best achieving a height of 30 feet and covering 500 yards, this nearly 2 years after Duigans' successful flights in 1910. In the intervening years 12 other locally built aircraft had been commenced to compete for the competition, with just 4 others succeeding to be flown or attempted to fly.

P.Woodward - Botany Bay 19 /11/1910 - 8 minute flight crashing into the bay
LJR Jones - 20/02/1911 - crashed on takeoff- first successful fight 4/06/1911
J Duigan 17/02/1912 - tractor biplane flown at Ivanhoe but later crashed
LJR Jones - 3/03/1912 - lightweight monoplane tested at Emu Plains

In an attempt to recover the finance invested in the aircraft to win the 5000 pound prize he offered a demonstration flight at the Northcote Oval at 2 schillings a head, on the 3rd of June 1912, a crowd of 1000 paid entry to the oval with a further 5000 outside. Unfortunately he could not start the engine and a near riot broke-out, with the police stepping in to halt his further attempts to start the engine and his creditors siezing the aircraft for auction.

His home and Butcher business had been mortgaged and foreclosed, and it took Marshall 12 years to pay off the debts, he died in 1966 at the age of 82.

The 1910 JAP V4 Engine imported by Marshall in 1911, and used in his successful flights in 1912 is today in the collection of, and on display in the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin, the only surviving remains of the Marshall 1912 Tractor Biplane.




 

Engine Specifications