The DB 610, a pair of DB 605s geared to turn a single output shaft that replaced the similar DB 606, was used in the A-3 and all A-5 variants of Germany's only operational heavy bomber, the Heinkel He 177A.
License-built versions of the DB 605 were used in the Macchi C.205, Fiat G.55, Reggiane 2005 and some other Italian aircraft. It was also used in the Swedish SAAB B 18B and initially in the pusher-design SAAB J 21. Approximately 42,400 DB 605s of all kinds were built.
Design and development
The primary differences between the 605 and 601 were greater displacement, higher revolutions, higher compression ratio and a more powerful supercharger. Engineers determined that the cylinders could be bored out to a larger diameter without seriously affecting the strength of the existing block. The change was small, increasing the cylinder bore from the 601's 150mm to the 605's 154mm, but this increased the overall displacement from 33.9 litres to 35.7. Altered valve timing increased the inlet period and improved the scavenging to give greater volumetric efficiency at higher speeds, which improved the maximum allowable RPM from 2,600 in the 601 to 2,800 in the 605. The combination of these changes raised power output from 1,350 PS (1,332hp) to 1,475 PS (1,455hp). Engine weight increased from 700 to 756kg.
The DB 605 is an inverted V-12. Pictured, a DB 605A
In other ways the engine was essentially identical to the 601, being an inverted V-12 (with the crankshaft above the cylinders). Both used dual Bosch magnetos firing twin spark plugs for ignition. Bosch direct fuel injection was powered by a pump supplying up to 90 bar. The oil system used three pumps with a separate 35-litre oil tank. The supercharger was advanced for the era in that it used a barometrically controlled hydraulic clutch (fluid coupling) which allowed the system automatically to compensate for changes in altitude.
One major design difference was the switch from ball bearings to plain bearings which, when combined with increasingly poor grades of lubricants, led to serious problems in service, including engine fires; initially, for example, the use of emergency power was forbidden. Although Daimler-Benz redesigned the bearings and added oil slingers and their associated coolers, the RLM considered the DB 605 to be a "sick engine" and the problems had not been fully resolved by the end of the war.[1]
Along with bearing difficulties, the DB 605 suffered particularly badly from the materials shortages in wartime Germany. From the outbreak of war onwards critical shortages of elements such as nickel and cobalt meant that the DB 605 had its exhaust valves reduced in nickel content from about 13.5% to 8%. This resulted in their becoming insufficiently corrosion resistant, and they began to scale in use. This scale then caused pre-ignition, which led to catastrophic detonation and eventually engine failure. This was the primary reason that the full 1.42 ata manifold pressure was not permitted, although the problems occurred for a long time before the official order restricting the power level was given (Jumo and BMW suffered exactly the same problem for some time). This was eventually fixed by applying a very heavy chrome plating to the exhaust valves, which rendered them just sufficiently resistant to scaling while still using less of a critical element than the original nickel alloy. BMW had developed this plating technique first, as the BMW 801 in the Fw 190 had also been suffering from a spate of detonation induced engine failures.[2]
Like the 601, the 605 was designed to run on "B4" fuel with an octane rating of 87. In 1944 a series of newer engines was introduced, allowing the engine to run on the 100 octane "C3" fuel and optionally including fittings for various optional power-boosting agent dispensing systems, such as the MW50 methanol-water injection system, and GM-1nitrous oxide injection system. The DB 605AM, running initially on C3 and MW-50, saw power improved to 1,800 PS (1775hp) for takeoff. In mid-1944, the requirement for C3 was dropped and standard B4 fuel with MW-50 was used. The DB 605AS(M) improved the maximum rated altitude by using a larger supercharger taken from the DB 603 but was otherwise similar to the A(M). The DB 605ASB's takeoff power was also rated at 1,800 PS (1,775hp), while maintaining the high-altitude performance of the ASM. The final version of the A-series was the DB 605ASC of 1945, which improved takeoff power to 2,000 PS (1,973hp).
As early as 1942 Daimler had also been working on an upgraded D-series engine that could run on either C2 or C3 fuel. The first of these, which appeared in late 1944, was a small series of DB 605DM, followed by the main production series, the DB 605DB/DC.[3] These engines were fitted with an adjustable screw stop which allowed the use of either B4 fuel with MW-50, or C-3 fuel without MW-50, in which case the engine was designated DB 605DB, or the use of C-3 fuel with MW-50, in which case the engine was given the -DC suffix instead.[3] In its DB-suffix form the engine generated 1,800 PS (1,775hp) for take-off at 1.8 ata, while the DC was capable of 2,000 PS (1,973hp) at 1.98 ata.[4] If MW-50 was not available for use with the B4 fuel the throttle was limited to 1.45 ata for the entire flight. Thus, this series was ideally suited to catering for the chaotic fuel supply situation prevalent during the last months of the Third Reich.[5] These engines were mainly used in the Bf 109G-10 and K-4 series.
An unusual application of the DB 605 was its installation in a captured Supermarine Spitfire. In November 1942, Spitfire VB EN830NX-X of 131 Squadron made a forced landing in a turnip field in German-occupied Jersey. The plane was repaired by German forces and re-engined with a DB 605A, amongst other modifications. The aircraft was operated by the Luftwaffe until 14 August 1944, when it was destroyed during a USAAF bombing raid.[6]
Variants
Production versions
DB 610 gearbox end, showing inverted side by side DB 605 V12sDaimler-Benz DB 605, front view of hollow propeller shaft for 20mm and 30mm motorkanone
Similar to 605 D but with two-stage supercharger, 1700 PS, development stopped in December 1944 [7]
Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone
Licence built / developed DB 605A-1 engines, built by Fiat in Italy.
DB 610
Two DB 605s "coupled" (geared together) as a "power system" (71.53L / 4364.8in3), to turn a single propeller shaft, used in the Heinkel He 177A[8] Mirror-imaged starboard component engine supercharger.
DB 610A - Propeller RH rotation - Reduction ratio 0.413: 1.[9]
Take-off and emergency power of 2,200kW (2,950hp) at 2,800 rpm with 1.2 atmos. boost at sea level.[9]
2,000kW (2,700hp) at 2,800 rpm with 1.42 atmos. boost at 5,700m (18,700ft).[9]
Climbing 1,950kW (2,620hp) at 2,600 rpm with 1.3 atmos. boost at sea level.[9]
1,900kW (2,500hp) at 2,600 rpm with 1.3 atmos. boost at 5,791m (19,000ft).[9]
Maximum cruising 1,610kW (2,160hp) at 2,300 rpm with 1.15 atmos. boost at sea level.[9]
1,610kW (2,160hp) at 2,300 rpm with 1.15 atmos. boost at 5,486m (18,000ft).[9]
Fuel consumption 0.288kg/kWh (0.474lb/(hp⋅h)) (max cruise at sea level).[9]
The Blohm & Voss BV 155 was a German high-altitude interceptor aircraft intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against raids by USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Work started on the design as the Messerschmitt Me 155 in 1942, but the project went through a protracted development period and change of ownership, and prototypes were still under test and development when World War II ended.
The Jumo 211 was a German inverted V-12 aircraft engine, Junkers Motoren's primary aircraft engine of World War II. It was the direct competitor to the Daimler-Benz DB 601 and closely paralleled its development. While the Daimler-Benz engine was mostly used in single-engined and twin-engined fighters, the Jumo engine was primarily used in bombers such as Junkers' own Ju 87 and Ju 88, and Heinkel's H-series examples of the Heinkel He 111 medium bomber. It was the most-produced German aero engine of the war, with almost 70,000 examples completed.
The Daimler-Benz DB 601 was a German aircraft engine that was built during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled inverted V12, and powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Bf 110, and many others. Approximately 19,000 601's were produced before it was replaced by the improved Daimler-Benz DB 605 in 1942.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 191 was a prototype German bomber of World War II, as the Focke-Wulf firm's entry for the Bomber B advanced medium bomber design competition. Two versions were intended to be produced, a twin-engine version using the Junkers Jumo 222 engine and a four-engine variant which was to have used the smaller Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The project was eventually abandoned due to technical difficulties with the engines.
The Me 209 of 1943 was an attempt to create an enhanced version of the Bf 109, which served as the Luftwaffe's primary fighter aircraft throughout World War II. The Me 209, despite its designation, bore no relationship to the earlier Me 209.
MW 50 was a 50-50 mixture of methanol and water that was often sprayed into the supercharger of World War II aircraft engines primarily for its anti-detonation effect, allowing the use of increased boost pressures. Secondary effects were cooling of the engine and charge cooling. Higher boost was only effective at altitudes below the full-throttle height, where the supercharger could still provide additional boost pressure that was otherwise wasted, while the smaller secondary effects were useful even above that altitude.
The Junkers Jumo 213 was a World War II-era V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine, a development of Junkers Motoren's earlier design, the Jumo 211. The design added two features, a pressurized cooling system that required considerably less cooling fluid which allowed the engine to be built smaller and lighter, and a number of improvements that allowed it to run at higher RPM. These changes boosted power by over 500 hp and made the 213 one of the most sought-after Axis engine designs in the late-war era.
The Jumo 210 was Junkers' first production inverted V12 gasoline aircraft engine, first produced in the early 1930s. Depending on the version it produced between 610 and 730 PS and can be considered a counterpart of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel in many ways. Although originally intended to be used in almost all pre-war designs, rapid progress in aircraft design quickly relegated it to the small end of the power scale by the late 1930s. Almost all aircraft designs switched to the much larger Daimler-Benz DB 600, so the 210 was produced only for a short time before Junkers responded with a larger engine of their own, the Junkers Jumo 211.
The Daimler-Benz DB 600 was a German aircraft engine designed and built before World War II as part of a new generation of German engine technology. It was a liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, and powered the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Heinkel He 111 among others.
The Daimler-Benz DB 603 was a German aircraft engine used during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder inverted V12 enlargement of the 33.9 Liter DB 601, which was in itself a development of the DB 600. Production of the DB 603 commenced in May 1942, and with a 44.5 liter displacement, was the largest displacement inverted V12 aircraft engine to be used in front line aircraft of the Third Reich during World War II.
The Klimov VK-107 was a V-12 liquid-cooled piston aircraft engine used by Soviet aircraft during World War II.
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The Daimler-Benz DB 604 was an experimental German 24-cylinder aircraft engine, which did not progress beyond the initial engine testing phase and was ultimately abandoned in 1942.
The Daimler-Benz DB 600 series were a number of German aircraft engines designed and built before and during World War II as part of a new generation of German engine technology. The general layout was that of a liquid-cooled, inverted V12 engine. The design originated to a private venture project of Daimler-Benz, the F4 engine. Most newer DB engine designs used in WW2 were based around this engine.
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The Isotta Fraschini Zeta was an air cooled X engine with 24 cylinders developed by the Italian engineering company Isotta Fraschini in the 1940s. It was developed as an indigenous alternative to the imported Daimler-Benz DB 605 that was being built under licence as the Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone. The engine was essentially two Gamma V12 engines on a single crankshaft, but proved troublesome to develop and never entered production.
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Christopher, John (2013). The Race for Hitler's X-Planes: Britain's 1945 Mission to Capture Secret Luftwaffe Technology. Stroud, UK: History Press. ISBN978-0-7524-6457-2.
Gregor, Neil Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich. Yale University Press, 1998
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