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| DB 603 | |
|---|---|
 Preserved Daimler-Benz DB 603E with cutaway sections. | |
| Type | PistonV12aircraft engine |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Daimler-Benz |
| First run | 1939 |
| Major applications | Blohm & Voss BV 238 Dornier Do 217 Dornier Do 335 Heinkel He 219 Messerschmitt Me 410 |
| Developed from | Daimler-Benz DB 601 |
TheDaimler-Benz DB 603 was a Germanaircraft engine used duringWorld War II. It was aliquid-cooled 12-cylinder invertedV12 enlargement of the 33.9 LiterDB 601, which was in itself a development of theDB 600. Production of the DB 603 commenced in May 1942, and with a 44.5 liter (44,500 cc) displacement, was the largest displacement inverted V12 aircraft engine to be used in front line aircraft of the Third Reich during World War II.
The DB 603 powered several aircraft, including theDo 217 N&M,Do 335,He 219,Me 410,BV 155 andTa 152C.
As Germany's largest displacement inverted V12 aviation powerplant in production during the war years, the DB 603 saw wide operational use as the primary engine type for many twin and multi-engined combat aircraft designs — the promising twin-enginedDornier Do 335Pfeil prototype heavy fighter, the front-lineMesserschmitt Me 410Hornisse heavy fighter andHeinkel He 219Uhu twin-engined night fighter were all designed to be powered by the DB 603.
The DornierDo 217M and -N medium bomber and night fighter subtypes powered by inline engines, and the enormous sixty-metre wingspan, six-enginedBlohm & Voss BV 238 flying boat prototype, essentially had their DB 603 powerplants installed within what appeared to be the sameunitized complete engine/cowl/radiator assembly as a complete unit-replaceable "power system" for twin and multi-engined aircraft — this particular design featured a "chin"-style radiator installation directly beneath the crankcase, and the oil cooler placed on the dorsal portion of the installation for the earlier examples, as the BV 238 had no visible upper-cowl openings for engine cooling of any sort for its half-dozen unitized DB 603s.
The He 219 airframe pioneered what is believed to be aHeinkel-specificKraftei unitized engine package for the DB 603 engine using a well-streamlined annular radiator set for primary engine cooling between the propeller and its reduction gear housing with a nearly-cylindrical cowl behind it, pierced only by the twin rows of six exhaust stacks, one row per side. The characteristic portside-cowl supercharger intake for Daimler-Benz inverted V12s was usually accommodated away from the nacelle's sheetmetal itself for the Heinkel/DB 603 unitized engine package, most often within the airframe's wing panel design. The sameKraftei packaging for the He 219 was also used for powering the four-engined prototypeHe 177B strategic bomber series, and with an addedturbocharger in each nacelle, the six ordered (two completed) prototypes of Heinkel'sHe 274 high-altitude strategic bomber project.
TheMercedes-Benz T80 land speed record car, designed by aircraft engineerJosef Mickl with assistance fromFerdinand Porsche and top GermanGrand Prix racing driverHans Stuck, incorporated the third prototype DB 603. It was set up for the land speed record run attempt to operate on an exotic fuel mix based on a 63% methanol, 16% benzene and 12% ethanol content, with minor percentages of acetone, nitrobenzene, avgas and ether. Adding to the power output was a pioneering form of the Luftwaffe's laterMW 50 methanol/water injection boost, and was tuned to 3,000 PS (2,959 hp, 2,207 kW)— enough, it was believed, to propel the aerodynamic three-axle T80 up to 750 km/h (466 mph) on a specially-prepared, nearly 10 km (6.2 mi) length stretch of the roughly north–south oriented Autobahn Berlin — Halle/Leipzig, which passed close to the east side ofDessau (now part of the modernA9 Autobahn) and with the actual length's location due south of Dessau, reworked to be 25 m (82 ft) wide with a paved-over median, for the record to be set in January 1940 duringRekord Woche (Record/Speed Week). Due to the outbreak of the war in September 1939, the T80 (nicknamedSchwarzer Vogel, "Black Bird") never raced. The DB 603 engine was removed from the vehicle for use in fighter aircraft.
All power data is given inmetric horsepower as stated per manufacturer. Power (max) is Takeoff and Emergency power (5-min-rating), combat power is climb and combat power (30-min rating), continuous is without time limit.
Data from Jane's[2]
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