Next video on lost tech
The next video is going to be really good. It's on the forgotten technology of dual-stage mechanically driven superchargers. This was all the rage in WW2, think Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, Spitfire Mk 9, Ta152 and more.
After the war it dominated auto racing for a very short time before rule changes put a stop to it. This video will primarily focus on the automotive side of the story but to my knowledge nobody has really gone deep on this subject on youtube. There is a lot of ground to cover here, thus it's going to be a long video.
Greg
Comments (7)
could you do a BAD video? i'm halfway joking but also i do want to see you review these "drone" videos and tell us whether they're airplanes or not. maybe it's a PSA because people are seeing this trend and turning lasers on these "drones"
IIRC, Rolls Royce designed a three stage two speed one for the Griffon. It was high altitude and took 700hp just to run the thing. Diminishing returns, weight, complexity and turbines killed it.
This is going to to be a great subject. Greg don't know ow if you are interested in motorcycles but cycle world do a weekly tech podcast with kevin cameron who has been involved in racing and writing since the 1960s.you might like the subjects. They talked about Hondas electric supercharger shown last month
Looking forward to this one! Are you familiar with Calum Douglas' book The Secret Horsepower Race? It goes into SERIOUS detail about the development of supercharged aero engines before and during WW2. He also wrote a technical reference on German WW2 supercharger tech.
I've known about it from Rex's Hangar!
I think I recall that some early centrifugal jets used two stage piston engine impellers as compressors, the Dart maybe? Did any make it to three stages? I know some RR engines were using three SPEED supercharging near the end of development. But were any using three STAGE? Looking forward to the video 👍
WWII fighters were getting up to 92 inches of mercury out of two stages, and that's gotta be the hairy edge of detonation even with 150 (rich) octane fuel. Don't think three stages were remotely necessary. Also, Greg has a couple of videos that talk about US Navy fighter supercharging; F4F Wildcats STARTED the war with three- speed superchargers (well, stage one was primary supercharger only, but same effect as three speeds)