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Re: Focke-Wulf Fw 190A poor high-altitude performance
Graham and John summed up the engine design philosophies of the three western combatants very well. I'd like to add that the two successful USAAF fighters with turbosuperchargers (P-38 and P-47) were designed around them, and were huge as fighters go. The Germans not only lacked the high-strength, high-temperature steels necessary for the most efficient superchargers, they were limited by metals shortages of all kinds to relatively small, light-weight aircraft. Turbos just "didn't compute" for the Germans. Also keep in mind that German in-line engines were less efficient on a power/weight basis than Alisons or Merlins -- they were heavier because their steel had to be thicker. Their two-stage mechanical superchargers were never suitable for mass production (IIRC) and chemical additives were a clumsy workaround.
Don
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