# Ford GAA engine > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ford_GAA_engine > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ford_GAA_engine.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GAA_engine > Source revision: 1346453979 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Infobox engine | image = FordGAA 1.JPG | name = Ford GAA | aka = | manufacturer = [Ford Motor Company](/source/Ford_Motor_Company) | configuration = 60° [V8](/source/V8_engine) | production = 1940-1950 | predecessor = | successor = | bore = {{cvt|5.4|in|mm|0}} | stroke = {{cvt|6.0|in|mm|0}} | displacement = {{cvt|1100|cid|L|}} | length = {{cvt|59.02|in|cm|0}} | diameter = | width = {{cvt|33.25|in|cm|0}} | height = {{cvt|47.78|in|cm|0}} | weight = {{cvt|1,470|lb|kg|0}} | block = | head = | valvetrain = [DOHC](/source/Overhead_camshaft_engine) | supercharger = | turbocharger = | fuelsystem = [Naturally aspirated engine](/source/Naturally_aspirated_engine) with [Stromberg](/source/Bendix_Corporation) NA-Y5-G [carburetor](/source/carburetor)sBerndt, Thomas. ''Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles'' (Krause Publications, 1993), p.193. | fueltype = [Gasoline](/source/Gasoline) | oilsystem = | coolingsystem = Liquid | power = {{cvt|500|hp|kW|0}} at 2,600 [rpm](/source/Revolutions_per_minute) | specpower = | torque = {{cvt|1,050|ftlbf|Nm|0}} at 2,200 [rpm](/source/Revolutions_per_minute) | compression = 7.5:1 | fuelcon = | specfuelcon = | oilcon = }} The '''Ford GAA engine''' is an American all-aluminum 32-[valve](/source/Poppet_valve) [DOHC](/source/Overhead_camshaft_engine) 60-degree [gasoline](/source/gasoline)-fueled liquid-cooled V8 [internal combustion engine](/source/internal_combustion_engine) with a [flat-plane crank](/source/flat-plane_crank). It was designed and produced by the [Ford Motor Company](/source/Ford_Motor_Company) during World War II. It features twin [Stromberg](/source/Bendix_Corporation) NA-Y5-G [carburetor](/source/carburetor)s,Berndt, p.190. dual [magneto](/source/Ignition_magneto)s and twin [spark plug](/source/spark_plug)s making up a full [dual ignition](/source/dual_ignition) system, and crossflow induction.Berndt, pp.190 & 193. It [displace](/source/Engine_displacement)s {{cvt|1100|cuin|L}} and puts out well over {{convert|1000|lbft}} of torque from idle to 2,200 rpm. The factory-rated net output was {{cvt|500|hp}} at 2,600 rpm. The GAA powered several models and derivatives of the [M4A3](/source/M4_Sherman) Sherman medium tank. ==Development== After the start of World War II, the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom) was looking to manufacture complicated parts — notably the crankshafts — of the [Rolls-Royce Merlin](/source/Rolls-Royce_Merlin) aircraft engine in the United States, but negotiations with [Packard](/source/Packard) stalled because the company insisted on making complete engines. Ford was asked by the British Government to produce Merlin engines in their factories in England, and delivered 30,400 bomber engine variants of the Merlin by war's end. However, Henry Ford balked at producing the Merlin in Detroit and instead preferred to produce a fresh design, with the ambitious goal of 2000 hp. Although this design had the same bore and stroke as the Merlin, it shared no parts in common and differed substantially in several fundamental ways, such as having four overhead cams instead of the Merlin's two. (Sources: Graham White, Allied Piston Aircraft Engines of World War II, 1995, and Herschel Smith, A History of Aircraft Piston Engines, 1981). This engine, the XV-1650, was a 60 degree V-12 of 1,650 cubic inch displacement, with an aluminum block and [head](/source/cylinder_head); [dual overhead camshafts](/source/Overhead_camshaft_engine), and four valves per cylinder. The intention of this design was to help Ford break into the anticipated large market for aircraft engines. It never went into production as the United States Navy only used [radial engine](/source/radial_engine)s for its aircraft and the Army's contractual commitments to existing manufacturers.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} With the approach of war, increasing orders for [M4 Sherman](/source/M4_Sherman) tanks were causing supply issues with the 9-cylinder radial [Wright R-975 Whirlwind](/source/Wright_R-975_Whirlwind) engine used. The U.S. Army decided it needed to establish additional engine suppliers, choosing a version of the XV-1650 cut down from twelve cylinders to eight. In 1942 after the British Tank Mission visit to America in April, there was some pressure from British car and commercial vehicle manufacturers to use the new Ford V8 tank engine in British tanks, rather than the [Meteor](/source/Rolls-Royce_Meteor) then under development by Rolls-Royce, as they believed that an adapted aero engine "would not be suitable as a rugged tank engine". The Ford engine prototype had a few hundred hours test-bed running by that time. It was a liquid-cooled Vee similar to the Meteor, but two-thirds the size and Rolls-Royce executive [W. A. Robotham](/source/W._A._Robotham) doubted its reliability at 600 [bhp](/source/Horsepower). The 600 bhp Meteor was designed to fit in the same space in the [Crusader tank](/source/Crusader_tank) as the Nuffield [Liberty L-12](/source/Liberty_L-12) engine of 340 bhp output. The Ford V8 developed only 500 bhp, and had problems that were not overcome until after the Normandy landings in 1944.{{sfn|Robotham|1970|pp=160,161,183-185}} == Production == [[File:Bovington 091 Ford V8 1.jpg|thumb|All-aluminum Ford GAF V8 tank engine, next to an [M26 Pershing](/source/M26_Pershing) (note the dual overhead camshafts), [The Tank Museum](/source/The_Tank_Museum)]] * The GAA was used in the M4A3 (1,690), M4A3(75)W (3,071), M4A3(76)W (1,400), M4A3 (105) (500), M4A3E2 (254), M4A3(76)W HVSS (3,142), M4A3(105) HVSS (2,539), M10A1 (1,413), and M7B1 (826). * The GAF powered the M26 (2,222), M26A1, T28/T95 (2), and M45 (185). * The GAN powered the [T23](/source/T20_medium_tank) (248) and M4A3E2 (254). * In order to meet the need for a larger engine, Ford resurrected the V-12 version as the GAC, which produced {{cvt|770|hp|kW}} and powered the [T29](/source/T29_heavy_tank), and [T32](/source/T32_heavy_tank) (6). *A number of [M74 armored recovery vehicle](/source/M74_armored_recovery_vehicle)s were rebuilt from M4A3s, which used the GAA.Berndt, p.193. ==See also== * [List of Ford engines](/source/List_of_Ford_engines) * [History of the tank](/source/History_of_the_tank) * [Rolls-Royce Meteor](/source/Rolls-Royce_Meteor) * [Rolls-Royce Meteorite](/source/Rolls-Royce_Meteorite) ==Notes== {{Notelist-lr}} {{reflist}} == References == *Berndt, Thomas. ''Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles''. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1993. {{ISBN|0-87341-223-0}}. * Aircraft Engine Historical Society.[http://www.enginehistory.org/Piston/AcftInArmor/AcftInArmor.shtml Aircraft Engines in Armored Vehicles] *Hunnicutt, R. P. ''Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank''. Novato, California: Presidio Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-89141-304-9}} *{{cite book |last= Robotham |first= William Arthur |title= Silver Ghosts and Silver Dawn |accessdate= |edition= |year= 1970 |publisher= Constable |location= London |isbn= |oclc= |pages= 160, 161 }} ==External links== * {{YouTube | id=W2ghTjFtNPo | title=Ford GAA V8 tank engine Sherman}} — engine running GAA Category:Tank engines Category:V8 engines Category:Gasoline engines by model Category:M4 Sherman tanks Category:1940s automobile engines --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ford GAA engine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GAA_engine) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GAA_engine?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.