Daimler-Benz DB 601

DB 601A, partially sectioned (right side)

File:Motore Alfa Romeo RA1000 008 Museo scienza e tecnologia Milano.jpg

Alfa Romeo R.A.1000 Monsone in Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci

Aichi Atsuta, a license-built DB 601 (left side)

File:Rudolf Hess Engine-Daimler Benz DB601 From Hess's Messerschmitt BF110 1941.jpg

One of the DB 601 engines from Rudolf Hess's Messerschmitt Bf 110 on display at the National Museum of Flight in Scotland

The Daimler-Benz DB 601 was a German aircraft engine that was built during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled inverted V12, and powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Bf 110, and many others. Approximately 19,000 601s were produced before it was replaced by the improved Daimler-Benz DB 605 in 1942.

At its core, the DB 601 was an improved DB 600 with direct fuel injection. Fuel injection required power to be taken off the drive shaft, but in return, improved low-RPM performance significantly and provided aerobatic performance in maneuvers where early versions of carbureted engines like the British Rolls-Royce Merlin lost 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, 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 was relegated to use in 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 as the Atsuta, by Kawasaki as the Ha40, and in Italy by Alfa Romeo as the R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone.

DevelopmentEdit

Based on the guidelines laid down by the German "Reichverkehrsministerium" (Reich Ministry of Transport),<ref>MTU-Museum Triebwerksgeschichte – gestern, heute und morgen Template:Webarchive, on www.mtu.de (German, PDF, 4,4 MB)</ref> in 1930 Daimler-Benz began development of a new aero engine of the Template:Convert displacement class: a liquid-cooled inverted-vee 12-cylinder piston engine.<ref name=autogenerated1>Mankau&Petrick, 2001. pp. 347-355</ref> This was designated F4, and by 1931 two prototypes were running on the test bench.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> These were followed by the improved F4B, which became the prototype for the DB 600.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

In 1933, Daimler-Benz finally received a contract to develop its new engine and to build six examples of the DB 600.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> For the year after, the DB 600 was the only German aero engine in the 30-litre class.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> In total, 2,281 DB 600s were built.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

The DB 601A-1 was a development of the DB 600 with mechanical direct fuel injection. Like all DB 601s, it had a 33.9 litre displacement.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> 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.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

Serial production began in November 1937, and ended in 1943, after 19,000 examples of all types were produced.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

VariantsEdit

DB 601 A-1: Up to Template:Convert at sea level with 2,400 rpm, up to Template:Convert at 2,400 rpm and Template:Convert altitude, B4 fuel
DB 601 Aa: Up to Template:Convert at sea level with 2,500 rpm, up to Template:Convert at 2,400 rpm and Template:Convert altitude, B4 fuel
DB 601 B-1: Same as DB601 A-1 for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110 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 Messerschmitt Bf 110 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 Template:Convert
DB 601 N: Up to Template:Convert at sea level and at Template:Convert altitude with 2,600 rpm, C3 fuel; Up to Template:Convert at Template:Convert altitude with 2,600 rpm
DB 601 P: Same as DB 601 N for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110 and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55)
DB 601 E: Up to Template:Convert at sea level with 2,700 rpm, up to Template:Convert with 2.700 rpm at Template:Convert altitude, B4 fuel; Up to Template:Convert at Template:Convert altitude with 2,700 rpm
DB 601 F/G: Same as DB 601 E for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110, Messerschmitt Me 210 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;<ref name=weldedtogether-606>Template:Cite book</ref> for use in Heinkel He 119 (one DB 606) and Messerschmitt Me 261 (twin DB 606) designs, where they worked well in their prototype airframes; saw first combat use with early Heinkel He 177As - 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 in August 1942, from the problems they caused with engine fires in the He 177A during service from their inadequate installation design.<ref name="weldedtogether-606"/>
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

ApplicationsEdit

DB 601

DB 606

LicenseesEdit

Aichi Atsuta

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

Kawasaki Ha40

Kawasaki Ki-61

Specifications (DB 601 Aa / Ba)Edit

Template:Pistonspecs

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

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

External linksEdit

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