Great narration. No stumbling and no 'place-holders' like um, er, duh and the like. Apparently at least one commenter can't keep up without those. Great subject matter. The coupled engine concept appears along the way in history, and not just in aviation. The Caterpillar 797-b mining (haul) truck has tandem coupled v-12 diesel engines and nearly 3400 hp. Emerson Fittipaldi, the formula One racer, initially came to fame by 'smoking' the field in formula racing in Brazil driving a car built around tandem-coupled VW 4 cylinder aircooled engines.
counter rotating here as in the two engines each having single props that rotated in different directions to each other rather than each engine having two props which would be contra-rotating.
@@dragchute1 i dont know of any ww2 german aircraft with Contra-rotating propellers. I think its refering to the DB 610B LH and DB 610C RH engines much like the counter rotating Allison 1710 LH and RH used on the P-38.
@@geesehoward700 > i dont know of any ww2 german aircraft with Contra-rotating propellers. Pfeile Do-335 for a start... > I think its refering to the DB 610B LH and DB 610C RH engines much like the counter rotating Allison 1710 LH and RH used on the P-38 If you're citing the engines typically required for this, what are you saying, they were never actually used?
@@lqr824 the pfeil used counter rotating props not contra-rotating props. If it was contra-rotating it would have had 4 props not 2. The DB 610 engines I mentioned rotated in different directions to eachother so the propellers would rotate in different directions, hence counter rotating.
As a model builder that really likes WW2 German aircraft this is one of my more popular models. Planet Models makes a resin kit of this plane. I have the model but have not started building it yet. Another thing you missed mentioning is that the DB606/610 coupled engines were later used in the Heinkel He-177 Grief bomber. That could have been an excellent bomber but Hitler and the RLM decided that it had to be capable of dive bombing, something unplanned for a heavy bomber, which created a huge host of issues but the -261 was used as one of the first test beds for that engine in a multi-engine configuration (Heinkel made a racing plane (He-119) with one of them as well).
FYI *He 177 Operations in Russia* The end of He l 77 operations in the West was by no means the end of the He 177 in Luftwaffe service. During the late spring of 1944, Kampfgeschwader l under Obstlt Horst van Riesen began converting to the aircraft, the first Gruppe moving to its operational airfields in East Prussia in May. Before the end of the month, 1./KG 1 was joined by II and III. Gruppe, and the Geschwader now comprised some ninety He l 77As, undoubtedly the most powerful striking force on the Eastern Front. Operations began almost at once, the bombers striking at troop concentrations and Soviet supply centres in support of the German army. No attempt was made to strike at strategic targets although many were within range. The bombers attacked in daylight at about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and losses were very low. The few Soviet fighters that managed to reach the bombers' attacking altitude rarely pressed home their attacks because of the formidable defensive armament of the He 177. Also, very few He 177s were lost because of engine fires; constant modifications had ensured that troubles suffered by the coupled engine installation were reduced to a minimum. The machines that did crash due to this cause were mainly those flown by inexperienced pilots who mishandled the throttles, causing the engines to overheat. At one time, KG 1 made several pattern bombing attacks, the only time such tactics were employed by the Luftwaffe. During one such operation, von Riesen led 87 bombers in a mass attack on the railway centre of Velikye Luki. Flying in three waves, each comprising a Gruppe of some 30 aircraft, the He 177s must have been a most impressive sight. From: “German Aircraft of the Second World War” by J. R. Smith & Antony L. Kay Pages 187 to 188 Copyright 1972 ISBN 85177 836 4
more FYI *Operation Steinbock, He 177 Note:* While, as an operation, Steinbock could only be considered an abysmal failure, the He 177s achieved some success. The more experienced crews carried maximum bomb loads and, climbing to 23,000 feet while still over German territory, approached their target in a shallow dive, attaining speeds in excess of 430 mph, at which night fighters could not intercept and anti-aircraft fire could not follow them. page 346 - "The Warplanes of the Third Reich" - William Green copyright 1970, SBN 356 02382 6
Intresting to note, that while they may not have used the system of having each engine drive contra-rotating propellors, the plans do show the prop's rotating in opposite directions. This would also have eliminated the tendency of the aircraft to swing at takeoff.
It is good to remember that so-called coupled engines always suffered from serious overheating issues especially with the inner parts. All of them resulted in many serious crashes caused by the interior manifolds between the two coupled engines. Curiously the Germans never have managed to put in production the contra-rotatng propeller blades as the Brits managed with the late production Spitfires... Good job 👏 👍 👌
althought its not really the same thing how do you view the liquid cooled contra rotating 3100hp fiat AS.6? it certainly wasnt mass produced but you could argue it was "successful".
@geesehoward700 regarding the AS 6 engine it is adopted the novel solution to couple two AS.5 V12 engines in tandem to produce a V-24 with each engine independently driving one of a pair of contra-rotating propellers through co-axial shafts. Unfortunately it was beset with several backfire and carburettor issues. Despite hiring a Rolls Royce mechanic expert in fuel "cocktails" it never worked well. Regarding the cooling system it was adopted the aerodynamic radiators placed on the floats and wings (I think) but they were mantain intensive. I hope I have replied correctly....
@@paoloviti6156 the engine setup reminds me a lot of the Westland Wyverns. having the ability to turn off one of the engines and feather the other to save fuel could have been handy for a long range aircraft and it only had 300-400hp less only in 1934. it certainly was a pig of an engine but it managed to push the MC72 plane to 440mph. the engine also gave birth to the AS.8 which might have proven to be a good engine if they had more time to work on it or more resources.
One day I need to look into the German obsession with 4-engines in 2-nacelles. Even in the German literature I've not found a lot about the actual, real "WHY". There are so few actual 4-nacelle aircraft, but we all know they existed. One of the best theories I've read is that the leadership never truly departed from the idea that "Luftwaffe was there to support the Heer", all this talk about "America Bombers" notwithstanding. It was tactical, not strategic bombing, that was stuck in the minds. Akin to that is the idiocy about every bomber design having to be dive-bomb capable. Here too: it's all about supporting the army.
The DB 606 double-engine had problems with massive vibration, engine couplings fsiling, and oil distribution at high altitudes leading to overheating. The engine was used in the He 177, and was difficult to maintain AND needed a lot of maintenance. It caught fire so often, that it earned the nickname 'Luftwaffenfeuerzeug' or 'Luftwaffes cigarette lighter.'
Actually the overheating issue with the He-177 was due to oil foaming and because Goering insisted on using the evaporative cooling system on the first He-177 models (the -a3 and -a5), which was inefficient and when coupled with an overly tight cowling, created extremely high operating temperatures, making it easy for oil vapor to catch fire. The issue was resolved by the time the He-177-a5 was released for production but by then there was no fuel left in Germany to fly them. The coupling issue was not uncommon and was experienced in every design using this coupled array. the moniker you mentioned was not given to the engine but rather to the He-177 early models.
*He 177 Operations in Russia* The end of He l 77 operations in the West was by no means the end of the He 177 in Luftwaffe service. During the late spring of 1944, Kampfgeschwader l under Obstlt Horst van Riesen began converting to the aircraft, the first Gruppe moving to its operational airfields in East Prussia in May. Before the end of the month, 1./KG 1 was joined by II and III. Gruppe, and the Geschwader now comprised some ninety He l 77As, undoubtedly the most powerful striking force on the Eastern Front. Operations began almost at once, the bombers striking at troop concentrations and Soviet supply centres in support of the German army. No attempt was made to strike at strategic targets although many were within range. The bombers attacked in daylight at about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and losses were very low. The few Soviet fighters that managed to reach the bombers' attacking altitude rarely pressed home their attacks because of the formidable defensive armament of the He 177. Also, *very few He 177s were lost because of engine fires; constant modifications had ensured that troubles suffered by the coupled engine installation were reduced to a minimum.* The machines that did crash due to this cause were mainly those flown by inexperienced pilots who mishandled the throttles, causing the engines to overheat. At one time, KG 1 made several pattern bombing attacks, the only time such tactics were employed by the Luftwaffe. During one such operation, von Riesen led 87 bombers in a mass attack on the railway centre of Velikye Luki. Flying in three waves, each comprising a Gruppe of some 30 aircraft, the He 177s must have been a most impressive sight. From: “German Aircraft of the Second World War” by J. R. Smith & Antony L. Kay Pages 187 to 188 Copyright 1972 ISBN 85177 836 4
@@kl0wnkiller912 They dropped the 306 by then, going for another double engine, the 310, I think. The He 177 problems were many, including the lack of a firewall between important components, and the fuels tendency to pool near that heat source... now if they'd flown with a couple of long sticks and some marshmallows, they might have enjoyed falling out of the sky, as a flaming comet, a bit more than they did. Always look on the bright side.
@@DataWaveTaGo Many thanks for taking the time to type that out! I love it when you've got the right book at hand for the perfect reference. I moved last year, and still need to sort my books out.
@@worldofwarbirds Yep. Same system. DB 606. So you could be tight. I seem to remember fuel often leaked on the exhaust manifolds. Maybe not here. Appendage details could still be different.
It WASN'T a white-wall tire, but a go-fast stripe in the best tradition of muscle cars... but they found adding all that weight in paint adversely effected the performance, so painted the tail-wheel only.
There's arguments for an against counter-rotation. It removes the so-called critical engine, simplified, the one that causes worse yaw depending on *which* one fails - generally the left one, the way most piston engines rotate. What surprises me here is that the Me-261 - as well as the P-38 - decided to go with "top outward" counter-rotation. To me that would imply you now have *two* critical engines because either of them will cause massive yaw when which can no longer be overcome with applying rudder to the opposite direction when going full-throttle - which is standard procedure in every twin I've ever flown. (and pray you have a turbo-charged engine, because otherwise even then you won't be able to maintain altitude). Unless it's a DA-62, where you feather the dead engine, full throttle on the other, give a bit of rudder trim, and find an airport at your leisure, grumbling about your A&P all the way. 😆
Why didn't the conjoined engines make it into a 'single' engined fghter? Too much torque perhaps, or just another unsung aircraft we haven't heard about yet?
The Bf-261 showed that Germany could build a long range aircraft. It also showed that the DB-606 was a potentially feasible and reliable powerplant and may not have been the source for the problems that bedeviled the He-177.
Each nacelle contains a power unit that is made of two conjoined engines. It was a system that several nations experimented with, but Germany put it into practice more.
yes, i think we dodged many bullets.....imagine if Austrian watercolor painter had been not discouraged to fast-track Germany's nuclear fission bomb projects...and there were three separate groups, all working on same goal.
The ME 261 had it's props spinning in Opposite directions, which was EASILY done at the joint Gearing of each Pair of motors. However, the Germans did what North-American did on the XP-82 Twin-Mustang; but without the Disaster Result that N/A experienced. It seems that Wind-Tunnels of the Era couldn't predict Vortex-Lift from Prop-Wash. So, while the ME-261 seemed to 'fly OK'.. The XP-82 could not even Lift-Off the runway, until the engines were swapped, Left-to-Right, to make each Prop spin THE OTHER WAY, thus giving LIFT by way of Vortices from the Props. From head-on, in a Still-Picture in This video, you can clearly see that the RH prop spins CCW, while the LH prop spins CW. They had it backwards; The P-38, YP-58, and YP/P/F-82 did not; but instead spun their props at each point, in the Opposite rotation.
Please de-note the Difference between the XP-72 and YP-72 twin-stangs. Also note that, once Lockheed had it right, the XP=58 Chain-lightning had NO take-off issues, despite being two-tons heavier the the P-38. What's ODD in my mind was the Brit's Whirlwind/Welkin and Mosquito NOT having huge Torque issues at t/off?
It would have been way too late to do anything serious with that speed of development. I guess by 43 priorities were different. Seems urprising that it wasn't recognised earlier as useful in a long range maritime recon role.
Of course this is nonsense! The RLM saw absolutely no urgency in the project. That's why the work was done only half-heartedly. Now as far as long-range maritime reconnaissance is concerned... The guys thought that with the FW-200 they had a good maritime reconnaissance aircraft with enough range. And that was somehow true. But the FW 200 was designed as a civilian airliner and, despite extensive modifications, was not really well suited for military use. In particular, the speed and combat maneuverability were completely inadequate. And the maintenance and repairs were completely unadaptable to military requirements. However, the defensive armament that was subsequently created was quite good, which was clearly felt by Allied fighters. Nevertheless, the range of less than 5000 km was too short and the FW was not even half as fast as the Me 261 could be. The top speed of the 261 was 620 km/h. In comparison... A Bristol Beaufighter flew 100 km slower and had a range of less than 3,000 km... And the path of the FW 200, which Sir Winston C. had described as the "scourge of the Atlantic", was becoming increasingly difficult to keep effectively at the front. At this point, the 261 could have been at the front for 1 1/2 years...
( I'm glad that Brian has the courage to say who he is. Too many You Tuber/narrators aren't. What are they afraid of? Internet stalkers? Doxing? Do they have false modesty? Phony privacy concerns? Absurd.)
@@worldofwarbirds Sorry didnt mean to sound condescending. I guess 2mins abt a kindof recon plane used maybe once followed by 6mins of filler on a channel called worldofwarbirds felt a little misleading. But best of luck on the other 5 parts to this apparent series.
The most annoying narrator in this subject area, bar none. I'll block him just so he doesn't show up in my search results. Pity as it was an interesting-looking airplane.
Great narration. No stumbling and no 'place-holders' like um, er, duh and the like. Apparently at least one commenter can't keep up without those.
Great subject matter.
The coupled engine concept appears along the way in history, and not just in aviation. The Caterpillar 797-b mining (haul) truck has tandem coupled v-12 diesel engines and nearly 3400 hp. Emerson Fittipaldi, the formula One racer, initially came to fame by 'smoking' the field in formula racing in Brazil driving a car built around tandem-coupled VW 4 cylinder aircooled engines.
Interesting!
A tandem coupled VW engine?? Sounds pretty cool, especially if they were turbocharged.
counter rotating here as in the two engines each having single props that rotated in different directions to each other rather than each engine having two props which would be contra-rotating.
Yes, you are correct.
The photos at 5.44 and 6.25 (ish) appear to have contearotating props?
@@dragchute1 i dont know of any ww2 german aircraft with Contra-rotating propellers. I think its refering to the DB 610B LH and DB 610C RH engines much like the counter rotating Allison 1710 LH and RH used on the P-38.
@@geesehoward700 > i dont know of any ww2 german aircraft with Contra-rotating propellers.
Pfeile Do-335 for a start...
> I think its refering to the DB 610B LH and DB 610C RH engines much like the counter rotating Allison 1710 LH and RH used on the P-38
If you're citing the engines typically required for this, what are you saying, they were never actually used?
@@lqr824 the pfeil used counter rotating props not contra-rotating props. If it was contra-rotating it would have had 4 props not 2. The DB 610 engines I mentioned rotated in different directions to eachother so the propellers would rotate in different directions, hence counter rotating.
As a model builder that really likes WW2 German aircraft this is one of my more popular models. Planet Models makes a resin kit of this plane. I have the model but have not started building it yet. Another thing you missed mentioning is that the DB606/610 coupled engines were later used in the Heinkel He-177 Grief bomber. That could have been an excellent bomber but Hitler and the RLM decided that it had to be capable of dive bombing, something unplanned for a heavy bomber, which created a huge host of issues but the -261 was used as one of the first test beds for that engine in a multi-engine configuration (Heinkel made a racing plane (He-119) with one of them as well).
FYI *He 177 Operations in Russia*
The end of He l 77 operations in the West was by no means the end of the He 177 in Luftwaffe service. During the late spring of 1944, Kampfgeschwader l under Obstlt Horst van Riesen began converting to the aircraft, the first Gruppe moving to its operational airfields in East Prussia in May. Before the end of the month, 1./KG 1 was joined by II and III. Gruppe, and the Geschwader now comprised some ninety He l 77As, undoubtedly the most powerful striking force on the Eastern Front.
Operations began almost at once, the bombers striking at troop concentrations and Soviet supply centres in support of the German army. No attempt was made to strike at strategic targets although many were within range. The bombers attacked in daylight at about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and losses were very low. The few Soviet fighters that managed to reach the bombers' attacking altitude rarely pressed home their attacks because of the formidable defensive armament of the He 177. Also, very few He 177s were lost because of engine fires; constant modifications had ensured that troubles suffered by the coupled engine installation were reduced to a minimum. The machines that did crash due to this cause were mainly those flown by inexperienced pilots who mishandled the throttles, causing the engines to overheat.
At one time, KG 1 made several pattern bombing attacks, the only time such tactics were employed by the Luftwaffe. During one such operation, von Riesen led 87 bombers in a mass attack on the railway centre of Velikye Luki. Flying in three waves, each comprising a Gruppe of some 30 aircraft, the He 177s must have been a most impressive sight.
From:
“German Aircraft of the Second World War” by J. R. Smith & Antony L. Kay
Pages 187 to 188
Copyright 1972
ISBN 85177 836 4
more FYI *Operation Steinbock, He 177 Note:*
While, as an operation, Steinbock could only be considered an abysmal failure, the He 177s achieved some success. The more experienced crews carried maximum bomb loads and, climbing to 23,000 feet while still over German territory, approached their target in a shallow dive, attaining speeds in excess of 430 mph, at which night fighters could not intercept and anti-aircraft fire could not follow them.
page 346 - "The Warplanes of the Third Reich" - William Green copyright 1970, SBN 356 02382 6
The He-177 will get its own episode. There’s lots to say on that one!!
Never heard if this aircraft, thank you.
...me either
That was one good looking bird.
Wasn't it sleek! Very pretty.
Intresting to note, that while they may not have used the system of having each engine drive contra-rotating propellors, the plans do show the prop's rotating in opposite directions. This would also have eliminated the tendency of the aircraft to swing at takeoff.
It is good to remember that so-called coupled engines always suffered from serious overheating issues especially with the inner parts. All of them resulted in many serious crashes caused by the interior manifolds between the two coupled engines. Curiously the Germans never have managed to put in production the contra-rotatng propeller blades as the Brits managed with the late production Spitfires...
Good job 👏 👍 👌
Indeed. I was getting echoes of the Heinkel 177 "Greif", and we know what happened there !
althought its not really the same thing how do you view the liquid cooled contra rotating 3100hp fiat AS.6? it certainly wasnt mass produced but you could argue it was "successful".
@geesehoward700 regarding the AS 6 engine it is adopted the novel solution to couple two AS.5 V12 engines in tandem to produce a V-24 with each engine independently driving one of a pair of contra-rotating propellers through co-axial shafts. Unfortunately it was beset with several backfire and carburettor issues. Despite hiring a Rolls Royce mechanic expert in fuel "cocktails" it never worked well. Regarding the cooling system it was adopted the aerodynamic radiators placed on the floats and wings (I think) but they were mantain intensive. I hope I have replied correctly....
@@paoloviti6156 the engine setup reminds me a lot of the Westland Wyverns. having the ability to turn off one of the engines and feather the other to save fuel could have been handy for a long range aircraft and it only had 300-400hp less only in 1934. it certainly was a pig of an engine but it managed to push the MC72 plane to 440mph. the engine also gave birth to the AS.8 which might have proven to be a good engine if they had more time to work on it or more resources.
One day I need to look into the German obsession with 4-engines in 2-nacelles. Even in the German literature I've not found a lot about the actual, real "WHY". There are so few actual 4-nacelle aircraft, but we all know they existed. One of the best theories I've read is that the leadership never truly departed from the idea that "Luftwaffe was there to support the Heer", all this talk about "America Bombers" notwithstanding. It was tactical, not strategic bombing, that was stuck in the minds. Akin to that is the idiocy about every bomber design having to be dive-bomb capable. Here too: it's all about supporting the army.
The DB 606 double-engine had problems with massive vibration, engine couplings fsiling, and oil distribution at high altitudes leading to overheating.
The engine was used in the He 177, and was difficult to maintain AND needed a lot of maintenance. It caught fire so often, that it earned the nickname 'Luftwaffenfeuerzeug' or 'Luftwaffes cigarette lighter.'
And Rolls Royce had exactly the same problems with the twin Kestrel aka Vulture.
Actually the overheating issue with the He-177 was due to oil foaming and because Goering insisted on using the evaporative cooling system on the first He-177 models (the -a3 and -a5), which was inefficient and when coupled with an overly tight cowling, created extremely high operating temperatures, making it easy for oil vapor to catch fire. The issue was resolved by the time the He-177-a5 was released for production but by then there was no fuel left in Germany to fly them. The coupling issue was not uncommon and was experienced in every design using this coupled array. the moniker you mentioned was not given to the engine but rather to the He-177 early models.
*He 177 Operations in Russia*
The end of He l 77 operations in the West was by no means the end of the He 177 in Luftwaffe service. During the late spring of 1944, Kampfgeschwader l under Obstlt Horst van Riesen began converting to the aircraft, the first Gruppe moving to its operational airfields in East Prussia in May. Before the end of the month, 1./KG 1 was joined by II and III. Gruppe, and the Geschwader now comprised some ninety He l 77As, undoubtedly the most powerful striking force on the Eastern Front.
Operations began almost at once, the bombers striking at troop concentrations and Soviet supply centres in support of the German army. No attempt was made to strike at strategic targets although many were within range. The bombers attacked in daylight at about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and losses were very low. The few Soviet fighters that managed to reach the bombers' attacking altitude rarely pressed home their attacks because of the formidable defensive armament of the He 177. Also, *very few He 177s were lost because of engine fires; constant modifications had ensured that troubles suffered by the coupled engine installation were reduced to a minimum.* The machines that did crash due to this cause were mainly those flown by inexperienced pilots who mishandled the throttles, causing the engines to overheat.
At one time, KG 1 made several pattern bombing attacks, the only time such tactics were employed by the Luftwaffe. During one such operation, von Riesen led 87 bombers in a mass attack on the railway centre of Velikye Luki. Flying in three waves, each comprising a Gruppe of some 30 aircraft, the He 177s must have been a most impressive sight.
From:
“German Aircraft of the Second World War” by J. R. Smith & Antony L. Kay
Pages 187 to 188
Copyright 1972
ISBN 85177 836 4
@@kl0wnkiller912 They dropped the 306 by then, going for another double engine, the 310, I think.
The He 177 problems were many, including the lack of a firewall between important components, and the fuels tendency to pool near that heat source... now if they'd flown with a couple of long sticks and some marshmallows, they might have enjoyed falling out of the sky, as a flaming comet, a bit more than they did.
Always look on the bright side.
@@DataWaveTaGo Many thanks for taking the time to type that out!
I love it when you've got the right book at hand for the perfect reference.
I moved last year, and still need to sort my books out.
Interesting concept. Thanks for sharing Brian. Best Wishes.
Glad you liked it!
The same engine solution was used on the Heinkel Grief which also only had single propellers. These tended to set themselves on fire though.
Maybe the 261 wasn’t used operationally enough to have this problem?
Could be. One would have to look if it is actually the same engine installation. Could also be only the basic layout is the same.@@worldofwarbirds
@@worldofwarbirds Yep. Same system. DB 606. So you could be tight. I seem to remember fuel often leaked on the exhaust manifolds. Maybe not here. Appendage details could still be different.
did the white wall tail wheel make it fly father?
The fact that it was retractable would cause less drag and thus give it greater range.
It WASN'T a white-wall tire, but a go-fast stripe in the best tradition of muscle cars... but they found adding all that weight in paint adversely effected the performance, so painted the tail-wheel only.
Go ask your mother
There's arguments for an against counter-rotation. It removes the so-called critical engine, simplified, the one that causes worse yaw depending on *which* one fails - generally the left one, the way most piston engines rotate. What surprises me here is that the Me-261 - as well as the P-38 - decided to go with "top outward" counter-rotation. To me that would imply you now have *two* critical engines because either of them will cause massive yaw when which can no longer be overcome with applying rudder to the opposite direction when going full-throttle - which is standard procedure in every twin I've ever flown. (and pray you have a turbo-charged engine, because otherwise even then you won't be able to maintain altitude). Unless it's a DA-62, where you feather the dead engine, full throttle on the other, give a bit of rudder trim, and find an airport at your leisure, grumbling about your A&P all the way. 😆
Oficial long range bomber research died in the 30s when the General pushing for it died in a crash.
Walther Wever
Why didn't the conjoined engines make it into a 'single' engined fghter?
Too much torque perhaps, or just another unsung aircraft we haven't heard about yet?
Because in reality the engine systems were two engines, joined together. It also never operated as a fighter.
too big and too heavy (and thirsty). You might want to look into the He-119 though. Another interesting design that used one of these engines.
@@worldofwarbirds I searched what I could, and only found the He (177?) Used the DB 306 as well.
(Damn my memory!)
Wasn't there a dornier with a pusher puller
Do-335 but they were not coupled engines.@@chadrowe8452
I wonder about the need for four engines if you are going for long range. Wouldn't four engines guzzle more fuel than two?
The Bf-261 showed that Germany could build a long range aircraft. It also showed that the DB-606 was a potentially feasible and reliable powerplant and may not have been the source for the problems that bedeviled the He-177.
Right. It seems that the 606 was fine if there was space in the nacelle that could be cleaned to prevent flammables in there!
00:57 Am I just thick, or does it have only three engines?
Each nacelle contains a power unit that is made of two conjoined engines. It was a system that several nations experimented with, but Germany put it into practice more.
Looked like an AI mistake image to me
Interesting. Didn't know about this one. Subscribed.
Welcome aboard!
If there was a lot less infighting and personality wars within the German System, the resulting products would have changed the outcome, I think...
yes, i think we dodged many bullets.....imagine if Austrian watercolor painter had been not discouraged to fast-track Germany's nuclear fission bomb projects...and there were three separate groups, all working on same goal.
The ME 261 had it's props spinning in Opposite directions, which was EASILY done at the joint Gearing of each Pair of motors. However, the Germans did what North-American did on the XP-82 Twin-Mustang; but without the Disaster Result that N/A experienced. It seems that Wind-Tunnels of the Era couldn't predict Vortex-Lift from Prop-Wash. So, while the ME-261 seemed to 'fly OK'.. The XP-82 could not even Lift-Off the runway, until the engines were swapped, Left-to-Right, to make each Prop spin THE OTHER WAY, thus giving LIFT by way of Vortices from the Props. From head-on, in a Still-Picture in This video, you can clearly see that the RH prop spins CCW, while the LH prop spins CW. They had it backwards; The P-38, YP-58, and YP/P/F-82 did not; but instead spun their props at each point, in the Opposite rotation.
Please de-note the Difference between the XP-72 and YP-72 twin-stangs. Also note that, once Lockheed had it right, the XP=58 Chain-lightning had NO take-off issues, despite being two-tons heavier the the P-38. What's ODD in my mind was the Brit's Whirlwind/Welkin and Mosquito NOT having huge Torque issues at t/off?
That name got around?.(german scientists that formulataed methadone, when opium got hard to get, called it, adolphine?).
A couple of folks have mentioned that. I didn’t realize.
It would have been way too late to do anything serious with that speed of development. I guess by 43 priorities were different. Seems urprising that it wasn't recognised earlier as useful in a long range maritime recon role.
Of course this is nonsense! The RLM saw absolutely no urgency in the project. That's why the work was done only half-heartedly. Now as far as long-range maritime reconnaissance is concerned... The guys thought that with the FW-200 they had a good maritime reconnaissance aircraft with enough range. And that was somehow true. But the FW 200 was designed as a civilian airliner and, despite extensive modifications, was not really well suited for military use. In particular, the speed and combat maneuverability were completely inadequate. And the maintenance and repairs were completely unadaptable to military requirements. However, the defensive armament that was subsequently created was quite good, which was clearly felt by Allied fighters. Nevertheless, the range of less than 5000 km was too short and the FW was not even half as fast as the Me 261 could be. The top speed of the 261 was 620 km/h. In comparison... A Bristol Beaufighter flew 100 km slower and had a range of less than 3,000 km...
And the path of the FW 200, which Sir Winston C. had described as the "scourge of the Atlantic", was becoming increasingly difficult to keep effectively at the front. At this point, the 261 could have been at the front for 1 1/2 years...
Excellent!
Many thanks!
( I'm glad that Brian has the courage to say who he is. Too many You Tuber/narrators aren't. What are they afraid of? Internet stalkers? Doxing? Do they have false modesty? Phony privacy concerns? Absurd.)
love this thing
B-29 The Firebringer
..not a silly name, so many more non-combat loses than combat ones. My uncle told me they were an awful handful
They had a lot of engine fires. I think they were asking a lot of them.
So thats it? That was your video?
That's it! That's all!
@@worldofwarbirds Sorry didnt mean to sound condescending. I guess 2mins abt a kindof recon plane used maybe once followed by 6mins of filler on a channel called worldofwarbirds felt a little misleading. But best of luck on the other 5 parts to this apparent series.
Wee Willy Messerschmitt was always trying to compensate with bigger things!
Haha!
Das Reich !
The most annoying narrator in this subject area, bar none. I'll block him just so he doesn't show up in my search results. Pity as it was an interesting-looking airplane.
Far better than the grotesque AI TTS voices that so many of these YT channels use. This narrator sounds natural.