Junkers L5

Last updated
L5
Junkers L 5 im Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers Dessau 2010-08-06 01.jpg
Junkers L5 on display at the Junkers Museum
Type Inline aircraft engine
Manufacturer Junkers Motorenbau GmbH (Jumo)
First run1922 [1]
Major applications Junkers F.13
Number built>1,000 [2]
Variants Junkers L55

The Junkers L 5 was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine for aircraft built in Germany during the 1920s. First run in 1925, it was a much enlarged development of the Junkers L2.

Contents

Design and development

The Junkers L5 was a development of Junkers' first water-cooled engine, the L2, but at four times the swept volume was a much more powerful engine. It was a water-cooled upright inline 6-cylinder unit, four-stroke and petrol-fuelled, with a capacity of nearly 23 litres. It adopted some of the L2 features, having twin exhaust and inlet valves in each cylinder [2] driven by an overhead camshaft, twin spark plugs and twin magnetos. The splash component of the L2's lubrication was abandoned in favour of a completely forced recirculating system. The twin carburettors of the L2 were replaced with a single float chamber, dual-venturi model. Like the L2, the L5 was a direct drive engine. [2]

The compression ratio of the standard version was 5.5:1, but variants had other ratios to cope with fuels with octane ratings between 76 and 95. The G series introduced carburettor heating together with an hydraulically damped mounting system. There were also choices of starting system, from inertial or compressed air systems to the traditional hand swinging. [2]

Operational history

The L5 proved to be reliable and became the engine of choice for most Junkers aircraft in the mid-1920s as well as powering aircraft from other German manufacturers. [2] Many of these powered the Junkers F.13 and its derivatives like the W 33, which dominated world air transport in the mid-1920s. [3]

The best demonstration of the reliability of the L5 was given by the unit which powered the single-engined W 33 Bremen in the first fixed wing east to west crossing of the Atlantic in April 1928. For this flight the compression ratio was raised to 7:1 to provide sufficient power for the heavily fuelled aircraft at take off. In July 1925 a W 33 powered by a L5 stayed aloft for 65 h 25 min, with a fuel consumption of 35.6 kg/h. [2]

Variants

Applications (L5)

Specifications (Jumo L 5)

Junkers L8 engine on display at the Polish Aviation Museum Junkers L8 MLP 05.jpg
Junkers L8 engine on display at the Polish Aviation Museum

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

Cruise - 210 kW (280 hp)

See also

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Jumo 222</span>

The Jumo 222 was a German high-power multiple-bank in-line piston aircraft engine from Junkers, designed under the management of Ferdinand Brandner of the Junkers Motorenwerke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Jumo 211</span> German inverted V-12 aircraft engine

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 803</span>

The BMW 803 was a German aircraft engine, an attempt by BMW to build a high-output aircraft engine by coupling two BMW 801 engines back-to-back, driving contra-rotating propellers. The result was a 28-cylinder, four-row radial engine, each comprising a multiple-bank in-line engine with two cylinders in each bank, which, due to cooling concerns, were liquid cooled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Jumo 210</span>

The Jumo 210 was Junkers Motoren's 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes D.III</span>

The Mercedes D.III, or F1466 as it was known internally, was a six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine built by Daimler and used on a wide variety of German aircraft during World War I. The initial versions were introduced in 1914 at 120 kW (160 hp), but a series of changes improved this to 130 kW (170 hp) in 1917, and 130 kW (180 hp) by mid-1918. These later models were used on almost all late-war German fighters, and its only real competition, the BMW III, was available only in very limited numbers. Compared to the Allied engines it faced, the D.III was generally outdated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potez 4D</span> 1930s French piston aircraft engine

The Potez 4D was a four-cylinder, inverted inline aircraft engine. It was first built shortly before World War II, but did not enter full production until 1949. Like the other D-series engines, the cylinders had a bore of 125 mm (4.9 in) and a stroke of 120 mm (4.7 in). Power for different models was in the 100 kW-190 kW (140 hp-260 hp) range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benz Bz.IV</span>

The Benz Bz.IV was a German six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine developed for aircraft use. Deliveries began in 1916, and some 6,400 were produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes D.IVa</span> I-6 piston aircraft engine

The Mercedes D.IVa was a German six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine developed in 1917 for use in aircraft and built by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW IV</span>

The BMW IV was a six-cylinder, water-cooled inline aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. Power was in the 180 kW (250 hp) range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argus As 8</span> 1930s German piston aircraft engine

The Argus As 8 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Cirrus Major</span> 1930s British piston aircraft engine

The Blackburn Cirrus Major is a British, inline-four aircraft engine that was developed in the late 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers L2</span>

The Junkers L2 was Junkers' first water-cooled four-stroke engine and the first to be built on a production line, though only 58 were made. It was a six-cylinder inline engine and powered many Junkers aircraft until replaced by the more powerful L5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers L55</span>

The Junkers L55 was Junkers' first V-12 engine, appearing in 1927 and based on a pair of six-cylinder L5s. In 1928 a supercharger was added. It was used in one or two Junkers aircraft in their early development but was replaced by the geared L88 geared V-12 of 1929.

The Junkers L88 was Junkers' first geared V-12 engine, appearing c.1930 and based on a pair of 6-cylinder L8s. In 1932 a supercharger was added. It was used in the world's second working pressurised aircraft, the Junkers Ju 49 and, for a while, in the large G 38 airliner and its Japanese built military version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Pétrel</span> 1930s French piston aircraft engine

The Lorraine 12H Pétrel was a French V-12 supercharged, geared piston aeroengine initially rated at 370 kW (500 hp), but later developed to give 640 kW (860 hp). It powered a variety of mostly French aircraft in the mid-1930s, several on an experimental basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat A.24</span> 1920s Italian piston aircraft engine

The Fiat A.24 was an Italian water-cooled aircraft engine from the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saroléa Albatros</span>

The Saroléa Albatros was a 22 kW (30 hp) flat twin air-cooled aircraft engine, produced just before World War II in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argus As III</span> 1910s German piston aircraft engine

The Argus As III was a six-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren during World War I. The Argus As III produced 180 hp (130 kW) at 1,400 rpm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potez 6D</span> 1940s French aircraft piston engine

The Potez 6D is a French six cylinder inverted inline aircraft engine put into production after World War II in normal and supercharged versions. Unsupercharged, it produced a take-off power of 179 kW (240 hp) at 2,530 rpm.

The Sergant A was a French 4-cylinder, air-cooled, upright inline piston engine with a maximum output of 7.5 kW (10 hp), designed to meet the needs of the very small and light single seat sports aircraft of the early 1920s. It was used by at least ten different types.

References

  1. Gunston (2006), p. 112
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kay (2004), pp. 264–265
  3. Kay (2004), p. 62

Bibliography