The Secret Horsepower Race, Book Info.

[Orwell1984]

Originally Posted by MW Giles

Sorry, I can see my sense of humour is lost on you.

Martin

I see what you did there

[Peter Achs]

@Mikael Olrog
Thank you very much.

[Crimea River]

A lengthy review here: https://www.standingwellback.com/boo...rsepower-race/

[schwarze-man]

Originally Posted by Graham Boak

I'm working my way through it, up to 1942 so far. I think it superb. Definitely one of those books.

A couple of minor quibbles: he doesn't know his aircraft to the same depth as his engines, and he is inclined to take Hives' comments as gospel (not always...). But this is the first reference I've seen to an Me409, plus photos.

Lots of praise for other details.

Hi Graham,

Have you finished the book yet? I think that the whole book builds to a crescendo that has some greater clarity after being completely read. I will agree with many comments, "this and that" could have been done differently. The book is not perfect. But, it is a great book that brings many of the important technical aspects of WW2 piston engine development out into wider readership. In fact, there are huge amounts of material that Calum left out of this book, due to publishing constraints. Looking to the future, I see that the substance in "The Secret Horsepower Race" might act as a catalyst for many future studies, and that must be a good thing.
BTW, I get what you mean about Lord Hives, nonetheless, a great man!
Cheers

SM

[Jukka Juutinen]

I have read about 170 pages thus far, and I have to say that it is the best WW2 aircraft related book I have ever read. Only Dean's AHT and Whitney's Allison book come even close.

[schwarze-man]

Originally Posted by Peter Achs

Thanks for the review.

What about the Jumo 213? How many pages deal with the 213?

Hi Peter,

Just to follow up on Mikael's excellent index page picture, the Jumo 213 gets a fair amount of coverage, mostly due to the advanced features such as the swirl throttle. Of course, the very late engines were developing in several technical ways and Calum follows this quite well.

Cheers

SM

[schwarze-man]

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

I have read about 170 pages thus far, and I have to say that it is the best WW2 aircraft related book I have ever read. Only Dean's AHT and Whitney's Allison book come even close.

Great comment Jukka. You are getting into the meat of the book. It will be good to hear your further thoughts as you finish it!
Cheers

SM

[the_ivan]

Will probably end up buying it but, how much info does it have on the DB 60X family? I'm especially interested on the DB 605 A problems & solutions.

[Jukka Juutinen]

Ivan, a lot! The book clarifies a whole set of problems the DB 605A had and why and what were the solutions.

[the_ivan]

Thanks