Chapter 916 Rentschler

Only P-51 fighters and B-17 bombers are left for production?

Before Rentschler could be surprised, he heard the little Rentschler continue. "Not only the Army Aviation, but also the Navy Aviation's fighters and bombers, even the warships have all been cut by 40%. The Navy Aviation only has F6F fighters and SBD "Dauntless"!"

"What?!" Rentschler was shocked and angry. As mentioned earlier, during the Second World War in the original time and space, Pratt & Whitney and its authorized cooperative factories produced a total of 363,619 engines, of which the most produced was the R-1830 "Double Wasp", with a total of 173,618 units produced.

The R-1830 "Double Wasp" engine is a 14-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1,830 cubic inches (30 liters). There are more than 30 sub-models with power ranging from 800 horsepower (597kW) to 1,350 horsepower (1,007kW). The main models are B-24 "Liberator" heavy bomber, C-47 "Skytrain" transport aircraft, F4F "Wildcat" fighter, PBY "Catrina" seaplane, PB4Y-2 "Privateer" anti-submarine aircraft and more than a dozen other models. The US military and allied aircraft equipped with "Double Wasp" fought all over the European and Pacific battlefields. It is also the world's largest piston aircraft engine.

Now, among the aircraft that continue to be produced by the Army Aviation and the Navy Aviation, only the F6F fighter uses the Pratt & Whitney R2800-10 "Hornet" engine. Given the demand for F6F fighters by the Navy Aviation, this engine can't be produced anymore, and it's a problem whether the ones that have been produced can be used up!

The other P-51 fighter is equipped with the V-1710-F3R of the Allison Engine Company; the B-17 bomber is equipped with the Wright turbocharged engine of the Wright Aviation Company; the SBD "Dauntless" is also equipped with the R-1820-66 "Cyclone" 9 engine of the Wright Company.

"Is Arnold crazy?! How can the performance of the F6F fighter be inferior to that of the P-51 fighter? It would be better to let the Army and Navy use the F6F instead of the P-51!" Rentschler said angrily.

The US military in this time and space has no chance to get the famous "Merlin" V-1650 liquid-cooled piston engine. The performance of the P-51A is naturally far inferior to the P-51D in the original time and space. It is not unreasonable for Rentschler to be so stubborn. If the F6F and P-51A were to fight a real battle, it is not certain who would win!

Little Rentschler said a little depressed. "Commander Arnold may think that the P-51 has more room for improvement, and most of the senior officers of the Army Aviation prefer liquid-cooled engines."

In this era, the Army Aviation and Navy Aviation of the US Army have two different views on fighter engines.

The Navy believes that the reliability of the engine is particularly important for sea flight. The air-cooled cylinders are generally dispersed and parallel. If one cylinder is hit, the other cylinders will not affect the operation. The fighter can fight with injuries, and only the damaged cylinder needs to be replaced during maintenance. Once the liquid-cooled type is hit, the coolant will leak, the cooling effect will gradually be lost, and it will not be able to fight with injuries. At this time, who can guarantee that the pilot can just make an emergency landing on the deck? Moreover, the aircraft carrier on which the liquid-cooled fighter is on the aircraft carrier must reserve high-purity coolant, which takes up a certain amount of precious space; in cold areas, special coolant needs to be replaced to prevent freezing. For all these reasons, the US Navy naturally chooses air-cooled fighters.

The Army Aviation believes that the enemy's fighters have the ability to aim at the radiator, so why not save some trouble and directly hit the cockpit? In their view, the ability to resist damage is not the most important indicator of fighter design. How to strike the enemy and not be struck by the enemy is the priority here. And even if the radiator is hit by accident, even if you don't parachute, you can make an emergency landing on a flatter ground. The pilot's chance of survival is much greater than that of the Navy pilot.

"..." Rentschler naturally knew what kind of temper those guys had, because his company only focused on air-cooled engines and didn't involve liquid-cooled engines. "Let's not talk about fighters, why did he choose the B-17 bomber instead of the B-24?!"

Little Rentschler scratched his head, a little uncertain. "Maybe he saw that the B17 was more durable than the B24?" The B24 flies faster and higher than the B17, but its operability, stability, and damage resistance are worse than the B17. The B24 cannot form a large-scale cluster for air strikes like the B17. "Father, do we also have to start developing liquid-cooled engines?"

Rentschler rubbed his temples with a headache. "You make it sound easy, how can this thing be developed just by saying it can be developed?"

Thinking back then, Rentschler was the general manager of Wright-Martin. During his years of work, he keenly realized that compared to the popular liquid-cooled engines at the time, future aircraft engines should be air-cooled. But his insights that transcended the times were opposed by the board of directors. In order to prove his ideas, he chose to leave, and since then he has been focusing on air-cooled engines.

If we want to develop a liquid-cooled engine now, we have to recruit relevant researchers and start from scratch. By the time we develop a practical liquid-cooled engine, the war may be over. Instead of messing around with liquid-cooled engines, it is better to study jet engines directly. The Germans have already produced jet fighters and bombers, and the United States is far behind in this regard. Well, to be precise, the United States today does not seem to have surpassed Germany.

"Have you found the technicians I asked you to find for jet engines?" He stood up and walked to the hanger, took off his coat, and asked while putting it on.

Little Rentschler shook his head in frustration. "I really can't find it."

The United States in the original time and space was not late in researching jet aircraft, but the technology was not advanced. At the same time, Britain and Germany successively developed axial flow engines and centrifugal engines. The United States groped for several years but failed to build a suitable engine. It had to ask Britain for help. Britain needed strong support from the United States during World War II. Facing this request from the United States, it could not refuse. On the contrary, it could use technology to exchange for bargaining chips.

With mature engines, the United States' jet fighters progressed much faster. In January 1944, a successful flight was carried out. The test flight prototype was the prototype of the F-80, the XP-80. The aircraft flew at a speed of 806 kilometers per hour, becoming the fastest aircraft in the US military, nearly 200 kilometers faster than the propeller aircraft.

In order to gain air superiority in World War II, the US Army Air Force ordered 5,000 aircraft at a time. However, before this jet aircraft had time to show its prowess, the war ended and the number of orders dropped sharply to 917.

At this time, Yannick had already "abducted" all the famous technicians to Germany, so it would be strange if little Rentschler could find them now.

Rentschler seemed to have expected this, nodded silently, put on his coat and walked out. Little Rentschler hurriedly followed him. "Father, where are you going?"

Rentschler sighed. "Of course we have to find a way to save our company."