Me 262 Volume One

by J. Richard Smith and Eddie J. Creek

Reviewed by Douglas Culy

The great airplanes have many books written about them. This writer has six major works on the Messerschmitt 262, and each has something a little different to say. Smith and Creek’s book has something of particular interest to engine history buffs, which is that the three jet engines that influenced the design of the Me 262 are very well covered (BMW P3304, BMW P3302 (003), and Jumo 004). The BMW 003A, a different engine from the P3302, which flew in later Me 262 development aircraft, is also discussed, although it did not influence the airframe design. In fact, this book has the most detailed coverage of the BMW P3304 (the one that never ran) that this writer has seen in any book on German jet engine development. Specifically, it gives the size of the engines and well illustrates the installation of each of these successively larger engines in their nacelles and in the also-evolving wing of the Me 262. Further, this book has many photos of wind-tunnel models that were prepared to evaluate the several stages of airframe design that began with what looks like a straight-wing Me 309 derivative or cousin and ended with the all-new swept-wing fighter that was produced.

This volume covers development of the airplane, with discussion of the first 17 prototypes and the initial production methods. Chapter headings are: 

1. The Skull of a Genius
2. Some Thought My Ideas Were Pure Fantasy
3. A Fever of Expectation
4. An Unimaginable Lead
5. Projected Me 262 Developments
6. I’m Not Interested In This Aircraft As A Fighter
7. We Need the Me 262 More Than Anything Else
Appendix. 1. Camouflage and Markings
Appendix. 2. Me 262 Prototype Flights
Appendix. 3. German Reaction Engine Designation System
Appendix. 4. Messerschmitt Personalities and Company Organization

Me 262 Volume One is a very satisfying book, and well worth its price. Unfortunately, Volume Two is unavailable, and Volume One and Volume Three may not be on the shelves much longer.  Maybe if we all write to the publisher (now Ian Allan Publishing in England), they might reissue the books.

The reviewed volume was published by Classic Publications, Crowborough, England, 2000.

Luftwaffe Secret Projects
Strategic Bombers 1935-1945

by Dieter Herwig and Heinz Rode

Reviewed by Doug Culy

Luftwaffe Secret Projects – Strategic Bombers 1935-1945 begins each chapter with biographies of designers and Luftwaffe leaders in the procurement departments. There are many excellent photographs, line drawings, and color illustrations of actual aircraft, formal projects not completed, and designers’ ideas. The latter border on the fantastic, but are supplemented with convincing discussion, including which engines were planned for that aircraft. In the Appendices contain photos of wartime wind-tunnel test facilities, and 24 very clear photos of advanced piston and jet engines. The piston engine photos are usually of the aft end, showing the supercharger and turbocharger installations. There are also photos and drawings of guided missiles.

When examining the book prior to purchase, this writer was initially skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised at the obvious quality and thoroughness of the coverage. Herwig, the principal author, was employed in the RLM during WW2, and later was an aviation historian. Published by Midland Publishing, Leicester, England, 2000, 144pp. It is well worth the list price of US $39.95, and can be had for less from on-line discounters.

Table of Contents
Glossary
Notes
1.        Heavy Bomber Development in Germany up until 1945
2.        Bomber Projects of the Reichswehr 1926-1933
3.        Heavy Bomber Projects 1933-1937
4.        Prototypes and Projects in the Bomber-B Program
5.        Strategic VLR Reconnaissance Aircraft and Guided Missile Carriers
6.        Target New York – Strategic Heavy and Long-Range Bomber Projects 1942 to 1944
7.        Long- and Very Long-Range Jet Bomber Projects 1944 to 1945
8.        Tactical Bomber Projects 1944 to 1945
9.        Strategic Long-Range Flying Boat Projects
10.     Allied War Booty
Appendix
Index 

Hans von Ohain - Elegance in Flight

by Margaret Conner

Reviewed by Tom Fey

Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain designed the first jet engine to successfully power an aircraft (Aug. 27, 1939) and for that reason alone, the biography of Dr. Ohain, Elegance in Flight, written by Margaret Conner is a valuable addition to the aviation literature. The 285-page book with 24+ pages of pictures nicely chronicles Ohain’s life before this momentous achievement as well as the subsequent decades of his life until his death from heart failure in 1998.

Born into an affluent military family in Dessau, Germany, Ohain was interested in many things as he grew up; sailing, cars, etc. Having earned doctoral degree in physics (dissertation: optical microphone) from Georg-August University, Gottingen, Germany, in 1935, Ohain came to believe that there must be a better way to power aircraft than the noisy, vibrating, heavy, and complicated reciprocating engines of the day. This interest leads to theoretical studies during his graduate and postgraduate years, and eventually the construction of a prototype by his friend/machinist/auto mechanic, Max Hahn. The prototype was unable to run independently, and short of money and resources to continue his work, Ohain’s professor suggested he try to secure financing from an aircraft manufacturer.

Fortunately, Ohain and Hahn were hired by aeronautical industrialist Ernst Heinkel in early 1936 to develop a flight-worthy jet engine as soon as possible. Ohain’s years at Heinkel before and during the war are very interesting reading, and the highlight of the book for me. Funded, goaded, cloaked in secrecy, and micro-managed by Ernst Heinkel himself, the jet engine team lead by Ohain was tasked with making Heinkel a player in jet aircraft. Ohain’s degree in physics didn’t completely prepare him for the demands and diverse complexities of metallurgy, manufacturing, material science, and aeronautics, but his gifted intellect and respectful demeanor helped him learn rapidly on the job from a wide-ranging cast of characters at the Heinkel works. The biography is not overly technical with regards to the design and execution of a jet engine, but I found a pleasant amount of detail to keep the reader engaged with the engineering challenges and progress embodied in the Heinkel series of jet engines. There is an appendix with 9 pages drawings of the first flight engine, the He3B, and several other jets engines as well.

Like many German experts in the aeronautical and engineering fields, Ohain was recruited by the US government to come to America after the war to continue his work. Settling first in Alabama, and eventually Ohio, Ohain used his considerable intelligence, determination, and gentle charisma to advance himself and his programs in government service, rising to the directorship of the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. The adaptation to the language, customs, and systems of American life were enjoyable reading.

There are not a lot of other references in the literature that document Ohain’s life, so it is difficult for me to gauge the accuracy of this biography. The only obvious error I came across was the author stating that Americans were first to orbit Earth (Yuri Gagarin of the USSR was the first human to enter space and to orbit the Earth, both occurring in his pioneering flight on April 12, 1961).

After reading an article about Ohain in the late 1980s, I was able to contact him by mail to ask a few questions about the first flight engine. The very kind letter I received back from Dr. Ohain seems to nicely fit the persona described in the book, and remains a prized document in my aeronautical collection.

I very much recommend the book to those interested in the genesis of jet flight, and it makes a nice compliment to the several books written about the British jet pioneer, Sir Frank Whittle. For those wanting additional technical detail and pictures of the German jet engines, I would recommend The First Jet  Aircraft by Wolfgang Wagner (Schiffer Publishing, 1998) and German Jet Engines and Gas Turbine Development 1930-1945 by Antony L. Kay (Airlife, 2002).

Elegance in Flight is available from Historic Aviation (1-800-225-5575, www.historicaviation.com) or the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (www.aiaa.org).

The Bombing of Rolls-Royce at Derby
in two World Wars - with diversions

by Kirk, Felix & Bartnik

Reviewed by Graham White

With yet another addition to the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series, it is now becoming a veritable collection. This book represents No 32.

Although not directly aircraft engine related, as its sub title; - with diversions, implies, the story manages to wrap enough aircraft material into the text to make it worthwhile reading. The concept of the book is to use various bombing raids on the Rolls-Royce manufacturing facility in Derby, England to describe the offensive and defensive equipment used. In this way, the reader can get a better understanding of the Zeppelins used to bombard England during World War I. Using the bombing of the Derby area as a backdrop, the authors went into great detail into the history the Zeppelin, its development, the Maybach engines that powered them, etc. Of course, the British would not and could not take this assault on their homeland unopposed so the book delves into the British fighters of the day. It could be argued the authors were diverging off the subject and this was either implied or; admitted to in the text.

Most of the book was devoted to a bombing raid by a Dornier Do217 twin engined medium bomber that dropped its bombs on the Rolls-Royce Derby factory in 1942. Nice anecdotes are offered into the strategy of barrage balloons and how effective or otherwise they were. Nice description of the BMW 801 radial engine that powered the Do217 is offered. However, this reviewer would like to make some comments regarding this engine. Although this myth has been perpetuated many times, the 801 was not based on a Pratt & Whitney design even though BMW built P&W R-1690s under license. The authors do a comparison of the 801 with some of its contemporaries such as the Merlin, Wright R-1820, Hercules, etc. But the one engine that bore the most resemblance to the 801 was omitted. That engine was the Wright R-2600. I make mention of this because in this reviewer’s opinion, the 801 was copied from the R-2600. Several facts support this; (i) they are the same configuration, i.e, 14 cylinder, two row air-cooled radials, (ii) they are of almost identical displacement, (iii) their conceptual design is identical, i.e, three piece crank, one piece master rods running in plan bearings and the crank is supported in rolling element bearings, but most telling of all is (iv) their crankcase design. Wright developed an unusual way to make their radial engine crankcases in the late 1930s; that of using forged steel. The 801 also used this unusual manufacturing method. Lastly, Wright’s top design engineer was German who still maintained contact with his German friends. Would it be a stretch to assume that he let the cat out of the bag regarding the forged steel crankcase? Incidentally, the forged steel process was not as heavy as one would think. Wright crankcases and presumably the BMW 801, used extraordinarily thin sections where the stresses were low. So overall, it weighed no more than a forged aluminum crankcase. Excellent insight is offered into the defensive measures taken by the Germans to protect their aircraft against cables from barrage balloons. Hard to imagine, but the Do217 that attacked Derby actually ran into a cable and lived to tell about it.

A couple of relatively minor errors crept in.

On page 45 it appears the authors got their years mixed up and 1938 is described as 1939.

The Do217 landing gear was described as “Its electrically operated ‘undercarriage’ was effective and reliable, though it could have been more robust – on take at full load it had a most unpleasant ‘shimmy’.’” This implies that the main gear shimmied; in fact, it was in all likelihood the tail wheel that shimmied – a very common problem – and not just with German aircraft.

It’s a very specialized book that may not appeal to most of us on this side of the pond but like all their other books, this one represents an absolute bargain. This reviewer buys every R-RHT Historical Series as soon as it becomes available. You’d pay more for some magazines than you would for this book.

Its price is £6 for members and £9 for non-members of the Heritage Trust. And like their other books this one is available through:

Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust

Rolls-Royce plc

Moor Lane

P.O. Box 31

Derby DE24 8BJ

England

Fast Jets
the history of reheat development at Derby

by Cyril Elliott with contributions from John Goodwin

Reviewed by Graham White

Number 5 in the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Technical Series, Fast Jets is a must read for folks who enjoy high performance gas turbines. The mention of Derby in the title refers to Derby England where Rolls-Royce aircraft engines have been developed since this famous company got involved in aircraft engine development in 1914. Consequently, this book only covers those reheat applications developed at this location.

Like me, you probably thought that afterburning, or reheat in English speak, was simply a question of dumping a bunch of kerosene in the tail pipe of a jet. Think again. But it must be added that even Lord Hives had the same though I had. Reheat development took an inordinate amount of painful effort with almost the same number of problems one would associate with engine development. Rolls-Royce entered the traitorous field of gas turbines with the Derwent. It should be noted that all Rolls-Royce gas turbines were and are, named after rivers, the Derwent being a river situated in the midlands of England. Entering production in 1944, the Derwent powered the Gloster Meteor. As always in military power plants, too much power is just enough, in other words there is never enough. So experiments were conducted with injecting fuel into the tail pipe. From these beginning stages, Rolls-Royce went on to develop many reheat designs for military applications. Of course, describing engine development has to go hand in hand with aircraft development. By the jet age, more and more emphasis was placed upon the power plant, how it was mounted and catering to all its needs.

This book is strictly for those who enjoy the technical aspects of gas turbines, no wimps allowed. Obviously, it is focused on reheat but don’t be fooled into thinking there is not much to it. To emphasize that point, this book should receive an honorable mention in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest fold-outs of any book in print. Some of the fold out measure a staggering 60 inches wide - and this just illustrates the reheat part of the engine. These massive fold-outs, many of which are in color, need some studying to figure out what’s going on but after a while it’s possible to understand the myriad schematics illustrating fuel, hydraulics, compressed air, electrical systems, etc. Although the illustrations fall in roughly the appropriate part of the text, it would have been helpful to the reader if the illustrations had been referenced in the text. Nevertheless, the photographs and illustrations are absolutely first class.

Author Elliot goes through the various developments that took place in Derby chronologically. He covers all the gas turbine developments up to the Spey, used in the F4 Phantom. The F4K Phantom has been described (not in this book I might add) as being the slowest, heaviest and thirstiest of all the Phantoms. However, when you look at the task facing Rolls-Royce engineers, it was a miracle it was even pulled off. Even so, excellent insight is offered in the horrendous design and engineering problems that had to be overcome in shoe-horning a Spey into a Phantom airframe. After the Phantom episode, author Elliot was reassigned and the text is picked up by John Goodwin who takes us through the Adour development phase and its numerous sub types powering the Jaguar.

A nice Appendix One lists all the Rolls-Royce reheat engines including performance and applications. Appendix Two, put together by Dave Birch who also edits the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Derby Branch magazine, Archive, describes all the aircraft test flown by Rolls-Royce in reheat development.

Again, this is a must-buy for those interested in gas turbines. The fold-outs alone are well worth the incredibly low asking price of less than US $40.00.

An Account of Partnership -
Industry, Government and the Aero Engine

The Memoirs of George Purvis Bulman
Edited and with a commentary by M C Neale

Reviewed by Graham White

Another book from the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series, this is one well worth buying and as always at a bargain basement price.

Major George Bulman played a crucial role in Britain’s embryonic aircraft engine development business. As a government employee, Bulman’s responsibilities included the determination of whether an aircraft power plant was fit for Royal Air Force service. His official title was Director of Engine Development and Production. Just from this brief title, it can be seen that Bulman’s responsibilities ranged far and wide.

This autobiography was written in the late 1960s but for various reasons was never published. It is thanks to M C Neale, one of Bulman’s successors, that this manuscript saw the light of day. And what a wonderful account it turned out to be.

To prepare the reader for what is in store, Neale wrote a lengthy and informative introduction. Although Neal’s writing style could be irritating due to “chopped-up” sentences and at times, an awkward grammar style, it is highly recommended and well worth the effort to read his intro.

At the onset of World War I, not surprisingly, the British had no organized aircraft engine capability, therefore this responsibility was thrust upon the government. It is during this embryonic stage that Bulman enters the picture and remains in engine development and production until his departure in 1942. During his tenure, Bulman rubbed shoulders with all the movers and shakers of British aviation including his close friend Frank Halford plus Ernest Hives, Rod Banks, Wilfrid Freeman, Winston Churchill, Dr. Roxbee Cox, Harry Ricardo, Roy Fedden and many other luminaries. His involvement with the Schneider Trophy races shed more light on this fascinating contest of national pride and honor. The story of the infamous head and bank change on the Rolls-Royce R the night before the 1929 race has been well documented. But the manner in which the head and bank assembly was changed has never been dealt with. Even Bulman’s text does not get into any details but a painting depicting the change occupies a full page of the book. Normally, when a bank is removed from a 60 degree V-12, the engine is rotated 30 degrees in order to remove the bank vertically. With the engine mounted in the aircraft, this 30 degree tilt becomes problematic. However, in a scene similar to, “if Mohammed will not go to the mountain then move the mountain to Mohammed,” the Rolls-Royce mechanics charged with replacing the problematic bank assembly tilted the entire Supermarine S6B the requisite 30 degrees. Fascinating stuff..!!!

As war clouds gathered in the mid to late 1930s, it was thanks to Bulman’s proactive approach to engine manufacturing that the British were somewhat prepared; or at least as prepared as one can be with such a calamitous event about to overtake the entire world. Thank goodness Bulman got the British car industry geared up for production of aircraft engines. And remember, as today, the top executives of the 1930s were an egocentric bunch to whom the term “team player” as it pertained to cooperating with their bitterest rivals was anathema. Nevertheless, Bulman managed to get them to pull together for the national good.

After reading Bulman’s account, it was obvious the war took a terrible toll on him, even though he didn’t always admit to such in the text. At times, a reader needs to read between the lines to understand the implied messages. One cannot help but admire his charity towards those who would stab him in the back or otherwise do him political harm. Having a top level government job clearly thrust him into the inevitable politics that came as part and parcel with the position. With one exception, he had nothing but praise for those he worked with and worked for. The one exception was Frank Whittle. Perhaps we will never get the whole truth on this sordid episode. But fact of the matter is, Whittle received a patent for the jet engine in 1930 handing the British a 10 year lead in gas turbine development. By the early 1940s the British were lagging behind the Germans due to ineptitude and a lack of appreciation of what this new technology was capable of. This tremendous lead was frittered away. Bulman has to take at least some responsibility for this sorry state of affairs, instead he blames Whittle and his difficult personality. All accounts seem to support the contention that Whittle was difficult to work with, nevertheless, when a world beating technology comes along it is incumbent upon those in power to exploit this new technology to the full regardless of the difficulties in dealing with “unique” personalities. The British missed the boat on this one–big time.

Bulman’s downfall appears to have been the result of protracted problems with the Napier Sabre. In all fairness, he was given a classic “Mission Impossible” with this complex and problematic engine. Exacerbating Bulman’s situation was the apparent lackadaisical attitude Napier executives demonstrated. No wonder the US turned down manufacturing rights to this complex nightmare. Perhaps Bulman’s close association with Halford, the Sabre’s creator, had a lot to do with his fall from grace. According to Bulman’s account, the Sabre was finally coming out of the woods and turning into a useful engine for RAF Typhoons when he was unceremoniously posted to a different position. Rod Banks replaced Bulman and received all the accolades for “fixing” the Sabre problems. I find it interesting to read Bulman’s account and compare it with Banks’ account – it’s almost as if we are reading about two different stories. Likewise, comparing Whittle’s biography shows a different spin on how events transpired. I don’t have a copy yet but it will be interesting to see how Freeman’s biography holds up in comparison.

It was somewhat surprising to see a number of errors in the book that could have easily been corrected in the editing stage. The photo of a Hispano Suiza V-8 shown upside down was a real blooper. An even more egregious error was the photo of government and industry big shots supposedly looking at a Napier Sabre. The photo actually shown was a Napier Dagger, a very different engine. Bulman leaves the reader with the impression that the Rolls-Royce Eagle 22 was an exact copy of the Napier Sabre. In fact the Eagle 22, although conceptually the same as the Sabre, was a totally different engine. Development of the two-stage Merlin is covered. These were 60 series Merlins but the text incorrectly describes the first two-stage Merlin as the Merlin XX. In fact, this latter engine was single stage engine.

Overall, this book represents a great read with all the intrigue and politicking that one could ever envision.