It is absolutely fair to talk about aviation engines when talking about aviation. Those very "fiery engines" on which, in fact, our planes flew during the Second World War.
In general, in the 30-40s, our industry, no doubt, made a huge leap forward. From direct photocopying, which, in general, is not shameful, but is an indicator of the level of development of the design school in the country, to the steady production of their equipment in large quantities and in series.
And if there was no tank building as such before the revolution, then with aviation it was bad and poor. It is bad - because the production of aircraft engines in Russia has not been established (let's not take the Gnome-Ron screwdriver assembly in statistics at all, this is not serious), and the most advanced designers like Sikorsky and Lebedev chose not to get involved with the Bolsheviks.
Yes, there were Polikarpov, Gakkel, Grigorovich, Tupolev, young people were growing up, but … There were still no engines.
Let's refer to the memoirs of Alexander Yakovlev. In the "Purpose of Life", he more than once cited his applications for foreign-made motors. And not because the young designer did not like something there, but simply because there was no one of his own. The fact, of course, is not very comforting.
But, alas, it is hard to deny that in fact ALL Soviet aircraft engines were copies of imported designs.
The purpose of this article is not at all a kind of humiliation of our industry or the labor of Soviet designers, rather, on the contrary. This is a demonstration in figures and facts of how everything came out of nothing.
Technological progress is generally a complicated thing. There is no need to go far for examples, not so long ago, in 1966, a certain automobile plant was built in the USSR that produced obsolete Italian cars. And in 2016, however, already in the status of a subsidiary of the Renault concern, cars with rear disc brakes and similar to cars began to roll off the assembly line.
Yes, it was customary in our country to flaunt all the best, that is, domestic, and to belittle the merits of foreign manufacturers in our technical development as much as possible. Today, of course, it's easier.
That is why today I am quite normal and without reproaches for being unpatriotic I can say that the air shield and sword of the Land of the Soviets was forged all over the world.
Let's start? By screws!
So, what did the propellers of Soviet aircraft use? It is clear that the engines. And which ones?
1. Bristol Jupiter. United Kingdom
Nine-cylinder in-line with star-shaped cylinders. Serially produced from 1918 to 1930.
Of course, the British didn't just present the motor to us. But they opened production in France under the brand name "Gnome-Rhone", and the Soviet Union acquired the license from the French quite normally. So "Jupiter" received an official residence permit in the USSR and was produced until 1935, having conquered the entire Great Patriotic War. Well, the first half for sure.
M-22 (aka "Jupiter") was installed on the I-16 and I-15.
2. Wright R-1820 Cyclone. USA
Nine-cylinder, single-row, star-shaped, air-cooled. Produced from 1931 to 1954.
Licensed and manufactured in Spain and the Soviet Union under the M-25 brand.
M-25 was installed on the I-15, I-15bis, I-153, I-16, KOR-1 aircraft.
A further modification of the M-25 was the M-62 / ASh-62, the developments on which, in turn, came in handy when creating two-row radial engines (ASh-82, for example).
M-62 It was installed on the I-153, I-16 (series 18 and 27, in the basic version without a gearbox), Li-2 and is still used under the ASh-62IR brand on the surviving An-2.
M-82 / ASh-82. Here is a bit of a challenge. In principle, whoever says that this is the development of our engineers will be right. Whoever says that the engine is from the same opera as its predecessors is also right.
The M-82 was two-row, but the two rows of cylinders were nothing more than the M-62, which had the number of cylinders reduced from 9 to 7. The piston stroke was also reduced, which led to a decrease in the diameter of the motor. Accordingly, a decrease in drag. Plus, the M-82 became the first Soviet-built injection engine.
In total, more than 70,000 engines of this family have been produced.
M-82 installed on:
- bombers Tu-2, Su-2, Pe-8;
- fighters La-5, La-5FN, La-7, La-9, La-11;
- passenger Il-12, Il-14;
- helicopter Mi-4.
There was a family of Shvetsov motors, which were "uncut" twin "Cyclones", that is, 18-cylinder M-71, M-72 and M-73.
M-73 / ASh-73 with turbocharger TK-1
M-73 It was installed on Tu-4 and Be-6, and, on a flying boat, it showed itself just fine, since the Be-6 did not require the installation of a high-altitude compressor.
3. Hispano-Suiza 12Y. France
Liquid-cooled 12-cylinder V-engine.
I have already talked about this motor in the materials about "Hispano-Suizu" and "Dewuatin D-520". It was also produced here under license and modified, and the HS 12Y became the ancestor of its no less famous family of water-cooled engines of V. Klimov.
M-100 … Installed on SB bombers. Then there was a chain of upgrades through the M-103 to the M-105.
M-100
M-105. It was indeed a heavily modified M-103. The engine had a smaller displacement, increased compression ratio, a two-speed centrifugal supercharger, two intake (and later two exhaust) valves per cylinder.
In total, more than 90,000 M-105 engines of all modifications were produced.
M-105 / VK-105 installed on:
- fighters LaGG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7, Yak-9, Yak-3, Pe-3;
- bombers Yak-4, Er-2, Pe-2, Ar-2.
The forced version of the M-105 engine, which became the M-107, was also released, albeit not in such a huge series, but only a little over 7,000 units, nevertheless, has every right to be included in the list.
VK-107
M-107 / VK-107 installed on Yak-9U and Pe-2.
4. Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major. France
Another 14-cylinder radial engine. The licensed copy produced in the USSR was called the M-85 and its further modification was the M-87. The chief designers of the motor were A. S. Nazarov (M-86) and S. K. Tumansky (M-87).
The motor was frankly weak, but very reliable. In general, everyone who wanted to release it under license: Italy, Japan, Great Britain, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. Even the Germans put the "Major" on their Hs-129 attack aircraft.
Our engines M-85 - M-87 were installed on DB-3 and Il-4 bombers.
5. BMW VI. Germany
Another line of motors. The German original, a V-12-cylinder water-cooled engine was modified by Alexander Mikulin and went into production as the M-17. We must pay tribute to the Germans, who kindly granted us the right to produce the engine, engines in Bavaria have always been able to build.
He-111 and Do-17 flew with this engine, it was produced all over the world (Romania, Japan, etc.)
M-17 installed on TB-1, TB-3, R-5, MBR-2.
But the most interesting thing was ahead, in the modifications.
AM-34 we will just skip it, since it was installed on all the same models, and also flew to America on RD planes.
AM-35 … Installed on MiG-1, MiG-3 and Pe-8. It was released in a series of almost 5 thousand units.
Am-35
AM-38 … Installed on IL-2. More than 40 thousand motors were manufactured in total.
Until now, at many weapons and aviation sites, people break spears, how it is necessary to consider Mikulin's motors, as independent works or as a copy of a German engine.
The truth, as always, will be somewhere in between. In fact, the Germans created a decent engine, and Mikulin was a strong designer who made a monster out of a “German”, dragging an armored IL-2 box into one screw.
So it's debatable here. But I personally don't feel anything unpleasant. Rather, it should be unpleasant for BMW engineers and designers.
Now, for sure, some have already started, I feel. The author, and what, our motors were not at all? Were.
For example, here.
M-11, a miracle engine that, without exaggeration, brought several generations of Soviet pilots into the sky, and during the war carried everything that had to be carried: the wounded, mail, bombs.
The engine was developed by the Design Bureau of Aviation Plant No. 4 as part of the competition for the best engine design for training aircraft with a nominal power of 100 hp. with., in 1923. The head of the design bureau at that time was A. D. Shvetsov. Shvetsov himself, although he was awarded, never said that he was the author of the development.
The engine did not have outstanding characteristics, but it was reliable, like a Mosin rifle, technologically advanced in production, like a bolt, not picky about the fuel and oils used.
Someone will say that, to put it mildly, it is difficult to compare, but that's what it is - that is. Small and reliable on the one hand and borrowed on the other. Sorry, but that was the time. Unfortunately, no one gave us any designers or engineers. I even keep quiet about the factories.
The fact that they were able and until recently in our country did not even think about such a problem as aircraft engines is an achievement. I hope no one will argue with this?
