Document Type: Book Document Number: Smithsonian Annals of Flight, Volume 1, Number 3

Foreword: In this third number of the Smithsonian Annals of Flight, Philip S. Dickey tells the history of America's remarkable contribution to early aviation, the Liberty engine, the original model of which is now in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

In delineating the history of the engine from its brilliant conception through its role in World War I to its final production and use in World War II and thereafter, the author draws on a wealth of information contained in letters, memoranda, reports, and personal accounts, most of which have hitherto been unpublished. His accounts are reinforced by statistical tables, charts, detailed photographs, specifications and details of the engine's performance.