The idea that 1,000-horsepower engines were a uniquely late American development does not fit the earlier British, French, German, and American examples. The first engines at that output were extremely heavy. In an aircraft weighing roughly 8,000 pounds, an engine around 2,450 pounds could consume more than a quarter of the total weight before fuel and payload were considered. Heavy fuel consumption added another operational penalty. The slower advance from 1,000 to 2,000 horsepower was therefore a problem of usable power-to-weight and endurance, rather than the ability to produce power on a test stand.
Notable Point · 4:03-5:13
Why early 1,000-horsepower engines were not an easy answer
Early high-power aircraft engines imposed severe weight and fuel penalties, showing why headline horsepower did not immediately translate into useful naval aircraft performance.