The Daimler-Benz DB 604 was an experimental
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
24-cylinder aircraft engine, which did not progress beyond the initial engine testing phase and was ultimately abandoned in 1942.
Design and development
The DB 604 was unique among the
DB 600 series of aircraft engines by having its 24 cylinders arranged in an
X, with four inline rows of six
cylinders
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an in ...
. The DB 604 was also unique amongst the
X-24 engines, in that it was not conceived as a further development of existing Daimler-Benz aircraft engines such as the
DB 601,
DB 603 or
DB 605
The Daimler-Benz DB 605 is a German aircraft engine built during World War II. Developed from the DB 601, the DB 605 was used from 1942 to 1945 in the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, and the Bf 110 and Me 210C heavy fighters.
The DB 610, a pa ...
, which themselves had been twinned-up as two separate powerplants sharing a new common gear reduction case at their front ends, into the 1.5-tonne dry weight DB 601-based "coupled"
DB 606 in February 1937,
the same-weight figured DB 605-based
DB 610 by June 1940,
and just slightly earlier, in March 1940, the 1.8 tonne approximate weight replacement for the DB 606 and 610, the DB 603-based
DB 613 "power system" of nearly 3,500 PS output.
For example, the
Rolls-Royce Vulture
The Rolls-Royce Vulture was a British aero engine developed shortly before World War II that was designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. The Vulture used the unusual " X-24" configuration, whereby four cylinder blocks derived from the R ...
was basically two
Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines joined at the crankcase, thus producing the X-configuration of the cylinders.
The DB 604 was a completely new Daimler-Benz engine design featuring a perfectly square
stroke ratio
In a reciprocating piston engine, the stroke ratio, defined by either bore/stroke ratio or stroke/bore ratio, is a term to describe the ratio between cylinder bore diameter and piston stroke length. This can be used for either an internal comb ...
of 135 mm x 135 mm. The short
stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
ratio
In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...
enabled the relatively high engine speed of 3,200
rpm. The first engine tested in 1939 on the
engine test stand
An engine test stand is a facility used to develop, characterize and test engines. The facility, often offered as a product to automotive OEMs, allows engine operation in different operating regimes and offers measurement of several physical varia ...
achieved a power output of 1,725
kW (2,350
hp).
[von Gersdorff, K., et al. p. 120]
Further development of the first test engines led to the DB 604A/B. The only difference between the DB 604A and the DB 604B - as with the similarly suffixed A and B versions of the DB 606 and 610 "coupled" power system engines - was the direction in which the DB 604's
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 ...
turned. The DB 604A/B was equipped with 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 ...
, achieving 1,835 kW (2,500 hp) whilst testing.
Development of the DB 604 was canceled by the
Reich Air Ministry
The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...
(RLM - german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium) in September 1942.
Engines on display
A preserved Daimler-Benz DB 604 is on public display at the
Flugausstellung L.+ P. Junior museum,
Hermeskeil, Germany.
Specifications (DB 604A/B)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
* von Gersdorff, Kyrill; Schubert, Helmet et al. ''Die deutsche Luftfahrt: Flugmotoren und Strahltriebwerke''. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn, 2007.
* Neil Gregor ''Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich''. Yale University Press, 1998
External links
Image of Daimler-Benz DB 604{{Daimler-Benz aeroengines
Daimler-Benz aircraft engines
1930s aircraft piston engines
X engines
Abandoned military aircraft engine projects of Germany