The Navy's interest in air-cooled radial engines encouraged Frederick Rentschler to establish the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company in 1925. The first Wasp was completed and tested in December of that year, and a second Wasp first flew in May 1926 in a Wright F3W-1 Apache aircraft. Two hundred production engines were delivered before the end of 1926.
The Boeing F2B-1 was the first operational aircraft to use the Wasp, which became known for its reliability, and was dominant in Navy and Army Air Corps fighter planes. It also made commercial air transportation profitable in the Boeing 40A. The Wasp R-1340 remained in production until 1960, later models producing up to 447 kW (600 shp).
The Wasp R-1340 SC1 powered the Bellanca Model F-2 and CH-400; Boeing Alpha 4-A; Boeing 4E; Curtiss 6000A; Detroit DL1; Douglas Dolphin 8-114; Fairchild FC-2-W2 and C-96; Laird CL-RW-450; Lockheed Model 5C, 10C, and C-101; Sikorsky S-36BS, S-38B, and S-38C.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.