Daimler-Benz DB 604

DB 604
Type	Piston aircraft engine
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Daimler-Benz
First run	1939

The Daimler-Benz DB 604 was an experimental German 24-cylinder aircraft engine, which did not progress beyond the initial engine testing phase and was ultimately abandoned in September 1942.

Design and development

The DB 604 was unique among the DB 600 series of aircraft engines by having its 24 cylinders arranged in an X, with four inline rows of six cylinders. The DB 604 was also unique amongst the X-24 engines, in that it was not conceived as a further development of existing Daimler-Benz aircraft engines such as the DB 601, DB 603 or DB 605. For example the Rolls-Royce Vulture was basically two Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines joined at the crankcase, thus producing the X-configuration of the cylinders.

The DB 604 was a completely new Daimler-Benz engine design featuring a perfectly square stroke ratio of 135 mm x 135 mm. The square stroke ratio enabled the relatively high engine speed of 3,200 rpm. The first engine tested in 1939 on the engine test stand achieved a power output of 1,725 kW (2,350 hp).^[1]

Further development of the first test engines led to the DB 604A/B. The only difference between the DB 604A and the DB 604B was the direction in which the crankshaft turned. The DB 604A/B was equipped with a two-speed supercharger, achieving 1,835 kW (2,500 hp) whilst testing.

Development of this promising engine was canceled by the Reich Air Ministry (RLM - German: Reichsluftfahrtministerium) in September 1942.^[2]

Engines on display

A preserved Daimler-Benz DB 604 is on public display at the Flugausstellung L.+ P. Junior museum, Hermeskeil, Germany.

Specifications (DB 604A/B)

General characteristics

• Type: Water-cooled 24-cylinder X (4 rows of 6-cylinders) piston engine
• Bore: 135 mm
• Stroke: 135 mm
• Displacement: 46.38 L (2,830 cu in)
• Dry weight: 1,080 kg (2,379 lb)

Performance

• Power output: 1,835 kW (2,500 hp) at 3,200 rpm at 5,100 m (16,732 ft)
• Specific power: 25.3 kW/L (0.9 hp/cu in)
• Compression ratio: 7.0:1
• Power-to-weight ratio: 0.59 kW/kg (0.95 hp/lb)

See also

Comparable engines

• Allison V-3420
• Rolls-Royce Vulture
• Jumo 222
• Wright R-2160 Tornado
• Dobrynin VD-4
  

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines
• List of aircraft engines of Germany during World War II
  

References

Notes

1. ^ von Gersdorff, K., et al. p. 120
2. ^ Gunston 1989, p. 48.

Bibliography

• Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
• von Gersdorff, Kyrill; Schubert, Helmet et al. Die deutsche Luftfahrt: Flugmotoren und Strahltriebwerke. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn, 2007. ISBN 10 3-7637-6128-4
• Neil Gregor Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich. Yale University Press, 1998

External links

• Image of Daimler-Benz DB 604