Such is the voice of gasoline raised in protest against being introduced to the little spark of electricity which jumps across the spark plugs 165 times every second; but the protest is in vain for the "juice" keeps coming;—165 times each second, 9900 sparks per minute 904,001 times in an hour, coming from a little innocent-looking box full of lead and acid and water and rubber, stowed away in the fuselage, out of sight but never out of the of the man whose life depends upon it.
The Liberty Motor. As gasoline is its food, steel and aluminum its clothing. The storage battery is the soul of so is electricity its spark of life. Without that spark it is an inert mass; with it the Liberty Motor is a source of magnificent power.
The Willard Storage Battery Company in Cleveland had for years been making storage batteries for starting, lighting and ignition on automobiles. When Uncle Sam decided he would "take no more nonsense" from the Kaiser, the Willard Organization was asked to design a storage battery for ignition in an aircraft motor.
The first difficulties faced were the necessary limitations on size and weight, as Uncle Sam's specifications called for a battery of a certain capacity weighing not more than 10 pounds. Any motorist who has tried to lift his storage battery, knows what it weighs. Lead, the very name sounds heavy, makes up most of the storage battery, and 10 pounds of lead is not very much. The Willard engineers set to work and designed a battery of the proper capacity, weighing but 10 pounds and two ounces, which was satisfactory to the government designers. 