Why Didn't Late Generation LW Fighters Use Four Blade Props?

[Jukka Juutinen]

Originally Posted by Kurfürst

Would not 4 blades vs. 3 also increase the overall drag of the aircraft (given my basic understanding of aerodynamics, props work like wings, so increasing their number increasing the drag - or is this already factored into effiency?)

Considering the extra weight vs. extra thrust effiency of the props, it looks rather similiar. 50 kg would be around 1.5-2% weight of a roughly 3-ton aircraft, which is exactly the same as the 1.5-2% propeller effiency gain from the bigger prop - it seems to balance it out.

An important issue could be the development principles and custums; German designers, from what I've seen, seem to prefer effiency, effiency and for the third time, effiency of the design over brute for approach. IOW, keep it simple, and factor the extra performance vs. vs. weight, drag increase. Recalling Mankau's book, this was the exact reason behind the rejection of the (waaaaay more powerful) DB 628 vs. the raher simple DB 605AS solution.

If efficiency, efficiency and efficiency was so dear to German über-designers, two questions:
-why did they keep the utterly inefficient Maybach petrol engines for tanks?
-why was German large surface warship steam machinery noted for its poor efficiency???

Short answer: K´s theory is fatally flawed.