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Der Messerschmitt(sp)? Er Fockewulf(sp)? Nice looking design. Straight or vee engine? Must be supercharged. It looks solid, considering. Aluminum(?) doesn't corrode as much as ferrous metals, I guess. When was it recovered? Link?
It had an upside down, fuel injected V-12 made by Diamler Benz. The crankshaft was drilled and rifled to fire a 20MM cannon shell through the center of it. Wild, huh?
from WikiI'm having a hard time believing that.
from Wiki
It was to be armed with either a single 20 mm MG C/30 engine-mounted cannon firing through the propeller hub as a Motorkanone
I know not-I just remember the 20MM in the middle of the prop. I don't know if it involved a crankshaft-I am not particularly knowledgeable about such mechanicsI wonder if the propeller shaft went through the crankshaft; that it was actually the propeller shaft that took those forces.
How about the other questions?
I know not-I just remember the 20MM in the middle of the prop. I don't know if it involved a crankshaft-I am not particularly knowledgeable about such mechanics
The prop was gear driven. The cannon fired through the prop shaft, not the crankshaft.I wonder if the propeller shaft went through the crankshaft; that it was actually the propeller shaft that took those forces.
How about the other questions?
This rig has always fascinated me. The link seems to show that the 20mm cannon was situated behind the engine. There must have been a stationary ‘barrel’ through the crankshaft. These fighters, along with their Allied counterparts could only carry so much ammunition. 20 mm shells are heavy and bulky. The room in the cockpit suggests that the pilot ‘wore’ the airplane.The prop was gear driven. The cannon fired through the prop shaft, not the crankshaft.
This rig has always fascinated me. The link seems to show that the 20mm cannon was situated behind the engine. There must have been a stationary ‘barrel’ through the crankshaft. These figers, along with their Allied counterparts could only carry so much ammunition. 20 mm shells are heavy and bulky. The room in the cockpit suggests that the pilot ‘wore’ the airplane.
View attachment 67384121
On a tangent; Field Marshall Goering is once said to have asked of the General of the Fighters, Adolf Galland, if there was anything the general needed to better press the air war to the Allies. Galland is said to have replied, “ send me a squadron of Spitfires.”
Edit: 1) 20mm equals approx. 3/4 “, that’s a fairly stout hole through the bulkiest part of the IC engine. (2) Looking more closely at the diagram, I have to agree with Antiwar in that the 20mm cannon is situated below where the crankshaft would be in an inverted mounted V-12.
There is some debate as to the meaning of the quote. Later in his book, Galland states that he was pleased with the capabilities of the 109 vs the Spitfire and was trying to tweak, the Luftwaffe chief.
Yeah, the connecting rod travel would make through the shaft a little tricky. The closest I ever got to a ME-109 was in a technical museum in Speer, Germany. (I may have this wrong as I see they have an intact one.) It had been recovered in the desert after being brought down. They had decided not to restore it and displayed it in a diorama meant to simulate where/how it was found. The cowl had been ripped off and the engine was visible but I couldn’t see enough to satisfy my curiosity.Yep, the gun mounts between the cylinder banks and fires through the prop shaft, which is not mounted on the crank. The prop is gear driven from the crank, and it's shaft is below the centerline of the crank.
The piston rods attached to their journals would prevent a barrel from going through the centerline of the crank, wouldn't they? Think about how they have to rotate through the centerline.
Where was it? When was it discovered? When was it pulled out? We're remains in it? Who was the pilot? Where is it, now? Etc?
The prop was gear driven.
The cannon fired through the prop shaft, not the crankshaft.
The piston rods attached to their journals would prevent a barrel from going through the centerline of the crank, wouldn't they? Think about how they have to rotate through the centerline.
The museum also has the only A6M "Zero" still flying with it's original engine. There are a few others but the engines were replaced with American engines. Lindberg flew this plane.
The Wikipedia page says the Messerschmitt Bf109 holds the most produced airframe record.
This rig has always fascinated me.
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