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While Rolfs Royce and Dami/er Benz battled away fiercely with their respective in-line V12s, BMW stuck with its big radial as the primary powerplant for the excellent Fw190. The Fw190 was generally considered the finest German fighter aircraft of the War and gamed much of its reputation from ever more powerful versions of the BMW radial.
German Fighter Engines in World War 11
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While the British and German fighters of the Second World War were struggling for supremacy in the air, another battle was being fought out by the engine manufacturers. Each side was striving to keep its piston-engined fighters in the lead before the advent of jet aircraft. Two authors, one British and one German, describe this battle of the engineers. Part I was featured in our January edition.
Fighter Engine Competmon Inworid Warn
Part 11 – German Engines Meet the Challenge
During the 1937 International Air Meeting at ZurichDubendorf, the world was surprised by the results achieved by German military aircraft. The Bf109D won the climb and dive competition, reaching a speed of nearly 380mph and a service ceiling of some 33,000ft. The Bf109B won no fewer than three competitive events. Standards seat this meeting became the guideline for future aircraft developments in Germany and abroad.
In Germany these record-breaking flights followed a period of intense competition between manufacturers. In 1934 the German Air Ministry (Aeichsluftfahrtministerium – ALM) had invited the aircraft industry to compete for a new single-seat pursuit fighter, replacing the outdated Heinkel He51 and Arado 68. Three manufacturers took part: Focke Wulf with its Fw159 V-2, Heinke! with its He112; and Messerschmitt with its Bf109 (better known as the Me109).
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