The Secret History of Fighter Aircraft Engine Development in WW2

The development of piston-aero engines were the dominant mechanism in determining fighter aircraft performance from 1939-1945.
This lecture focuses on key technical and organizational differences between the German and British efforts which had key impacts on both the airframe aerodynamic design and engine characteristics of both aircraft. The speaker presents a guided tour through the key difficulties experienced by German and British aviation engineers - using access to unique archival material, including the personal papers of Professor Willy Messerschmitt, and Ernest Hives, Technical Director at Rolls-Royce.

Speaker: Calum Douglas BEng MSc: Powertrain Design Engineer, Historian

Calum Douglas worked in Germany for Toyota Motorsport GmbH applying Formula One engine technology to advanced technology demonstrator engines for Toyota Japan road cars division. Returning from Germany, he worked for Jaguar Land-Rover and Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains and now runs an engine design consultancy. He began investigating piston engine development in wartime archival records and has spent the last five years researching and writing about it alongside working. He has been invited to speak worldwide to present his engine development historical research, from Scuderia-Ferrari Formula One in Italy, Rolls-Royce, the Royal Aeronautical Society, Renault-Sport and Mercedes AMG Formula-One engine and chassis technical centers. He will publish two books this year, including a translation of the unpublished memoirs of Professor Dr-Ing Karl Kollmann, Chief designer of Daimler-Benz Aero Engines: through the American Society of Mechanical Engines. The book is a collaboration with American gas turbine expert Dr S. Can Gülen, and is entitled "Centrifugal Compressors for Turbo/Superchargers -Theory and Practice: Guidance from the Past – for Modern Engineers and Students". The second is a technical history of piston aero engine development from 1928to 1946, entitled "The Secret Horsepower Race" and is available to pre-order from Mortons Publishing and Amazon.