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Aerospace Pictures and Art Thread


LostCosmonaut

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Generally speaking, aircraft engines in WWII were of the air-cooled radial type, which look like big, flat-faced cylinders:

xnPj8gt.jpg

 

And liquid-cooled in-line engines, which typically had a more rectangular cross-section and streamlined engine cowlings:

1200px-P-51-361.jpg

 

But this isn't a hard and fast rule.  Take for example this experimental Hawker Typhoon variant:

YQRn0WC.png

That looks for all the world like a radial engine, but it's actually an in-line engine with an annular radiator that mimics the round-cowl installation of a typical radial engine.

 

Further confusing matters, the Tempest Mk. II actually had a radial engine:

dqsOr1E.png

 

But if you really want to muddy the waters, strictly speaking "radial" refers to the arrangement of the cylinders of the engine, while "air-cooled" just refers to the means of removing waste heat from those cylinders.  Usually the terms were used interchangeably.  The big, wide-open arrangement of the radial engine lent itself to simple, passive air cooling without the complication of a liquid radiator.  But it was entirely possible to have a radial arrangement of engine cylinders that were liquid-cooled.

 

This is the Wright R-2160 Tornado:

 

wKsXBo2.jpg

 

And it is indeed a liquid-cooled radial engine from WWII.  This 42 cylinder monster was comparable to the Rolls-Royce Griffon in terms of power, size and weight, and featured direct fuel injection which was quite advanced for the time.  The number of parts was staggering, on account of having 42 cylinders, and the engine was never fully developed as Wright Aeronautical's attention was consumed by the R-3350 for the B-29.

 

This is the BMW 803:

 

eqsHvJz.jpg

 

This was another liquid-cooled radial.  This consisted, essentially, of two BMW 801 engines sharing a common shaft.  It seemed unlikely that the rearmost engine could receive adequate cooling airflow, so a liquid cooling system was substituted.  Various large and impressive aircraft were envisioned for this powerplant, but none were ever actually built.  A single engine was completed.

 

And in case you're wondering, yes, the inverse is possible as well.  This is a Ranger V-770 air-cooled inline engine:

 

Ranger_V-770_Inverted.jpg

 

And this is the Argus As-411, another air-cooled inline engine:

640px-Argus_As_411_A_1.jpg

 

Air-cooled inline engines are restricted to fairly low power levels.  Because the cylinders are bunched together the cooling airflow and cooling fin size is quite limited.  Since they cannot reject much waste heat, they cannot be allowed to produce much power in the first place.

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