Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York, who built and raced bicycles early in the twentieth century, later raced, designed and built motorcycles and motorcycle engines. The first Curtiss aircraft powered a small dirigible in 1904. The Model V-1550 was the prototype of the highly successful Model V-1570 Conqueror. Curtiss and the U.S. Navy's Aeronautical Engine Laboratory tested this engine, manufacturer's number 2, in Philadelphia in 1927. Curtiss installed the Conqueror in many high-performance military aircraft in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Conqueror, an outgrowth of the famous D-12, which largely resulted from Curtiss collaborations with Charles B. Kirkham and Arthur Nutt, was the last of the Curtiss liquid-cooled engine series to enter production. Between 1931 and 1937, Curtiss manufactured 681 Conqueror engines with both direct and geared drives that powered high-performance military and racing aircraft. The geared Conqueror G1V-1570-F powered the Douglas YO-31A and C, Douglas XO-35 and Y1O-35, and Douglas Y1O-43.