CHAPTER IX GERMAN DISK-VALVE ENGINES Junkers Torpedo Engine. Model JUMO, KM8 Germany has always quickly seized the opportunity to investigate a new principle, to prove its worth or failings, and to carry out intensive development work on it to the smallest detail. It is therefore not surprising that between the years 1937 and 1945 a number of experimental engines, some twenty or thirty, with new form of rotary valve had been built and tested and that when the World War came to an end a production order had been issued for the manufacture of 100 engines of an entirely new type, JUMO KM8, designed for the special purpose of propelling torpedoes. The order for this batch of engines was never completed, but the prototype has been examined by British and American intelli- gence engineers,* and they have stated that it represents a pro- gressive trend in general automotive development. Full drawings and test data are not available, inasmuch as they were said to have been destroyed or evacuated from Dessau. where the experimental engine was made. However, an illus- trated description was prepared by Dipl. Ing. Strohle, project engincer on the engine, and a translation provides a basis for an accurate specification. High output, coupled with light weight, in the smallest package space is an important objective in torpedo design, and these requir ments are equally important in all vehicle design. The KMé engine was intended for a very short life under abnormal operating conditions, but it is thought that with some small changes in design. and operating under less onerous conditions, a longer life could be expected. Conpitions To BE FuLFILLeD. The ideas behind the design and the special conditions which the KM8 engine had to fulfil were : (a) The engine to be capable of driving the torpedo at 40 knots, and for this purpose an output of 275 hp. at 365¢ r.p.m. was required. (b) Minimum weight was essential, and therefore there was a strong leaning towards Junkers standard aircraft practice in design. * C.LO.S. Report. C. A. Lindblom, U.S. Ord., and Major J. R. Parry, British M.O.S 192ROTARY VALVE ENGINES 193 (c) The engine had to reach full load and maximum speed in the shortest possible time. Starting from rest to running on a mixture of exhaust gas, oxygen and petrol had to be accomplished automatically following the throwing over of a single control lever. (d) The engine had to be capable of withstanding the high temperatures and pressures resulting from the use of an exhaust gas and oxygen mixture. (e) The engine had to reach maximum speed and power within one to two seconds from cold (starting being by a com- pressed-air starter motor). This entailed a very strong crank- shaft, connecting rods, bearings, etc. (f) The sparking plugs had to be so arranged that they were easily accessible from the outside of the torpedo with a mini- mum of inspection covers in the hull. (g) The required life of the engine was only a few hours, so that a large wear and tear of individual parts could be tolerated. (hk) Surface treatment of materials and special materials to withstand oxygen and sea water had to be considered. (i?) Owing to the small available space in the torpedo, which was only 53 cm. internal diameter, the overall cross section of the engine had to come within this dimension. As the planned capacity of the engine was 4-3 litres it was found impossible to incorporate normal overhead valve gear in the available space. Under these circumstances a rotating disk type of valve based on experimental work carried out by Wankel Entwicklungs Werke at Lindau, on Lake Constance, was employed. The overhead space required for this type of valve was approximately 45 mm. DescriPTION OF THE KM8 Disk-Vatve TorPEDO ENGINE. The layout of the engine is shown in Figs. 106 and 107, being jORIVE FOR DISK VALVES. Fic. 106. Longitudinal section through one bank of cylinders of German KM8 disk-valve engine.194 ROTARY VALVE ENGINES longitudinal section and cross-section respectively. The clearance space between the outside of the various components of the engine and the inside diameter of the torpedo is seen in Fig. 107. The cylinder head with the rotary valve in greater detail is shown in Fig. 108. This is a liquid-cooled internal combustion engine with mag- neto ignition, working on the four-stroke principle, and burning a TOP. Fic. 107. Cross section of German K M8 disk-valve engine encircled by the torpedo shell. mixture of oxygen, exhaust gas and fuel. There are eight cylin- ders of g0 mm. bore by 85 mm. stroke, arranged in two banks of four in V formation at go°, giving a swept volume of 0-542 litres per cylinder and a total swept volume of 4-34 litres for the whole engine. The compression ratio is 6-6 to 1, which is not high in com- parison with some British rotary-valve engines. The crankshaft is a nitrided steel forging with flanges to which the balance weights are bolted, and the main and the crank pin