Engine volume continued to decline, as the company's traditional brand base of a dozen specialty manufacturers either merged or disappeared from the market. Replacement production for existing contracts kept the company busy enough, though, and export sales started declining due to both import restrictions and new off-shore competition. But the military had started research and development activities on its own, and with its newer requirements, Hercules was forced to play catch up with prototype development. Hercules, like its independent competitors, was left trying to increase future government and military business to increase sales. The automakers now produced their own mills, and this included some of the specialty makers like Caterpillar and International Harvester. Automotive passenger powerplants had improved to the point where they now were being utilized in heavy-duty applications. manufacturing customers.īy the late 1950s, competitive market changes were taking place in the automotive and component industry once again.
First used in 1939 as a 1290HP engine and. It remains interesting that in looking at their marketing plan of the period that Hercules felt with the continued cheap supply of gasoline, the preference for diesel power would be greater served by entering foreign markets along with its U.S. The Bristol Hercules is a large sleeve valve twin row 14-cylinder air-cooled 1375 horsepower radial engine. Hercules management felt that engine flexibility was vital to its success in powerplant application. Monetary fuel savings would also be considered in the product line as well. They continued the successful combination of lightweight and high-speed operation, combined with greater lugging ability. Hercules engineers, however, set out to model their diesel line utilizing the same principles from their successful gasoline-powered mills.
Diesels were too big, bulky, and considered too heavy for portable applications. Stationary units and marine users comprised the bulk of this early market. In 1931 Hercules engineering started looking at the modern and novel compression ignition engines at the time, diesels were considered to be limited in their applications.