From what books are these pictures?
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Shortround6
Major General
2nd one is from "A history of Aircraft Piston Engines" by Herschel Smith. Where he go it from I don't know.
WJPearce
Airman 1st Class
Top one is page 81 from "Major Piston Aero Engines of World War II" by Victor Bingham.
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Shortround6
Major General
They are both somewhat mixed bags.
Herschel Smith's book has a lot of general information/history as he devotes one chapter to each major type of engine (one chapter for ALL rotary engines, one chapter for ALL separate cylinder liquid cooled engines, one chapter for ALL cast block liquid cooled engines, one chapter for ALL large radials,etc)which means each engine or engine family only gets a few pages. It may be a bit dated and may reflect his opinions too. You may like his sense of humor though
Victor Bingham's book is a mixed bag for other reasons. While a lot more detailed information is presented it appears the proof readers were either on vacation or on strike. There are an abundance of errors throughout the book and not just the type that might be due to better sources becoming available after it was written. Text sometimes does not agree with charts/tables. Bore and stroke sometimes does not agree with listed displacement (by enough that it grabs your attention and makes you do the math).
It has some nice pictures/drawings and some good general histories of the engine types presented but has too many errors to be relied on without double checking.
Herschel Smith's book has a lot of general information/history as he devotes one chapter to each major type of engine (one chapter for ALL rotary engines, one chapter for ALL separate cylinder liquid cooled engines, one chapter for ALL cast block liquid cooled engines, one chapter for ALL large radials,etc)which means each engine or engine family only gets a few pages. It may be a bit dated and may reflect his opinions too. You may like his sense of humor though
Victor Bingham's book is a mixed bag for other reasons. While a lot more detailed information is presented it appears the proof readers were either on vacation or on strike. There are an abundance of errors throughout the book and not just the type that might be due to better sources becoming available after it was written. Text sometimes does not agree with charts/tables. Bore and stroke sometimes does not agree with listed displacement (by enough that it grabs your attention and makes you do the math).
It has some nice pictures/drawings and some good general histories of the engine types presented but has too many errors to be relied on without double checking.
WJPearce
Airman 1st Class
I agree with Shortround6. I think they are good books that contribute to the overall knowledge of aircraft engine history, but they are very far from the definitive text on their respective subjects. I would not hesitate to buy them again, but both leave you shaking your head at times.
I have Smith's earlier version "Aircraft Piston Engines: From the Manly Baltzer to the Continental Tiara," but it has the same page count as "A History of Aircraft Piston Engines." It mentions a lot of engines but not many are covered in great detail.
For Bingham, I'm not sure how "major" the Centaurus and Vulture engines were during WWII. They are both in the book (and I'm glad), but Japanese and Italian engines are not covered at all.
Again, I am glad I have the books and would buy them again if my wife were to damage them in a plant watering accident (don't ask).
I have Smith's earlier version "Aircraft Piston Engines: From the Manly Baltzer to the Continental Tiara," but it has the same page count as "A History of Aircraft Piston Engines." It mentions a lot of engines but not many are covered in great detail.
For Bingham, I'm not sure how "major" the Centaurus and Vulture engines were during WWII. They are both in the book (and I'm glad), but Japanese and Italian engines are not covered at all.
Again, I am glad I have the books and would buy them again if my wife were to damage them in a plant watering accident (don't ask).
Has anyone got Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of WW II, and what is that like as a reference?
Ditto Wilkinson's Aircraft Engines of The World c. 1945-46?
Ditto Wilkinson's Aircraft Engines of The World c. 1945-46?
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Shortround6
Major General
I've got 2 out of 3.
"Allied Aircraft Piston engines of WW II", isn't too bad, but like a lot of books it spends time/pafes describing the planes the engines were used in. It also doesn't have quite the depth of detail that some members of this forum might like.
While it lists most/all of the variations of the major engine and gives applications, HP/rpm /altitude and comments it doesn't list boost pressure or fuel requirements in many cases. While the major engines are covered the less common ones sometimes get glossed over (P&W R-2000 gets about 1 page but then it didn't do anything but power the C-54 and didn't lead to anything else, something of a dead end/branch of the R-1830) and the small trainer engines don't get any mention at all.
Wilkinson's "Aircraft Engines of The World" were published in 1941, 1944, 1945 and then petty much every year until the late 60s or early 70. Sort of the "Jane's" of aircraft engines, but that also means that in some cases (like the 1941 and 44 editions) he had to work with what he could get for some countries. The wartime books are not going to give the most up to date information for enemy engines for obvious reasons and the allied engines were sometimes limited due to security restrictions (Vulture engine still listed in 1944 edition) Post war edition (1946) drops the German and Japanese engines pretty quick. He does give boost pressures (at least for take-off) and fuel grade requirements.
Page layouts as like these for the Merlin posted on Spitfire performance website. http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/Aircraft_Engines_of_the_World_Rolls-Royce_Merlin.pdf
"Allied Aircraft Piston engines of WW II", isn't too bad, but like a lot of books it spends time/pafes describing the planes the engines were used in. It also doesn't have quite the depth of detail that some members of this forum might like.
While it lists most/all of the variations of the major engine and gives applications, HP/rpm /altitude and comments it doesn't list boost pressure or fuel requirements in many cases. While the major engines are covered the less common ones sometimes get glossed over (P&W R-2000 gets about 1 page but then it didn't do anything but power the C-54 and didn't lead to anything else, something of a dead end/branch of the R-1830) and the small trainer engines don't get any mention at all.
Wilkinson's "Aircraft Engines of The World" were published in 1941, 1944, 1945 and then petty much every year until the late 60s or early 70. Sort of the "Jane's" of aircraft engines, but that also means that in some cases (like the 1941 and 44 editions) he had to work with what he could get for some countries. The wartime books are not going to give the most up to date information for enemy engines for obvious reasons and the allied engines were sometimes limited due to security restrictions (Vulture engine still listed in 1944 edition) Post war edition (1946) drops the German and Japanese engines pretty quick. He does give boost pressures (at least for take-off) and fuel grade requirements.
Page layouts as like these for the Merlin posted on Spitfire performance website. http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/Aircraft_Engines_of_the_World_Rolls-Royce_Merlin.pdf
WJPearce
Airman 1st Class
I really like "Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II" by White (although it has been over ten years since I read it). I think it gives a good overview of many engines from their creation through development and into service. Of course, I would have liked it to be even more detailed (never too much), and the SAE (publisher) did not use great paper, so photo reproduction could be better. It is really just US an UK engines; there are no Russian or French engines.
"Aircraft Engines of the World" by Wilkinson gives a good snapshot of whatever was going on that year. There is not much history info and obviously types there were somewhat secret are not included. 1945 has known (to Wilkinson) German, Japanese, and a few Russian piston engines, but little on jets. 1946 has jets but nothing on Germany and Japan because the war was over and the engines were no longer in production. In this regard, I liked what the Jane's books did in having German engines that became known post-war. Wilkinson did not do that for piston engines but did for jets.
Really, I feel all these books have their place, but it all depends on what you are looking for (and how much surplus cash you have to spend). As far as I know, there is no book that covers all major engines of all nations. If you want to know all specs on known (and some experimental) WWII engines, Wilkinson can do that. If you want to know more about the major (and some minor) types of US and UK, White has that (much more history).
I keep hoping for a "Part II" of the Allied book covering Russia and France and an "Axis Aircraft Piston Engines of WWII," but I won't hold my breath.
"Aircraft Engines of the World" by Wilkinson gives a good snapshot of whatever was going on that year. There is not much history info and obviously types there were somewhat secret are not included. 1945 has known (to Wilkinson) German, Japanese, and a few Russian piston engines, but little on jets. 1946 has jets but nothing on Germany and Japan because the war was over and the engines were no longer in production. In this regard, I liked what the Jane's books did in having German engines that became known post-war. Wilkinson did not do that for piston engines but did for jets.
Really, I feel all these books have their place, but it all depends on what you are looking for (and how much surplus cash you have to spend). As far as I know, there is no book that covers all major engines of all nations. If you want to know all specs on known (and some experimental) WWII engines, Wilkinson can do that. If you want to know more about the major (and some minor) types of US and UK, White has that (much more history).
I keep hoping for a "Part II" of the Allied book covering Russia and France and an "Axis Aircraft Piston Engines of WWII," but I won't hold my breath.
