Lycoming T53

The T53, company designation LTC-1, is a turboshaft engine used on helicopters and, as a turboprop, on fixed-wing aircraft since the 1950s. It was designed at the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in Stratford, Connecticut, by a team headed by Anselm Franz, who had been chief designer of the Junkers Jumo 004 during World War II. In its T53-L-703 form it powered the Bell UH-1H Iroquois and the Bell AH-1 Cobra, and other applications include the Grumman OV-1D Mohawk and the Kaman K-MAX. Military versions range from about 770 horsepower for the T53-L-1A to 1,800 horsepower for the T53-L-703. A much larger engine of similar overall design became the T55, and the T53 model is now produced by Ozark Aeroworks LLC.