It Sounded Like a Good Idea at the Time
Canadian Car and Foundry HI-4800
Compiled by Kimble D. McCutcheon
Published 27 Jan 2024; Revised 8 Feb 2024

Air Materiel Command Large Bomber Concept

During 1939, U.S. Army Air Corps planners had begun to study the problem of very large, high-altitude, non-refueled intercontinental bombers. All of these concepts required numerous (up to 12) huge engines with extraordinary specific fuel consumption. The Air Corps planners were so desperate for such an engine that they were willing to entertain the idea of getting a very strange one from Canada. This Canadian engine was a new and undeveloped concept, fraught with complexity and fresh ideas. The Air Corps nursed this concept along with its trials and tribulations all through WWII. This is that story.