I seriously doubt the radiator was 2 twice the size of the engine.
Never said it was However, when comparing inline vs. radial, we need to take it into account. So there is no 3:1 ratio of frontal crosses, but perhaps 3:2 for P-40 case.
True but sometimes it is a question of how much more powerful and at what altitudes. In addition sometimes the new engine was more reliable than the old engine and was desirable from that stand point alone. The Earlier 1600hp R-2600s when equipped with a two speed supercharger were rated at a military power of 1400hp at 11,500ft. If I have done the math correctly this means they should have been good for about 1100hp at 18,000ft. Please compare that with Early Merlins, DB 601s, etc. When comparing to the Russian aircraft please note that at least one source credits an early version of the Ash-82 with 1330hp at 17,716ft.
1100hp @ 18kft (military rating) was awesome figure for a reliable engine in production in 1940 - Allisons for P-40 were capable for that in 1943. And almost as good as Merlin XX (1100 @ 22kft, but only 1300 for take off).
As for DB-601, I'll bet that it took germans to develop 601E (one for Bf-109F4, in 1941) to better those figures.
Thanks for pointing out my mistake about Ash-82. Guess Russkies were right to re-engine the LaGG-3 into something that would combat Germans on more level terms - as I advocate so far for Americans
About 'etc.' ones, those don't come any near the top-notch engines of 1940.
Maybe your super P-40 would be better than an Allison version, the question is by how much. If the improvement is minor it may not be worth the trouble.
My estimates were that 1940/41 variant (1600 HP, 4 x .50in, wing area down to 200 ft^2, empty weight under 7000 lbs) would be vastly better than any Japanese, Russian or Italian design, better than Spit II Bf-109E, and as good as Bf-109F2 Spit V. Better than any other contemporary US plane, of course
The mid 1942 variant (1750 HP, 4-6 .50in) would've been second only to Spit IX P-38F when at high altitudes (one plane not available for USAAF in more than token numbers, other twice as expensive); as good as Fw-190A-3, better than anything else.
By mid 1943 plethora of (nominally) better planes are available for waring parties, but P-40 has served it's purpose - to hold the enemy until those come to play.
You have lost me on this section. I was referring just to the weight of the engine installation. moving the guns from the fuselage to the wing may help with the balance but does nothing for power plant comparisons. Using power to weight ratios for empty aircraft seems a little bogus when trying to estimate performance. For trying to estimate performance vrs other aircraft you might what to try the power to weight in flying condition at combat altitude. A normal P-40E is around 7850lbs in such condition (allowing for burning off about 50% of fuel). Figuring your R-2600 powered plane at at least 8000lbs in such a condition ( even allowing for reduced armament of 4 guns) means a power to weight ratio of about .1375hp per pound at 18,000ft. Want to re-figure the German planes?
My intention was to show how the increased frontal weight influence at CoG would've been canceled
I don't think it's bogus comparing empty weights, since one loaded weight might differ from another loaded weight (for same plane) for different tasks.
We can do what you propose, but, for re-figuring the German planes, I do lack accurate figures for their power output @ 18kft.
You lost me again, what turbo charged versions of which engine were we discussing? the P-38s Allison?
We are not, so I've made a disclaimer
for the rest;
1. True but the idea is try and beat them. if the combination won't do the job why bother? Allison did offer an engine with 9.60 supercharger gears fairly early but it had trouble with the gear sets. When finally used the 9.60 gears sets gave 1125hp at 15,500ft. Not 18,000ft but a much easier "what if".
Yep, but those 1125 are:
-achieved at WEP rating - so 5-min setting,
-in late 1942
-@ 2500 ft less (minor issue, but still)
The Merlin engine used in the P-40F was good for 1120hp at 18,500ft. This seems to have been an option for the USAAC in 1942 and 1943. Since we know how it turned out I am just not seeming the utility of a heavier, draggier version of the plane with little more power at altitude performing a whole lot better.
1942/43 minus 1940 equals half of length of US WW2. That is the main advantage of 'my' P-40.
2. The BMW-801 and the Ash-82 aren't really common in the time period under discussion are they? at least not until the very end. And again if the question is even power available at 18-20,000ft the R-2600 is questionable.
1600 HP engine was major breakthrough for Germans in late 1941/early 1942 - that is when those HP were relaible, while never being available in numbers needed.
R-2600 offered the same power in 1940, reliable, available. By 1942 it was 1750 HP.
3. Mixing time lines a bit. No question the R-2600 is ahead of the Sabre and the Griffon but it is not that far ahead of the R-2800. In order to ensure your availability of engines factory construction and tooling up have to begin about 1 1/2 to 2 years before the planes go into combat in numbers. What do you know? The US was planning on massive factory construction projects for the R-2800 in the end of summer/fall of 1940.
No mixing here - the group 3 were engines with more HP than R-2600, but with a major shortcoming: not available.