This paper contains the details of an experimental study of the vortex formed in front of a piston as it moves through a cylinder. The mechanism for the formation of this vortex is the removal of the boundary layer forming on the cylinder wall in front of the advancing piston. The trajectory of the vortex core and the vorticity distribution on the developing vortex have been measured for a range of piston velocities. Velocity field measurements indicate that the vortex is essentially an inviscid structure at the Reynolds numbers considered, with viscous effects limited to the immediate corner region. Inviscid flow is defined in this paper as being a region of the flow where inertial forces are significantly larger than viscous forces. Flow visualization and vorticity measurements show that the vortex is composed mainly of material from the boundary layer forming over the cylinder wall. The characteristic dimension of the vortex appears to scale in a self-similar fashion, while it is small in relation to the apparatus length scale. This scaling rate of t0.85+0.7m, where the piston speed is described as a power law Atm, is somewhat faster than the t3/4 scaling predicted by Tabaczynski et al. (1970) and considerably faster than a viscous scaling rate of t1/2. The reason for the structure scaling more rapidly than predicted is the self-induced effect of the secondary vorticity that is generated on the piston face. The vorticity distribution shows a distinct spiral structure that is smoothed by the action of viscosity. The strength of the separated vortex also appears to scale in a self-similar fashion as t2m+1. This rate is the same as suggested from a simple model of the flow that approximates the vorticity being ejected from the corner as being equivalent to the flux of vorticity over a flat plate started from rest. However, the strength of the vorticity on the separated structure is 25% of that suggested by this model, sometimes referred to as the ‘slug’ model. Results show that significant secondary vorticity is generated on the piston face, forming in response to the separating primary vortex. This secondary vorticity grows at the same rate as the primary vorticity and is wrapped around the outside of the primary structure and causes it to advect away from the piston surface.