enginehistory.org

[jjuutinen]

In otherwise good new book on the P-51 Mustang (author is Paul Ludwig and publisher is Classic) there are some odd errors as far engines goes. For example, the description of the two stage Merlin´s intercooling system is quite wrong (page 64 or 65).

In his P-38 book Warren Bodie claims that those early Allisons that had no turbo were unsupercharged! When I pressed him on this he explained that "...those had BLOWERS, not superchargers." Yeah, right.

Any other examples in this?

Jukka Juutinen

[rinkol]

This sort of thing seems quite common, particularly in books involving translated material. Typical examples include:

- two speed superchargers refered to as two stage superchargers
-GM1 nitrous oxide power boost system referred to as "Glycol-Methanol"

Robert

[szielinski]

It appears as though the Aircraft fratenity require an expert like the infamous "Dr. Stereo" from the audio asylum forums. Fortunately I have found such a person - his name is Dr. Barnestorme and here is one of his posts (from an obscure and unknown discussion group).
Hope you enjoy

Hi,

I'm Doctor Barnstorme and I'd want to clarify a few things about the engine data in my new book - "The day the crank stood still".

Firstly, the translations I used are correct, as deemed by "German.kidspeak.com" and my drinking buddy at the Bavarian club.

You WILL find that the engine used in the Junkers FW-190G IS a bi-rotor centrifugal two-stroke with intermeshed exhaust cooling augmented by feed-forward exhaust stacks and belt-driven spark plugs.

(The belts were used in the latter part of the war due to a shortage of cams as everything was flattened in Duisburg)

Also, the 'Einspritzpumpe' was not for fuel injection as incorrectly stated by some less knowledgeable people, but for a refreshing carbonated drink dispensed on long-range bombing missions in this sprint fighter.

There have also been erroneous reports of a lack of a first aid kit in this aircraft. If one peruses the engine cutaway diagram on the cover, you will see that there is a SchlammablaB compartment underneath the engine. This is NOT some kind of sump/sludge filter, but a mud pack for fuel burns often encountered when undertaking in-flight maintenance on this single-seat aircraft.

Also, the Gefahrenmanlage (GM1) unit is NOT for power boosting of the engine by nitrous oxide, but a relaxation gas for the pilot in combat or emergency (hence the name, Gefahren-Anlage->Risky Situation).

It was only mounted to the engine to get a good electrical earth as it was triggered by detecting conductivity variations due to the sweaty palms pilots had during such periods.

I hope this clears up any confusion.