BMW 803 - Design and Development

Design and Development

One problem with scaling up any engine design is that eventually a point is reached where the crankshaft becomes a major engineering challenge. This was a problem that affected almost all engines of the 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) class, including BMW's own 18-cylinder BMW 802 project. For the 803 the engineers decided to avoid this problem by simply not using a common crankshaft, and driving a set of independent contra-rotating propellers. The front engine drove the front propeller directly, while the rear engine drove a number of smaller shafts that passed between the cylinders of the front engine before being geared back together to drive the rear prop. This layout resulted in a rather large gearbox on the front of the engine, and the front engine needing an extended shaft to "clear" the gearbox.

With no common crankshaft all of the accessories had to be powered by one engine alone, in this case the rear engine. The supercharger itself used up several hundred horsepower, so the rear prop ended up delivering considerably less power than the front one.

The engine weighed a staggering 2,950 kg (6,490 lb) dry, and 4,130 kg (9,086 lb) fully loaded, displacing a massive 83.5 litres. For all this weight it delivered 3,900 PS (metric hp) (2,868 kW). Although this made it the most powerful German engine design, its power-to-weight ratio was not at all impressive, at about 0.60 hp/lb, comparing rather poorly with other large designs like the Junkers Jumo 222 at 1.04 hp/lb. Specific power was likewise poor, at about 34.4 kW/l, compared to the 222's 40 kW/l, as was specific fuel consumption, at 380 g/kWh (0.63 lb/hp·h), comparable to late generation turboprops.

As with most coupled engines, like the earlier Daimler-Benz DB 606 "power system" of two mechanically coupled DB 601 inverted V12 inlines driving a single propeller shaft, but which was produced for front-line use, the 803 never really worked right on the test bench, and did not enter production.