Shortround6
Major General
I will also note that water injection, higher boost with better fuel is a short term solution. Like combat, It can be very useful and life saving.
It rarely does anything for getting bombers to altitude (20-30 minute climb) or for high speed cruise.
Japanese are about the only ones that used water injection for more than a few minutes in some engines. But they traded weight for the ability to run at the higher power levels.
American naval fighters carried around 8-10 gallons of W/A, P-47s carried 25 gal (?), Germans used around 25 gal (?).
Problem is if you don't need it for combat it doesn't help you get back to base. You are carrying 70-200lbs of dead weight.
Some Fw 190s could inject extra fuel into the intakes to get some of the same effect. The Allied aircraft did not have to do this, their carbs would flow enough fuel at high throttle openings to do pretty much the same thing. The German fuel injection system would not work that way. It gave the engine the fuel it needed to make power. It could not flow an extra gallon a minute through the intake and supercharger to cool the intake air and have the surplus unburned fuel carry heat away from the cylinders (lots of black smoke). The Germans cold get black smoke but not quite like some the allied planes.
R-2800 powered planes were set up to flow around 1 gallon per minute less fuel when the water injection was engaged. The extra fuel had been being used as a coolant.
It rarely does anything for getting bombers to altitude (20-30 minute climb) or for high speed cruise.
Japanese are about the only ones that used water injection for more than a few minutes in some engines. But they traded weight for the ability to run at the higher power levels.
American naval fighters carried around 8-10 gallons of W/A, P-47s carried 25 gal (?), Germans used around 25 gal (?).
Problem is if you don't need it for combat it doesn't help you get back to base. You are carrying 70-200lbs of dead weight.
Some Fw 190s could inject extra fuel into the intakes to get some of the same effect. The Allied aircraft did not have to do this, their carbs would flow enough fuel at high throttle openings to do pretty much the same thing. The German fuel injection system would not work that way. It gave the engine the fuel it needed to make power. It could not flow an extra gallon a minute through the intake and supercharger to cool the intake air and have the surplus unburned fuel carry heat away from the cylinders (lots of black smoke). The Germans cold get black smoke but not quite like some the allied planes.
R-2800 powered planes were set up to flow around 1 gallon per minute less fuel when the water injection was engaged. The extra fuel had been being used as a coolant.