The Klimov M-105 was a V12

liquid-cooled Liquid cooling refers to cooling by means of the convection or circulation of a liquid. Examples of liquid cooling technologies include: * Cooling by convection or circulation of coolant, including water cooling * Liquid cooling and ventilat ...

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-t ...

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 ma ...

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 flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

.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, i ...

( license-built 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 indu ...

, 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 connecti ...

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

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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). 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 (bul ...

in the "vee" between cylinder banks. 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 E ...

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 w ...

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

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, 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 * Arkhangelsky Ar-2 * Ikarus S-49 * P-40 Kittyhawk * Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-1 *

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 * Yakovlev Yak-2 *

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 light ...

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 improve ...

* Yakovlev Yak-7 *

Yakovlev Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-Piston engine, 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 robu ...

* Yermolayev Yer-2

Specifications (VK-105)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

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