Mike Williams
Senior Airman
- 572
- Oct 19, 2006
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Hi Juha,
Yes, the article doesn't mention the Rotol props for some reason, yet Flight was describing Rotol C/S units in 1937:
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1937/1937 - 1732.html
and 1939
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1939/1939 - 0834.html
Mind you, we are getting off topic. In this article there is mention of Merlin engines using 100 octane fuel and de H constant speed propellers in December 1938.
walter sagitta | de havilland | 1938 | 3453 | Flight Archive
...large numbers of tankers were sunk by German submarines...(#90)
And who cares whether it was true or not they were using it, in 41 and 42 the Spitfires were slaughtered by the Luftwaffe, this Mister here, Williams, should include as part of his webpages the incidents where RAF fighters were shot down like flies during 41, 42 and early 43, 100 octane fuel or not[/I]
Would that be similar to the German aircraft, including 109s that were shot down in their untold numbers in that very same period????
ok, just wanted to be sure before dipping a toe in....
The thread made me recall a paragraph i read out of Black Cross/Red Star. It concerned lend lease Hurricanes sent to Russia. An comment made was that the planes engines were quickly worn out over time due to the fact that their engines were designed for 100 octane fuel while the Russians could only pump in 87 octane. This resulted in degraded preformance.
Some more evidence:
By the time of the invasion of the Low Countries by Germany in May 1940 the RAF had converted approximately 25 % of it's total fighter force to 100 octane fuel use. The subsequent escalation in air activity and demands placed upon Fighter Command over the next two months put great strain on both the 100 octane fuel stockpiles and aircraft modified to use the fuel. Against the backdrop of total war the RAF found that it's reserves of 100 octane fuel was well below the level considered necessary for widespread use, for any sustained length of time.
Two actions were immediately undertaken by the British War Cabinet in May to resolve the looming crisis. Firstly 87 octane fuel was deemed the primary fuel source to be used until further supplies could be discovered and delivered in sufficient quantities to allow the Merlin conversions to again take place. Those existing fighters already so converted (approximately 125) would continue to use what supplies of 100 octane were available, but all other fighters that had not been modified to continue with the use of 87 octane (of which there was more than adequate supply). The second action was for the British Government to contract the Shell Oil Refining Company to assist the British-controlled Iraqi Petroleum Company at Kirkuk to produce 100 octane fuel. This arrangement proved quite successful as production was quickly converted to 100 octane fuel. [/I]
"Soviet fighter pilots found the British Hurricane to be outdated and cumbersome. Furthermore, the standard Soviet aviation fuel in 1941-42 was the B-70 formulation, with an octane rating between only 70 and 75. Since the Hurricane's Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was designed for a considerably higher octane rating the Soviet fuel wore them down rapidly, decreasing preformance and frequently causing flight accidents."
Source: Black Cross/Red Star Vol II. (p.32)
Hello Altea
Geust is a Diplomingenieur, I don't remember the English term, so he has technical background. But what has Geust to do with a quote from Christer Bergström's book? Christer doesn't have technical background.
Juha