INSTALLING LIBERTY ENGINE IN THE LEPERE FUSELAGE AT PACKARD PLANT, SHOWING PROGRESSIVE ASSEMBLY.
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A more concrete evidence of the esteem in which this American creation was held by the European expert lies in the size of the orders which the various allied Governments placed with the United States for Liberty engines. The British took 1,000 of them immediately and declared that they wished to increase this order to 5,500 to be delivered by December 31, 1918. The French directed inquiries as to the possibility of taking one-fifth of our complete output of Liberty engines. The Italians also indicated their intention of purchasing heavily for immediate delivery.
This increased demand for the engine had not been anticipated in our original plans, as we had no idea that the allied Governments would turn from their own highly developed engines to ask for Liberty engines in such quantities. The original program of 22,500 engines was only sufficient for our own Army and Navy requirements. As soon as the foreign Governments, however, came in with their demands we immediately increased the orders placed with all the existing Liberty engine builders, and in addition contracted to take the entire manufacturing facilities of the Willys-Overland Co. at its plants in Toledo and Elyria, Ohio, and Elmira, N. Y. We also engaged the entire capacity of the Olds Motor plant at Lansing, Mich. In addition we had subsequently contracted for the production of 8,000 of the 8-cylinder engines. Thus the number of engines which would have been delivered under contract, if peace had not cut short the production, would have been 56,100 engines of the 12-cylinder type and 8,000 of the 8's.
The foreign Governments associated with us in the war against Germany showered their demands upon us for great numbers of the American engines, not only altogether because of the excellence of the Liberty, but because partially their plane production exceeded their output of engines. Mr. John D. Ryan, Director of Aircraft Production, verbally agreed to deliver to the French 1,500 Liberty engines by December 31, and further agreed to deliver motors to the French at the rate of 750 per month during the first six months of 1919. The British had already received 1,000 Liberty motors, and this order was increased with Mr. Ryan personally by several thousand additional engines to be delivered in the early part of 1919. When the armistice was signed the Liberty engine was being produced at a rate which promised to make it the dominant motive power of the war in the air before many months had passed.
The engine was originally named the "United States Standard 12-cylinder Aviation Engine." In view of the service which it promised to render to the cause of civilization, Admiral D. W. Taylor, the chief construction officer of the Navy, suggested during the early part of the period of production that the original prosaic name be discarded and that the engine be rechristened the "Liberty." Under this name the engine has taken its place in the history of the war as one of the most efficient agencies which was developed and employed by this country.