Fire extinguishers in German Bombers

[G.Moris]

Hi!
Do we know if german could be saved from a damaged engine on fire? I am not aware if they carried Fire Extinguishers.
I am interested specifically in the Ju-88 A14.
Could a plane of that kind with a small amound of fire going out of the hit engine be saved and fly with one engine for a short distance at homebase?

[Tim O.]

Evidence from flight log books confirms Ju88s and He111s could fly for extended periods on one engine. How far they could go when on fire would I guess depend on the severity of the fire. I do not know if they had extinguishers in the engines but I am sure others here will know.

[edwest2]

So far, my research shows that a fire suppression system was built into an area near the engines, but specific aircraft types, aside from the Me-262, are not mentioned.


"For example, powerplant fire suppression system design guidance published by the civil aeronautics administration (CAA) in 1943 [7] for use of methylbromide (halon 1001) and CO2 and was relative to mass airflow in the compartment and the number of cylinders in a radial cylinder engine installation. Agent distribution was to be accomplished using spray nozzles or perforated tubes providing approximate equal distribution and a “sheet of agent spray” across the cross section of the protected zone orthogonal to the airflow. These systems were to become known as conventional distribution systems. During World War II the German Navy sponsored efforts by I.G. Farbonindustrie [Farbenindustrie, Ed.] to develop an alternative to methyl bromide (halon 1001) due to its toxicity, which resulted in the development of chlorobromomethane (CB or halon 1011) in the 1939-1940 time period [8]. Halon 1011 was determined to be as effective as halon 1001 and less toxic. Testing in 1942 by then Junkers/Dessau for the German Luftwaffe focused on developing a powerplant fire suppression system using Dachlaurin (D-L), a mixture of 65% halon 1011 and 35% CO2. In early 1945 the Luftwaffe approved the principle of the D-L system and ordered its installation on all German military aircraft, subject to then not-yet-established priorities. It was planned that the D-L system was to be installed on the Messerschmitt ME 262, the first operational jet-powered fighter. Given the time the directive was issued, it is likely D-L did not come into widespread use before the end of the war. After the war extensive evaluation of halon 1011 was conducted within the U.S. and by 1950, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) required use of halon 1011 systems instead of CO2 systems in new aircraft and subsequently issued a specification for such systems [9]. Design guidance for use of halon 1011 in powerplant fire suppression system evolved as jet propulsion became more widespread; however, the conventional distribution system approach was still employed for halon-1011-based fire suppression systems."




Ed