Junkers L5

L5
Junkers L5
Type Inline aircraft engine
Manufacturer Junkers Motorenbau GmbH (Jumo)
First run 1922[1]
Major applications Junkers F.13
Number built >1,000[2]
Variants Junkers L55
Developed into Junkers L8

The Junkers L 5 was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine for aircraft built in Germany during the 1920s. First run in 1925, it was a much enlarged development of the Junkers L2, in turn a licensed development of the BMW IV.

Design and development

The Junkers L5 was a development of Junkers' first water-cooled engine, the L2, but at four times the swept volume was a much more powerful engine. It was a water-cooled upright inline 6-cylinder unit, four-stroke and petrol-fuelled, with a capacity of nearly 23 litres. It adopted some of the L2 features, having twin exhaust and inlet valves in each cylinder driven by an overhead camshaft, twin spark plugs and twin magnetos. The splash component of the L2's lubrication was abandoned in favour of a completely forced recirculating system. The twin carburettors of the L2 were replaced with a single float chamber, dual-venturi model. Like the L2, the L5 was a direct drive engine.[2]

The compression ratio of the standard version was 5.5:1, but variants had other ratios to cope with fuels with octane ratings between 76 and 95. The G series introduced carburettor heating together with an hydraulically damped mounting system. There were also choices of starting system, from inertial or compressed air systems to the traditional hand swinging.[2]

Operational history

The L5 proved to be reliable and became the engine of choice for most Junkers aircraft in the mid-1920s as well as powering aircraft from other German manufacturers.[2] Many of these powered the Junkers F.13 and its derivatives like the W 33, which dominated world air transport in the mid-1920s.[3]

The best demonstration of the reliability of the L5 was given by the unit which powered the single-engined W 33 Bremen in the first fixed wing east to west crossing of the Atlantic in April 1928. For this flight the compression ratio was raised to 7:1 to provide sufficient power for the heavily fuelled aircraft at take off. In July 1925 a W 33 powered by a L5 stayed aloft for 65 h 25 min, with a fuel consumption of 35.6 kg/h.[2]

Variants

Applications (L5)

Specifications (Jumo L 5)

Preserved Junkers L 5 engine on display at the Junkers Museum

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

Cruise - 208.8 kW (280 hp)

See also


Related lists

References

  1. ↑ Gunston, Bill (1989). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines (2 ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 1-85260-163-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kay, Antony (2004). Junkers Aircraft & engines 1913-1945. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. pp. 264–5. ISBN 0-85177-985-9.
  3. ↑ Kay (2004) Ibid, p. 62

External links

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