BMW 803

The BMW 803 was a liquid-cooled 28-cylinder four-stroke in-line star twin engine in the power class around 4,000 hp, in which, in contrast to the Pratt & Whitney R-4360, the cylinders were arranged in straight rows.

history

The development of the engine as the BMW 803 began in 1938. In 1944, several 803 A engines were put to the test, but there was no series production. The BMW 803 A was intended for the giant flying boat Blohm & Voss P 200 , the heavy bomber Focke-Wulf Fw 238 and a Focke-Wulf fighter with rear-wheel drive. However, the development of the engine was not very successful; among other things, the flat slide control did not bring the expected gain in performance.

construction

The engine was developed on the basis of the BMW 801 double radial engine, but water cooling was provided instead of air cooling. It consisted of two sub-engines, which were arranged one behind the other, rear wall to rear wall. The rear sub-engine transferred its power via five parallel auxiliary shafts, which ran between the front rows of cylinders, to a reduction gear in the front. Power from the front sub-engine was conducted to the rear via two additional auxiliary shafts in order to drive the loader and auxiliary drives of the front engine. This enabled the two sub-engines to be switched off independently of one another. Each sub-engine drove its own propeller with a diameter of 3.20 meters via the reduction gear; both propellers turned in opposite directions.

Preserved engine

A single copy of the BMW 803 A exists in the Flugwerft Schleißheim , a branch of the Deutsches Museum. However, this was put together from the sub-engines of two different V-models. It has a conventional valve control, not the DVL-WVW flat slide control .

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data of the BMW 803 A
design type	28-cylinder four-stroke inline star twin engine
drilling	156 mm
Hub	156 mm
Displacement	84 L
Loader	two two-stage radial loaders with four gears each
power	4,000 PS (approx. 2,940 kW)
Dry matter	approx. 2600 kg

Web links

Commons : BMW 803 - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

BMW 803. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on January 30, 2016 (dossier of the BMW Group Archives).
Sergio Pasquali: BMW 803A. Animations Created by Sergio Pasquali. In: CAD Models and Animations. Aircraft Engine Historical Society, Inc., accessed September 23, 2018 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b The aircraft engine BMW 803 A. A piece of jewelery is brought to light. In: BMW history. BMW AG, September 8, 1992, accessed on May 1, 2016 (document in the BMW Group Archive).
↑ Stefan Zima: Unusual engines .
↑ Aero engines and engines. In: Exhibitions of the Flugwerft Schleissheim. Deutsches Museum, accessed on May 1, 2016 : "The final series of this development includes the BMW 803, a four-fold radial engine with 28 cylinders and an output of 2900 kW, which was developed in the last years of the war as a drive for long-range bombers"

[BMW_3394169-1] The aircraft engine BMW 803 A. A piece of jewelery is brought to light. In: BMW history. BMW AG, September 8, 1992, accessed on May 1, 2016 (document in the BMW Group Archive).

[2] Stefan Zima: Unusual engines .

[Flugwerft-3] Aero engines and engines. In: Exhibitions of the Flugwerft Schleissheim. Deutsches Museum, accessed on May 1, 2016 : "The final series of this development includes the BMW 803, a four-fold radial engine with 28 cylinders and an output of 2900 kW, which was developed in the last years of the war as a drive for long-range bombers"