RAF after BoB: mid-term strategy, tactics technology?

[wuzak]

IIRC the Germans had added an extra rotor.

For the Navy only. And only for U-Boat communications.

The Luftwaffe and the Heer used the 3 rotor.

 

[Kevin J]

This seems like another one of those ideas/projects that requires working on a version of plane that will NOT be very good in service for 1 to 2 years so you can be ready with a tooled up production line when the version of the engine you really want to use shows up.
It also requires a fair amount of jiggery-pokery to get it to work.

AS for availability of Hercules engines, details seem to be a bit sketchy but it took until Dec of 1941 to get the first 200 Short Stirlings.
The first Wellington Prototype with Hercules engines flew May 19th 1939 but the first production version didn't fly until the Jan of 1941 with the Hercules XI engine.

Photo of Halifax engine installation

View attachment 273700

Photo of the Zero

http://www.enginehistory.org/G&jJBrossett/RAFCosford/Nakajima Sakae 21 display.JPG

can't get it to transfer over.

It is not question of unbolting the Merlin and it's radiators and bolting on a Hercules "power egg" and bashing some sheet metal to fill the gaps. The Hercules has a higher carburetor than the Sakae and some other radial engines. It often used a remote drive to the accessories. Good for servicing the accessorizes, not so good for a short engine installation. The exhaust system is going to offer a lot less exhaust thrust than the Merlin. The cowl is not exactly low drag.
Everything can be 'fixed' with enough time and effort but the longer it takes the less need for it.
The Early Hercules doesn't offer anything the Melrin doesn't at the time and even a Hercules VI giving 1545hp at 15,500ft (Lumsden) is fighting higher weight and much higher drag than the Merlin.

Another easier alternative perhaps would have been a Hercules power egg bolted on instead of a Merlin power egg on a Miles M20. Again IIRC something like this was projected but with retractable undercarriage. You'd still be looking at a 1942 service entry.

 

[fubar57]

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[Shortround6]

Another easier alternative perhaps would have been a Hercules power egg bolted on instead of a Merlin power egg on a Miles M20. Again IIRC something like this was projected but with retractable undercarriage. You'd still be looking at a 1942 service entry.

Bristol Hercules power egg.

ALthough on the Beaufighter it wasn't quite a power egg as they moved the oil cooler out into the wing.

Please notice the honking big air intake on top which makes sighting a bit of problem on single engine planes.

There may be a way around that but you no longer have a "power egg" but a rather customized engine installation which is going to take time to sort out.

And when you are done do you really have any sort of improvement? The radial engine installation, unless doing something completely different from what the British were doing in 1941/42 is going to have way more drag than the Merlins set up and way less exhaust thrust so all the extra power goes into fighting the drag and weight.