"The frenzy of technological invention and improvement that accompanied each large-scale conflict during the twentieth century has been one of the most important factors in driving the spectacular scientific advances made during the last hundred years. The half-way point of the century saw the horrors of the first truly global battle--World War II. At that time the piston aero engine was at its zenith and the world's airforces were almost entirely propeller driven. It is a period that provides the most interesting study of these engines and the aircraft they powered because the rapid change to turbojets that occurred in the post-war era saw the demise of the piston engine on almost all types of military aircraft and large airliners. This book looks at the design and development of the most famous engines used by the combatants during this great air war. Each type is studied and evaluated in historical perspective and many famous aircraft are illustrated to demonstrate installation and differing usage. One Merlin makes a Spitfire, two a Mosquito, and four a Lancaster. Engines made in America, Russia, and Germany could boast the same versatility and are described here in detail." --Book jacket.

Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II, now in its second edition, coalesces multiple aspects of war-driven aviation and its amazing technical accomplishments, leading to the allied victory during the second world war. Not by chance, the air battles that took place then defined much of the outcome of one of the bloodiest conflicts in modern history. Forward-thinking airplane design had to be developed quickly as the war raged on, and the engines that propelled them were indeed the focus of intense cutting-edge engineering efforts. Flying higher, faster, and taking the enemy down before they even noticed your presence became a matter of life or death for the allied forces. Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II, Second Edition, addresses British- and American-developed engines. It looks at the piston engines in detail as they supported amazing wins both in the heat of the air battles, and on the ground supplying and giving cover to the troops. This new edition, fully revised by the original author, Graham White, offers new images and information, in addition to expanded specifications on the Rolls-Royce/ Packard Merlin and the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines. Jay Leno, a known enthusiast, wrote the Foreword.

Aviation technology progressed by leaps and bounds during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Although much of this was due to advances in airframe design, much less appreciated is the role of aero engine development. This book focuses on this aspect, particularly German piston aero engine design and development, which has been generally under researched and under published compared to Allied piston aero engines. It covers key piston aero engines such as those produced by Daimler-Benz, BMW, and Junkers, as well as less well appreciated engines such as those produced by Siemens, Argus, and Hirth. It also covers turbojets and rockets, particularly the Junkers Jumo 004 and Walter 109-509 that powered the infamous Messerschmitt Me 262 and Me 163 jet and rocket fighters. Finally, the book concludes with tables comparing Allied and German piston engines, a glossary of key terms, and a bibliography....

The piston engines that powered Second World War fighters, the men who designed them, and the secret intelligence work carried out by both Britain and Germany would determine the outcome of the first global air war. Advanced jet engines may have been in development but every militarily significant air battle was fought by piston-engined fighters. Whoever designed the most powerful piston engines would win air superiority and with it the ability to dictate the course of the war as a whole. This is the never before told story of a high-tech race, hidden behind the closed doors of design offices and intelligence agencies, to create the war's best fighter engine. Using the fruits of extensive research in archives around the world together with the previously unpublished memoirs of fighter engine designers, author Calum E. Douglas tells the story of a desperate contest between the world's best engineers - the Secret Horsepower Race.

Our stories of industrial innovation tend to focus on individual initiative and breakthroughs. With Making Jet Enginesin World War II, Hermione Giffard uses the case of the development of jet engines to offer a different way of understanding technological innovation, revealing the complicated mix of factors that go into any decision to pursue an innovative, and therefore risky technology. Giffard compares the approaches of Britain, Germany, and the United States. Each approached jet engines in different ways because of its own war aims and industrial expertise. Germany, which produced more jet engines than the others, did so largely as replacements for more expensive piston engines. Britain, on the other hand, produced relatively few engines—but, by shifting emphasis to design rather than production, found itself at war's end holding an unrivaled range of designs. The US emphasis on development, meanwhile, built an institutional basis for postwar production. Taken together, Giffard's work makes a powerful case for a more nuanced understanding of technological innovation, one that takes into account the influence of the many organizational factors that play a part in the journey from idea to finished product.

"Readers are brought from commercial air transport's very beginnings to the zenith of what is fondly referred to as flying in the "Golden Age of Air Transport," when jetliners were still on the drawing board or in early production, and still a dream to come for passengers and crew."--Provided by publisher.

This is a record of more than 250 basic types of British aero engine built between 1909 and 1949. In some 900 variants, they powered 300 different types of aircraft both civil and military. This volume gives a cross-reference of all aircraft engine types, variants and the aircraft they powered.

The Russian aircraft industry has, over the years, produced a staggering number of aircraft, large and small, for civil and military purposes. These aircraft have been powered by an equally extraordinary number of engines, built in Russian factories to both native and foreign designs. This detailed study of the piston aero engines produced by Russian factories form the birth of flight to the present is a tour de force of historical research, which has used many resources and archives not previously known in the west. The book includes every piston engine built from an original Russian design or copied from a foreign design; from engines used in the first Russian flying machines to microlight engines still I production. Each is written with its history, specifications and details of use.

In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel-designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain. In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport.