Motore Alfa Romeo RA1000 008 Museo scienza e tecnologia Milano

The Daimler-Benz DB 601 was a German

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 ...

built 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 ...

. It was a liquid-cooled inverted V12, and powered the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

, and many others. Approximately 19,000 601's were produced before it was replaced by the improved

Daimler-Benz 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 ...

in 1942. The DB 601 was basically an improved DB 600 with

direct fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All com ...

. Fuel injection required power to be taken off the

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft ( Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to conne ...

, but in return, improved low-RPM performance significantly and provided aerobatic performance in maneuvers where early versions of carburated engines like the British

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...

would lose power when the carburetor float bowl ran dry. The 601's fuel injection provided a significant boost in performance which its competitor, the

Junkers Jumo 210 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 Ke ...

, did not match for some time. By the time the fuel-injected 211 arrived, the 601 had already cemented its place as the engine for high-performance designs like fighters, high-speed bombers, and similar roles. The 211 would be relegated to bombers and transport aircraft. In this respect, the 601 was the counterpart to the Merlin engine of roughly the same size and power. The DB 601Aa was licence-built in Japan by

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

as the Atsuta, by Kawasaki as the Ha40, and in Italy by

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

as the R.A.1000 R.C.41-I ''Monsone''.

Development

Based on the guidelines laid down by the German "Reichverkehrsministerium" (

Reich Ministry of Transport The Reich Ministry of Transport (german: Reichsverkehrsministerium or ''RVM'') was a cabinet-level agency of the German government from 1919 until 1945, operating during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Formed from the Prussian Ministry of P ...

),MTU-Museum Triebwerksgeschichte – gestern, heute und morgen
, on www.mtu.de (German, PDF, 4,4 MB) in 1930 Daimler-Benz began development of a new aero engine of the displacement class: a liquid-cooled inverted-vee 12-cylinder piston engine.Mankau&Petrick, 2001. pp. 347-355 This was designated F4, and by 1931 two prototypes were running on the test bench. These were followed by the improved F4B, which became the prototype for the DB 600. In 1933, Daimler-Benz finally received a contract to develop its new engine and to build six examples of the DB 600. For the year after, the DB 600 was the only German aero engine in the 30-litre class. In total, 2,281 DB 600s were built. The DB 601A-1 was a development of the DB 600 with mechanical

. Like all DB 601s, it had a 33.9 litre displacement. The first DB 601A-1 prototype, designated as F4E, was test run in 1935, and an order for 150 engines was placed in February 1937. Serial production began in November 1937, and ended in 1943, after 19,000 examples of all types were produced.

Variants

;DB 601 A-1 :Up to at sea level with 2,400 rpm, up to at 2,400 rpm and altitude, B4 fuel ;DB 601 Aa :Up to at sea level with 2,500 rpm, up to at 2,400 rpm and altitude, B4 fuel ;DB 601 B-1:Same as DB601 A-1 for use in

and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55) ;DB 601 Ba:Similar to Aa for use in

and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55) ;DB 601 M :For use in the Heinkel He 100D ;DB 601 N :Up to at sea level and at altitude with 2,600 rpm, C3 fuel :Up to at altitude with 2,600 rpm ;DB 601 P :Same as DB 601 N for use in

and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55) ;DB 601 E :Up to at sea level with 2,700 rpm, up to with 2.700 rpm at altitude, B4 fuel :Up to at altitude with 2,700 rpm ;DB 601 F/G :Same as DB 601 E for use in

Messerschmitt Me 210 The Messerschmitt Me 210 was a German heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft of World War II. Design started before the war, as a replacement for the Bf 110. The first examples were ready in 1939, but they proved to have unacceptably poor ...

and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio,1:1.875 (601F), 1:2.06 (601G) instead of 1:1.685) ;DB 606 A/B :Project initiated in February 1937, to "twin-up" two DB 601As or Es coupled to work on a single propeller shaft with all-up weight of some 1.5 tonnes; for use in Heinkel He 119 (one DB 606) and

Messerschmitt Me 261 The Messerschmitt Me 261 ''Adolfine'' was a long-range reconnaissance aircraft designed in the late 1930s. It looked like an enlarged version of the Messerschmitt Bf 110. It was not put into production; just three Me 261s were built and used prim ...

(twin DB 606) designs, where they worked well in their prototype airframes; saw first combat use with early

Heinkel He 177 The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed, by both problems with the development of its ...

As - 2,700 PS (1,986 kW) at sea level with a mirror-imaged starboard component engine supercharger. Derided as "welded-together engines" by ''Reichsmarschall''

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

in August 1942, from the problems they caused with engine fires in the He 177A during service from their inadequate installation design. ;Alfa-Romeo R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone:Licence built by Alfa Romeo in Italy ;Aichi Atsuta:Licence built by Aichi in Japan ;Kawasaki Ha40:Licence built by Kawasaki in Japan

Applications

;DB 601 * CANSA FC.20 * Dornier Do 215 *

Heinkel He 100 The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel. Although it proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development, the design was not ordered into series production. ...

Henschel Hs 130 The Henschel Hs 130 was a German high-altitude reconnaissance and bomber aircraft developed in World War II. It suffered from various mechanical faults and was never used operationally, only existing as prototype airframes. Development Develo ...

A-0 * Kawasaki Ki-60 *

Savoia-Marchetti SM.88 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.88, was an Italian twin-engined, three-seat, heavy fighter prototype of World War II, featuring a twin-boom structure, and powered by German Daimler-Benz DB 601 engines. The SM.88, intended for export, was a land-based, ...

;DB 606 * Heinkel He 119 *

A-1 and A-3 * Junkers Ju 288C *

Licensees

; Aichi Atsuta *

Aichi M6A The is a submarine-launched attack floatplane designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was intended to operate from I-400 class submarines whose original mission was to conduct aerial attacks against the United States. ...

Yokosuka D4Y The is a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Development of the aircraft began in 1938. The first D4Y1 was com ...

;Alfa Romeo R.A.1000 R.C.41 *

Macchi C.202 The Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'' (Italian "thunderbolt") was an Italian fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Macchi Aeronautica. It was operated mainly by the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (''RA''; Royal (Italian) Air Force) in and around the Se ...

Reggiane Re.2001 The Reggiane Re.2001 ''Falco'' II was an Italian fighter aircraft, serving in the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force) during World War II. A contemporary of the renowned Macchi C.202, the production of this type was to be limited to only 2 ...

; Kawasaki Ha40 *

Kawasaki Ki-61 The Kawasaki Ki-61 ''Hien'' (飛燕, "flying swallow") is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft. Used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, it was designated the "Army Type 3 Fighter" (三式戦闘機). Allied intelligence initially b ...

Specifications (DB 601 Aa / Ba)

References

Bibliography

* * * * Mankau, Heinz and Peter Petrick.'' Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, Me 410''. Raumfahrt, Germany: Aviatic Verlag, 2001. . * Neil Gregor ''Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich''. Yale University Press, 1998

External links

Daimler-Benz Aircraft Engines

Kurfürst - Resource on Messerschmitt Bf 109 performance.(1940) Betriebs und Wartungsvorschrift zum Mercedes-Benz Flugmotor DB 601 A u. B - 1940 dated operation and maintenance manual for the Daimler-Benz DB 601A and DB 601B aircraft engines

DB 606 "power system" CAD-based animation of crankcase/conrod/piston components
{{Daimler-Benz aeroengines Daimler-Benz aircraft engines 1930s aircraft piston engines Inverted V12 aircraft engines