pinehilljoe
Senior Airman
- 740
- May 1, 2016
A credible what if, suppose the UK did not sell Germany the Kestrels used in the Me-109 prototype, would one of the other entries in the 1935 fly off have won, and the 109 left to history?
Britain does not sell Kestrels to Germany...
- Thread starter pinehilljoe
- Start date
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There is several options for a V12 engine choice for the Germans in mid-1930s, before the new-gen engines are to be had:
- their own BMW VI (yes, it is a big engine, but it is/was installed in a few 1-engined aircraft earlier)
- buy at Curtiss, the Conqueror is of modest dimensions and weight
- Fiat A.30, or perhaps the bigger A.22 or A.24
- Hispano Suiza 12N or 12M, since the newer 12X or 12Y will be hard to obtain from France?
Note that neither of these engines has a supercharger, apart some prototypes.
Also note that all 4 new-gen German fighter entries were powered by Kestrel. Focke Wulf's entry was flawed in layout and in undercarriage, Arado's entry was with fixed U/C, Heinkel's entry was with a too big and thick wing (= more drag = less speed), thus it is no wonder the future Bf 109 won.
Shortround6
Major General
The Germans never intended to use the Kestrel in any of the prototypes let alone in production aircraft.
The Jumo 210 was running late and the Kestrels filled in.
BMW was also fooling around with a small V-12 The BMW 116.
en.wikipedia.org
" their own BMW VI (yes, it is a big engine, but it is/was installed in a few 1-engined aircraft earlier)"
It was big but it was also light. It was also used in hundreds of German aircraft between 1933-36. Both Single and twin engine, Twins include the Do 17, He 111 and He 59.
The Kestrel was also used in the Ju 87.
One kestrel may have flown in more than one German Prototype.
The Kestrels allowed the planes listed by Tomo to get air time while waiting for the Jumo 210s to show up and to help iron out handling problems.
The Jumo 210 was running late and the Kestrels filled in.
BMW was also fooling around with a small V-12 The BMW 116.
BMW 116 - Wikipedia
" their own BMW VI (yes, it is a big engine, but it is/was installed in a few 1-engined aircraft earlier)"
It was big but it was also light. It was also used in hundreds of German aircraft between 1933-36. Both Single and twin engine, Twins include the Do 17, He 111 and He 59.
The Kestrel was also used in the Ju 87.
One kestrel may have flown in more than one German Prototype.
The Kestrels allowed the planes listed by Tomo to get air time while waiting for the Jumo 210s to show up and to help iron out handling problems.
