I don't actually know! I do know that the technology was proven before WWII and that both the Axis and Allies developed water-injected engines that appeared later in the war (the P51 Mustang was one), but not much beyond that. Water-injection is something I really haven't read much about at all.
Axis vs. Allies
- Thread starter fastar1
- Start date
The Macchi C.20x fighters, once they got ahold of the German Benz engines were top of the line aircraft comparable to 109's & Spitfires at the time (mid-war).
Even the earlier Macchi C.200 aircraft served until the end of war. The Regia Aeronautica was the only arm of the Italian services to put up a decent fight until they were just overwhelmed by the amount of Allied air in the Med (the Luftwaffe didn't fare much better)
It wasn't on 109's for the Battle Of Britain, but from 1941 on the Daimler Benz engines had a very effective water-methanol injection system to allow higher boost, the same concept that turbo drag cars & bikes use today. It wasn't until the massive turbo & intercooler on the P-47 that the Allies had something that could run as much boost as the DB60x Benz engines in the 109's.
Yeah, grew up hanging around the warplane museum in Hamilton and a bit of a WWII tech nerd.
Absolutely - the Series 5 were the Benz Engined ones (the Macchi C.202 Folgore/C.205, Fiat G.55, and Reggiane Re.2005, IIRC), and yes they were comparable with upgraded spits and D or F model 109's.
No disputing that those were quality machines; there were just so few of them.
I don't have any facts, figures or graphs but here's what I know based on migrating to USA Lite from Germany as a seven year old. North American tastes in bicycles, automobiles and motorcycles provided more than a little bit of a culture shock in a cartoonish way.
Things I didn't see on bicycles back home: handlebar streamers, ape hangars, banana seats, sissy bars, small front wheel/large back wheel combos, squared off slicks, excess chrome and paint.....it wasn't long before these technical delights made their way to HD and the highly profitable Japanese clones. Give the people what they want.
Domestic cars for the first 9 decades of the industry: Oversize, overweight, softly sprung, under damped, gas guzzling, styling cued whore mobiles. Of course the true motoring enthusiast could modify these atrocities with the latest engineering tricks and available speed parts. eg, take a 5000lb 427 Chevy Impala, raise the back sky high for big drag race gumballs, 3 inch tires on front and Cherry Bombs.
Motorcycles: What can I say? Please reference HD bashing for refresher if needed.
Generally speaking history will show Axis vehicles are either sparse utilitarian or drivers machines where form follows function and Allies the reverse. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Things I didn't see on bicycles back home: handlebar streamers, ape hangars, banana seats, sissy bars, small front wheel/large back wheel combos, squared off slicks, excess chrome and paint.....it wasn't long before these technical delights made their way to HD and the highly profitable Japanese clones. Give the people what they want.
Domestic cars for the first 9 decades of the industry: Oversize, overweight, softly sprung, under damped, gas guzzling, styling cued whore mobiles. Of course the true motoring enthusiast could modify these atrocities with the latest engineering tricks and available speed parts. eg, take a 5000lb 427 Chevy Impala, raise the back sky high for big drag race gumballs, 3 inch tires on front and Cherry Bombs.
Motorcycles: What can I say? Please reference HD bashing for refresher if needed.
Generally speaking history will show Axis vehicles are either sparse utilitarian or drivers machines where form follows function and Allies the reverse. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I know lots about nothing in particular.
But a few years back I had to work on a Hanns Trikkle Amphicar, German made car/motorboat. It did niether very well and in fact just about killed me twice. It was the most cartoon like vehicle ever built.
No style, substance or reliability
And lets just avoid the Munch brand of motorcyle, and that crazy arsed Boomerland?
The motorcycles had streamers and ape bars before the bicycles , it was reversed.
But the europeans did get some other things right.
But a few years back I had to work on a Hanns Trikkle Amphicar, German made car/motorboat. It did niether very well and in fact just about killed me twice. It was the most cartoon like vehicle ever built.
No style, substance or reliability
And lets just avoid the Munch brand of motorcyle, and that crazy arsed Boomerland?
The motorcycles had streamers and ape bars before the bicycles , it was reversed.
But the europeans did get some other things right.
My lawyer's on vacation so I wrote "generally speaking".......I was just talking about a general flavour I picked up on moto culture North America vs Euro. That motorcycles had streamers and ape hangars before bicycles I don't doubt in N.A. What better way to make a kid feel like a big boy than to emulate the real deal? I think these things feed off each other. I know the first time I saw a kid running around the neighbourhood with a beach towel clothes pinned to his back I knew he must have got the idea from a popular TV show. Like the black shoot 'em up music culture now-a-days. It's a freak show out there.
couldn't agree more on music culture
