The Klimov M-105 was a

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

used by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Gunston 1989, p. 90

Development

The M-105, designed in 1940, drew heavily on Klimov's experience with the

Hispano-Suiza 12Y The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, ...

(

license-built Licensed production is the production under license of technology developed elsewhere. The licensee provides the licensor of a specific product with legal production rights, technical information, process technology, and any other proprietary compo ...

as the M-100). In addition to a two-speed

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

, the M-105 had several improvements like two intake valves per cylinder and a counterbalanced

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

. The M-105 was the first Klimov V-12 engine design to use

reverse-flow cylinder head In engine technology, a reverse-flow or non-crossflow cylinder head is one that locates the intake and exhaust ports on the same side of the engine. The gases can be thought to enter the cylinder head and then change direction to exit the head. T ...

s, forcing the induction system to be placed on the ''outside'' of the cylinder banks, with the exhaust system also exiting from the outboard side, with twin sets of "siamesed" exhaust ports adjacent to each other. About 129,000 M-105 and its variants were built. During the war, Klimov's engines were redesignated from "M" (for "motor," engine) to "VK" for the lead designer's initials.

Variants

* M-105 - () First version produced at the end of 1939. Installed on some pre-war fighters. * M-105P - () First mass production engine (

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

). Able to accept a ''motornaya pushka'' (моторная пушка - motor cannon)-mount

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...

in the "vee" between

cylinder bank The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

s. Installed on the majority Soviet pre-war fighters - Yak-1, LaGG-1 and several experimental aircraft. * M-105PA - () Improved

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

version. * M-105PF (VK-105PF) - ()

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

Modification with significantly increased power output at the expense of decreased high-altitude performance. In spite of Klimov's concerns about decreased service life, the engine was pressed into production at the insistence of

Yakovlev The JSC A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (russian: ОАО Опытно-конструкторское бюро им. А.С. Яковлева) is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer (design office prefix Yak). Its head office is in Aeroport D ...

, and further exploitation of "PF" version showed this was the right decision. The "PF" was installed on the most numerous versions of "Yak" fighters - Yak-1B, Yak-7B, Yak-9. * VK-105PF2 & PF3 - (1,300 to 1,360 horsepower (970 to 1,015 kW)) Further increase in power output, which was believed to have exhausted the potential of the M-105 design for greater performance. The "PF2" was installed in the Yak-3 and Yak-9U. * M-105PD - () Engine with 2-stage E-100 turbocharger, experimental high-altitude version, unsuccessful prototype. * M-105R - () Decreased propeller

reduction gear A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, providing a smooth transmission ...

ratio for bomber aircraft. Installed on Pe-2, BB-22 (Yak-4) and others. * M-105RA - () M-105PA with decreased propeller reduction gear ratio for bomber aircraft.

Applications

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

Arkhangelsky Ar-2 The Arkhangelsky Ar-2 was a Soviet dive-bomber used in small numbers during World War II. Its design was a refinement of the earlier Russian Tupolev SB. The design bureau's name (Cyrillic: Архангельский) is transliterated in many w ...

Ikarus S-49 The Ikarus S-49 was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft built for the Yugoslav Air Force ( sh, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna obrana – RV i PVO) shortly after World War II. ...

P-40 Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-1 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1 (russian: Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-1) was a Soviet Union, Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. Although not very successful, it formed the basis for a series of aircraft that ...

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Sov ...

* Mörkö-Morane *

Petlyakov Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 (russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as ...

Petlyakov Pe-3 The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range heavy fighter version of the successful Petlyakov Pe-2 high-speed dive bomber used by the Soviet Union during World War II. Its design and use followed a comparable path to those taken by the German Luftwaf ...

Yakovlev Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978 ...

Yakovlev Yak-2 The Yakovlev Yak-2 was a short-range Soviet light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft used during World War II. It was produced in small numbers, and most of them were destroyed during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa. Design and development ...

Yakovlev Yak-3 The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian: Яковлев Як-3) was a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew.Glancey 2006, p. 180. One of the smallest and lighte ...

Yakovlev Yak-4 The Yakovlev Yak-4 (Service names Yak-4, BB-22bis (''Blizhnij Bombardirovschik'', "short-range bomber")) was a Soviet light bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Ya-22/ Yak-2. Design and development The Yak-4 was an improv ...

Yakovlev Yak-7 The Yakovlev Yak-7 (russian: Яковлев Як-7) was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a ...

Yakovlev Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successf ...

Yermolayev Yer-2 The Yermolayev Yer-2 (russian: Ермолаев Ер-2) was a long-range Soviet medium bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Bartini Stal-7 prototype airliner before the war. It was used to bomb Berlin from airbases in Esto ...

Specifications (VK-105)

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

VK-105 on ram.home.com
{{Klimov aeroengines M-105 1930s aircraft piston engines V12 aircraft engines