Throughout history, various mechanical marvels have fallen by the wayside, the worthiness of some failing to become even a footnote. Some machines were popular at first but were doomed to obsolescence. Others never found a market. Some were too technologically advanced to be built, and some were just bad ideas. These marvels were all unique and hold a special place in the history and evolution of technology. These machines deserve to be remembered, and it is the quest of Old Machine Press to inspire new memories of these old machines.
Click for recent articles or select from the article list below.
Aircraft Engines
- Allison V-3420 24-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Allison X-4520 24-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Antoinette (Levavasseur) Aircraft Engines
- Argus As 5 Aircraft Engine
- Armstrong Siddeley ‘Dog’ Aircraft Engines
- Arsenal 24H and 24H Tandem Aircraft Engines
- Beardmore Cyclone, Typhoon, and Simoon Aircraft Engines
- Beardmore Tornado Diesel Airship Engine
- Bréguet-Bugatti 32A and 32B Quadimoteurs
- Bristol Hydra 16-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine
- Clerget 16 H Diesel Aircraft Engine
- Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain Aircraft Engine
- Daimler-Benz DB 602 (LOF-6) V-16 Diesel Airship Engine
- Daimler-Benz DB 604 X-24 Aircraft Engine
- Daimler-Mercedes D VI W-18 Aircraft Engine
- Deissner ‘Paradox’ Rotary Aircraft Engine
- Deschamps V 3050 Diesel Aircraft Engine
- Dobrynin M-250, VD-3TK, and VD-4K Aircraft Engines
- Duesenberg Aircraft Engines: A Technical Description
- Dutheil-Chalmers Éole Opposed-Piston Aircraft Engine
- Fairey P.12 Prince Aircraft Engine
- Fairey P.24 Monarch Aircraft Engine
- FIAT A.38, A.40, and A.44 Aircraft Engines
- FIAT AS.6 Aircraft Engine (for the MC.72)
- FIAT AS.8 Engine and CMASA CS.15 Racer
- FKFS Gruppen-Flugmotor A, C, and D
- General Airmotors / Moore Three Valve Aircraft Engine
- Hispano-Suiza 18R and 18Sb Aircraft Engines
- Hispano-Suiza 24Y (Type 82 and Type 90) Aircraft Engine
- Hispano-Suiza 24Z (Type 95) Aircraft Engine
- Hitachi/Nakajima [Ha-51] 22-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Inside the Cylinder of a Diesel Engine – by Harry Ricardo
- Isotta Fraschini Zeta X-24 Aircraft Engine
- Junkers Jumo 223 Aircraft Engine
- Junkers Jumo 224 Aircraft Engine
- Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) Dz 700, Dz 710, and Dz 720
- Lancia Tipo 4 and Tipo 5 V-12 Aircraft Engines
- Lycoming O-1230 Flat-12 Aircraft Engine
- Lycoming XH-2470 24-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Lycoming XR-7755 36-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Marchetti Cam-Action Engines
- Mathis Vega 42-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Menasco 2-544 Unitwin Aircraft Engine
- Mitsubishi A21 / Ha-50 22-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Nakajima [Ha-54] (Ha-505) 36-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Napier Cub (E66) – First 1,000 hp Aircraft Engine
- One Second in the Life of a Racer – by Tom Fey
- One Second on the Course with Dreadnought – by Tom Fey
- Packard X-2775 24-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- R.E.P. Fan (Semi-Radial) Aircraft Engines
- Reggiane Re 101 to Re 105 Aircraft Engines
- Roberts Motor Company Aircraft Engines
- Rolls-Royce Exe (Boreas) and Pennine Aircraft Engines
- SPA-Faccioli Opposed-Piston Aircraft Engines
- Studebaker’s XH-9350 and Their Involvement with Other Aircraft Engines
- Sunbeam Sikh I, II, and III Aircraft Engines
- Thomas / Leyland X-8 Aircraft Engine
- Tips Aero Motor Rotary Aircraft Engines
- Wright Aeronautical R-4090 Cyclone 22 Aircraft Engine
- Yakovlev M-501 and Zvezda M503 and M504 Diesel Engines
Aircraft
- Alcor Duo-4, Duo-6, and C-6-1 Transports
- Arsenal VB 10 Heavy Interceptor Fighter
- Arsenal VG 30-Series (VG 33) Fighter Aircraft
- Beech Aircraft Company XA-38 Grizzly
- Bellanca 28-92 Trimotor
- Bolkhovitinov S-2M-103 Sparka
- Bugatti Model 100P Racer
- Coandă 1911 Monoplane
- Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-14/A Fighter
- Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-15 ‘Kangaroo’
- CTA / ITA Heliconair HC-I Convertiplano
- Curtiss XF6C-6 Page Navy Racer
- Curtiss XP-40Q Fighter
- De Havilland DH.91 Albatross Transport
- Dekker-Fokker C.I Rotary Propellers
- Deperdussin-de Feure Model 2
- Douglas XA-26D and XA-26E Invaders
- Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster Attack Bomber
- DuBois-Riout Ornithopter
- FIAT AS.8 Engine and CMASA CS.15 Racer
- FIAT CR.42 DB Fighter
- FMA IAe 30 Ñancú
- Fokker F.XX Zilvermeeuw Transport
- Ford 15P Personal Aircraft
- Hawker Fury I (Sabre-Powered) Fighter
- Heinkel He 119
- Hughes D-2
- Hughes XF-11 Photo-Reconnaissance Aircraft
- Kawasaki Ki-64 Experimental Fighter
- Kawasaki Ki-78 (KEN III)
- Kirkham-Williams Seaplane Racer (1927)
- Koolhoven FK.55 Fighter
- LWF Model H Owl Mail Plane / Bomber
- Martin-Baker MB2 Fighter
- Martin-Baker MB3 Fighter
- Martin-Baker MB5 Fighter
- McDonnell Aircraft Corporation Model 1
- Mitsubishi Ki-83 Heavy Fighter
- Myasishchev M-50 / M-52 Bounder
- Napier-Heston Racer
- Navy-Wright NW-1 and NW-2 Racers
- North American Aviation NA-98X Super Strafer
- North American XA2J Super Savage Medium Bomber
- Northrop N-23 Pioneer and N-32 / YC-125 Raider
- Pander S.4 Postjager Trimotor Mailplane
- Piaggio P.16 Bomber
- Piaggio P.23M Transport Prototype
- Republic XP-47J Superbolt Fighter
- Republic XP-69 Fighter
- Republic XP-72 Super Thunderbolt / Ultrabolt Fighter
- Riout 102T Alérion Ornithopter
- Rumpler-Loutzkoy-Taube Aircraft
- Savoia-Marchetti S.64 and S.64 bis
- Savoia-Marchetti S.65 Schneider Racer
- Short S.14 Sarafand Flying Boat
- Short Swallow / Silver Streak
- Skoda-Kauba V4, SK 257, and V5
- Sud-Est (SNCASE) SE 580 Fighter
- Sud-Ouest (SNCASO) SO.8000 Narval
- VEF I-16 Light Fighter Aircraft
- Vickers Type 432 High-Altitude Fighter
- Vought V-173 Flying Pancake (Zimmer’s Skimmer)
- Vought XF5U Flying Flapjack
- Wedell-Williams Model 45 Racer
- Williams Mercury Seaplane Racer (1929)
- Yakovlev Yak-3 VK-108 Fighter
- Yokosuka (Kugisho) R2Y1 Keiun
Air Racing and Records
- Air Racing Was Like This – by Roscoe Turner
- Bellanca 28-92 Trimotor
- Bugatti Model 100P Racer
- Curtiss XF6C-6 Page Navy Racer
- FIAT AS.6 Aircraft Engine (for the MC.72)
- FIAT AS.8 Engine and CMASA CS.15 Racer
- Hispano-Suiza 18R and 18Sb Aircraft Engines
- Kawasaki Ki-78 (KEN III)
- Kirkham-Williams Seaplane Racer (1927)
- Napier-Heston Racer
- Navy-Wright NW-1 and NW-2 Racers
- One Second in the Life of a Racer – by Tom Fey
- One Second on the Course with Dreadnought – by Tom Fey
- Packard X-2775 24-Cylinder Aircraft Engine
- Pander S.4 Postjager Trimotor Mailplane
- Savoia-Marchetti S.64 and S.64 bis
- Savoia-Marchetti S.65 Schneider Racer
- Wedell-Williams Model 45 Racer
- Williams Mercury Seaplane Racer (1929)
Rotorcraft
- Brennan Helicopter
- CTA / ITA Heliconair HC-I Convertiplano
- Dorand Gyroplane G.20 (G.II)
- Hughes (Kellett) XH-17 Heavy-Lift Helicopter
- Papin-Rouilly Gyroptere (Gyropter)
- Petróczy-Kármán-Žurovec PKZ 2 Helicopter
- Sikorsky S-56 (CH-37 Mojave/Deuce) Helicopter
- Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk Attack Helicopter
Automotive
- Alkett VsKfz 617 / NK-101 Minenräumer
- Archdeacon (Buchet) Aéro-motocyclette
- Brayton Ready Motor Hydrocarbon Engine
- Christie Inline Engine Race Cars
- Christie V-4 Engine 1906 Racer
- Christie V-4 Engine 1907 Racer
- Christie V-4 Engine 1909 Racer
- Chrysler A57 Multibank Tank Engine
- Cummins Diesel Indy 500 Racers
- Djelmo Land Speed Record Car
- Duesenberg-Milton Land Speed Record Car
- Fred H. Stewart Enterprise (Smith-Harkness) LSR Car
- Inside the Cylinder of a Diesel Engine – by Harry Ricardo
- Irving-Napier Golden Arrow LSR Car
- Jenkins Duesenberg Special / Mormon Meteor II
- Jenkins Mormon Meteor III
- Lockhart Stutz Black Hawk LSR Car
- Mercedes-Benz T80 (Type 80) LSR Car
- Mercedes-Benz W154 Record Car
- Michel Opposed-Piston Diesel Engines
- Monaco Trossi 1935 Grand Prix Racer
- Perrier-Cadillac 41-75 Tank Engine
- SGP Sla 16 (Porsche Type 203) X-16 Tank Engine
- Smith-Harkness Anzac LSR Car
- Sunbeam 1,000 hp Mystery Slug LSR Car
- Sunbeam Silver Bullet LSR Car
Marine
- Brayton Ready Motor Hydrocarbon Engine
- Duesenberg 12-Cylinder Marine Engine and the Disturber IV
- Duesenberg W-24 Marine Engine
- General Motors / Electro-Motive 16-184 Diesel Engine
- Idroscivolanti and the Raid Pavia-Venezia
- MAN Double-Acting Diesel Marine Engines
- Mercedes-Benz 500 Series Diesel Marine Engines
- Michel Opposed-Piston Diesel Engines
- Miller 1,113 cu in V-16 Marine Engine
- Timossi-Verga Laura 3 Hydroplane
- Versuchs Schnellboot 5 (VS 5) Semi-submersible Attack Boat
- Yakovlev M-501 and Zvezda M503 and M504 Diesel Engines
Rail
- Bennie Railplane
- Hispano-Suiza Type 86 Railcar Engine
- Krupp 80 cm Kanone Schwerer Gustav (Dora) Railway Gun
- New York Central M-497 Black Beetle
- Pennsylvania Railroad 6-4-4-6 S1 Locomotive
- Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy Locomotive
Diesel Engines
- Beardmore Cyclone, Typhoon, and Simoon Aircraft Engines
- Beardmore Tornado Diesel Airship Engine
- Clerget 16 H Diesel Aircraft Engine
- Cummins Diesel Indy 500 Racers
- Daimler-Benz DB 602 (LOF-6) V-16 Diesel Airship Engine
- Deschamps V 3050 Diesel Aircraft Engine
- Fairbanks Morse Model 32 Stationary Engine
- General Motors / Electro-Motive 16-184 Diesel Engine
- Inside the Cylinder of a Diesel Engine – by Harry Ricardo
- Junkers Jumo 223 Aircraft Engine
- Junkers Jumo 224 Aircraft Engine
- Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) Dz 700, Dz 710, and Dz 720
- MAN Double-Acting Diesel Marine Engines
- Mercedes-Benz 500 Series Diesel Marine Engines
- Michel Opposed-Piston Diesel Engines
- Nordberg Radial Stationary Engine
- SGP Sla 16 (Porsche Type 203) X-16 Tank Engine
- Yakovlev M-501 and Zvezda M503 and M504 Diesel Engines
Stationary Engines
- Brayton Ready Motor Hydrocarbon Engine
- Fairbanks Morse Model 32 Stationary Engine
- Michel Opposed-Piston Diesel Engines
- Nordberg Radial Stationary Engine
- Otto-Langen Atmospheric Engine
Books
