<!-- This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. -->

thumb|DB 601A, partially sectioned (right side)

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

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

thumb|right|One of the DB 601 engines from [[Rudolf Hess|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, that powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Bf 110, and many others. Approximately 19,000 601s were produced before being 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 Jumo 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.

Development

Based on the guidelines laid down by the German "Reichverkehrsministerium" (Reich Ministry of Transport), in 1930 Daimler-Benz began development of a new aero engine of the displacement class: a liquid-cooled inverted-vee 12-cylinder piston engine. This was designated F4, and by 1931 two prototypes were running on the test bench. 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. Flugzeug-Typenbuch. Handbuch der deutschen Luftfahrt- und Zubehör-Industrie 1944

|type=12-cylinder liquid-cooled supercharged 60° inverted Vee aircraft piston engine

|bore=

|stroke=

|displacement=

|length=

|diameter=

|width=

|height=

|weight= dry, unequipped

|valvetrain=Two intake and two sodium-cooled exhaust valves per cylinder actuated via a single overhead camshaft per cylinder block.

|supercharger=Gear-driven single-speed centrifugal type supercharger (later, hydraulic-driven) rated to )

|turbocharger=

|fuelsystem=Direct fuel injection

|fueltype=

|oilsystem=Dry sump with one pressure pump at and two scavenge pumps

|coolingsystem=Liquid-cooled

|power=<br>

:* at 2,500 rpm for takeoff

:* at 2,400 rpm at

:* at 2,400 rpm at

:* at 2,400 rpm (max. continuous / cruise) at

|specpower=

|compression=6.9:1

|fuelcon=

|specfuelcon= at max continuous

|oilcon= at max continuous

|power/weight=

  • Reduction gear Spur

:* 601Aa 0.645:1

:* 601Ba 0.532:1

See also

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
  • Daimler-Benz Aircraft Engines
  • Aviation History.com, DB 600 series page
  • 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