BMW 801 Engine

3D Printed Resin

Please note, 1/48 illustration used 

The BMW 801 was a 14-cylinder radial engine, built in an air-cooled double-star system. The BMW 801 was developed using many experiences from the production of the BMW 132 engine and some design solutions. However, at the same time, the new engine was clearly different from its predecessor - it mainly used a double-star system, and not one, it had a completely new block, the construction of cylinders and valves was changed, and direct fuel injection was used. Finally, a relatively compact drive unit was created, characterized by a very good power-to-weight ratio. It is worth adding that it was one of the most powerful German piston engines produced in the Third Reich during World War II! In the course of this armed conflict, the engine was continuously improved and in later versions it reached increasingly greater maximum powers, for example: the BMW 801 A reached 1560 hp, the later model (801 D-2) already 1700 hp, and in the version of the BMW 801 E it reached the maximum power of 1973 KM. The engine was used as a power unit for German military aircraft such as the Dornier Do 217, Junkers Ju 88 or Ju 188, and especially the Focke-Wulf Fw-190.