Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Nick Beale
Italy was weak in the design of modern aero engines
|
That's odd. In the 1930s the Italians were ahead of everyone else in developing supercharged aircraft engines for torpedo boats.
Before the war broke out, British Coastal Forces wanted them for their MTBs. The Napier Lion was limited to about 500 horsepower, so Vosper used the Isotta-Fraschini Asso 1000 marine engine in the Thorneycroft 1938 Class boats -- during trials the ASM 183 variant was used and this engine produced 1,150 horsepower at 1,800 rpm. By all accounts I've read, the Asso 1000 was a pretty good powerplant and the only one in its class at the time. Later, British Power Boats developed prototypes using converted Merlin engines, but obviously they were desperately needed for aircraft.
The original development contract for the Isotta-Fraschini marine engine was provided by the Russians for their MTBs, although the Italian Navy improved it further for their MAS boats from 1929.