Daimler-Benz DB 601

DB 601

Preserved Daimler-Benz DB 601.
Type	Piston V12 aircraft engine
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Daimler-Benz
First run	1930s
Major applications	Messerschmitt Bf 109
Developed from	Daimler-Benz DB 600
Variants	Aichi Atsuta Kawasaki Ha-40
Developed into	Daimler-Benz DB 603 Daimler-Benz DB 605

DB 601A, partially sectioned (right side)

Aichi Atsuta, a license-built DB 601 (left side)

One of the DB 601 engines from Rudolf Hess's Messerschmitt Bf 110 on display at the National Museum of Flight in Scotland.

The Daimler-Benz DB 601 was a German aircraft engine built during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled inverted V12, and powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109, among others. The DB 601 was basically an improved DB 600 with direct fuel injection.

The DB 601Aa was licence-built in Japan by Aichi as the Atsuta, by Kawasaki as the Ha-40, and in Italy by Alfa Romeo as the R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone.

Development

Based on the guidelines laid down by the Reichswehrministerium ("Reich's Ministry of Defence"), in 1929 Daimler-Benz began development of a new aero engine of the 30 l (1,800 cu in) displacement class: a liquid-cooled inverted-Vee 12-cylinder piston engine.^[1] This was designated F4, and by 1931 two prototypes were running on the test bench.^[1] These were followed by the improved F4 B, which became the prototype for the DB 600.^[1]

In 1933, Daimler-Benz finally received a contract to develop its new engine and to build six examples of the DB 600.^[1] For the year after, the DB 600 was the only German aero engine in the 30-litre class.^[1] In total, 2281 DB 600s were built.^[1]

The DB 601A-1 was a development of the DB 600 with mechanical direct fuel injection. Like all DB 601s, it had a 33.9 litre displacement.^[1] The first DB 601A-1 prototype, designated as F4E, was test run in 1935, and an order for 150 engines was placed in February 1937.^[1]

Serial production began in November 1937, and ended in 1943, after 19,000 examples of all types were produced.^[1]

Variants

DB 601 A-1: Up to 1,100 PS (809.0 kW; 1,085.0 hp) at sea-level with 2,400 rpm, up to 1,020 PS (750.2 kW; 1,006.0 hp) at 2,400 rpm and 4,500 m (14,800 ft) altitude, B4 fuel
DB 601 Aa: Up to 1,175 PS (864.2 kW; 1,158.9 hp) at sea-level with 2,500 rpm, up to 1,100 PS (809.0 kW; 1,085.0 hp) at 2,400 rpm and 3,700 m (12,100 ft) altitude, B4 fuel
DB 601 B-1: Same as DB601 A-1 for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110 and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55)
DB 601 Ba: Similar to Aa for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110 and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55)
DB 601 M: For use in the Heinkel He 100D 1,175 PS (864.2 kW; 1,158.9 hp)
DB 601 N: Up to 1,175 PS (864.2 kW; 1,158.9 hp) at sea-level and at 4,900 m (16,100 ft) altitude with 2,600 rpm, C3 fuel; Up to 1,270 PS (934.1 kW; 1,252.6 hp) at 2,100 m (6,900 ft) altitude with 2,600 rpm
DB 601 P: Same as DB 601 N for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110 and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio, 1:1.88 instead of 1:1.55)
DB 601 E: Up to 1,350 PS (992.9 kW; 1,331.5 hp) at sea-level with 2,700 rpm, up to 1,320 PS (970.9 kW; 1,301.9 hp) with 2.700 rpm at 4,800 m (15,700 ft) altitude, B4 fuel; Up to 1,450 PS (1,066.5 kW; 1,430.2 hp) at 2,100 m (6,900 ft) altitude with 2,700 rpm
DB 601 F/G: Same as DB 601 E for use in Messerschmitt Bf 110, Messerschmitt Me 210 and/or bomber aircraft (different prop/engine ratio,1:1.875 (601F), 1:2.06 (601G) instead of 1:1.685)
DB 606 A/B: Two DB 601 F or G coupled to work on a single propeller shaft for use in early Heinkel He 177As - 2,700 PS (1,986 kW) at sea level with a mirror-imaged starboard component engine supercharger, and derided as "welded-together engines" by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring in August 1942, from the problems they caused with engine fires in the He 177A during service from their inadequate installation design; such problems were not present in either the Heinkel He 119 and Messerschmitt Me 261 which also used them.
Alfa-Romeo R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone: Licence built by Alfa Romeo in Italy

Applications

DB 601

DB 606

Licensees

Aichi Atsuta

Alfa Romeo RA 1000 RC 41

Kawasaki Ha-40

Kawasaki Ki-61

Specifications (DB 601 Aa)

Data from ^[2]

General characteristics

Type: Twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled supercharged 60° inverted Vee aircraft piston engine
Bore: 150 mm (5.91 in)
Stroke: 160 mm (6.30 in)
Displacement: 33.93 l (2,070.54 cu in)
Length: 1,722 mm (67.80 in)
Dry weight: 590 kg (1,300 lb)

Components

Valvetrain: Two intake and two sodium-cooled exhaust valves per cylinder actuated via a single overhead camshaft per cylinder block.
Supercharger: Gear-driven single-speed centrifugal type supercharger (later, hydraulic-driven^[3])
Fuel system: Direct fuel injection
Oil system: Dry sump with one pressure and two scavenge pumps
Cooling system: Liquid-cooled

Performance

Power output:
1,175 PS (864.2 kW; 1,158.9 hp) at 2,500 rpm for takeoff
1,070 PS (787.0 kW; 1,055.4 hp) at 2,400 rpm at 3,700 m (12,100 ft)
Specific power: 25.52 kW/l (0.56 hp/in³)
Compression ratio: 6.9:1
Specific fuel consumption: 270 g/(kW·h) (0.44 lb/(hp·h))
Power-to-weight ratio: 1.47 kW/kg (0.89 hp/lb)

References

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mankau&Petrick, 2001. pp. 347-355
↑ Tsygulev (1939). Aviacionnye motory voennykh vozdushnykh sil inostrannykh gosudarstv (Авиационные моторы военных воздушных сил иностранных государств) (in Russian). Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatelstvo Narkomata Oborony Soyuza SSR.
↑ Wilkinson, Stephan (Jan 2003). "With the Noise of a Stone Crusher". Popular Science.

Bibliography

Mankau, Heinz and Peter Petrick. Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, Me 410. Raumfahrt, Germany: Aviatic Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-925505-62-8.
Neil Gregor Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich. Yale University Press, 1998

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daimler-Benz DB 601.

Daimler-Benz aircraft engines

Piston engines	DB 600 DB 601 DB 602 DB 603 DB 604 DB 605 DB 606 DB 607 DB 609 DB 610 DB 612 DB 613 DB 614 DB 616 DB 621 DB 622 DB 627 DB 628 DB 632

Turbofans	109-007 DB 730

Turboprops/Turboshafts	109-021 DB 720 DB 721

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