Mitsubishi Ki-46 gone German

Late reply, but this is an interesting take on this! I had wondered about what if the Germans got the license for the Ki-46 desired, and this seems to be pretty realistic.
 
I really like Dizzyfugu's build but wonder about the potential value of the RW Ki.46's 1,500 hp Mitsubishi Ha-112-II engines. That Kinsei engine was less powerful than Germany's BMW 801 but seems to have been more reliable (and less apt to overheat).

Would a German-made, direct fuel injection variant of the Kinsei fitted with a Kommandogerät have been useful to the Luftwaffe?
 
Apophenia said:
Would a German-made, direct fuel injection variant of the Kinsei fitted with a Kommandogerät have been useful to the Luftwaffe?
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So, a Kinsei 60 with Kommandogerat single-lever control instead of the standard mixture and rpm controls?

Maybe?

You'd be down about 200hp compared to a BMW801A/B (concurrent development times).

I'd assume that the Kinsei would get the same increase in compression ratio as the 801D, for use with 100-octane fuel, but you'd still be down a couple hundred horsepower in exchange for longer engine life. And frankly I'm not sure that the longer engine life is a worthwhile tradeoff for a combat aircraft.

That said, the longer engine life would likely be acceptable for cargo, patrol, and passenger aircraft.

The real advantage is that single-lever control is easier to learn than separate mixture and throttle. Even when it's the pressure carburetor with only 4 positions (cut-off, auto-lean/cruise, auto-rich/take-off, and War Emergency (to trigger the water injection system))

edit: spelling
 
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Agreed, switching from BMW 801s to Kinseis on combat types makes little sense.

I was pondering support types. An example might be the Junkers Ju 352 Herkules. Instead of using a trio of 1,000 hp Bramo 323s, use a pair of Kinseis?
 
Apophenia said:
I was pondering support types. An example might be the Junkers Ju 352 Herkules. Instead of using a trio of 1,000 hp Bramo 323s, use a pair of Kinseis?
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Might as well take advantage of the improved horsepower and keep 3 engines at 1350hp. You'd need 1500hp engines to not lose horsepower if you went to two engines.
 
I'd say that the DB 601/605 engines would've been the perfect fit on the German Ki-46 - less drag than any powerful radial installation of the day, the altitude power comparable if not better than what the Ki-46 had. A far lighter engine installation than what the only viable radial for the Germans - the BMW 801 - will do. Also far better fuel mileage.

The 9 cyl radials made in Germany were ill suited for a combat aircraft that should be either mixing it vs. the enemy, or that is trying to out-run the enemy: power was insufficient, the frontal area & drag were too big.
 

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