Military diesel engines: more punch at each stroke; a brief survey of what western industry has to offer.

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Military diesel engines: more punch at each stroke; a brief survey of what western industry has to offer.

Military Diesel Engines: More Punch at Each Stroke

It is probably true to say that whatever their merits as regards performance, adaptability to a particular weapon system and other features, engines will in the final analysis be largely chosen by military procurement agencies on the basis of their country of origin, and that a local product, or one built under licence locally, will usually have priority over one manufactured abroad. Moreover, military assistance funding (such as is practised by the USA) and/or favourable credit terms are major decision criteria, so that the engine's technical quality is not always the dominant factor in its choice.

Another point worth making is that "military specials", i.e. engines specially developed for military applications, are in the main only found in armoured combat vehicles. All other engines used in military vehicles tend to be derivatives of standard commercial designs.

Diesel Engine Manufacture

in Germany

Probably the best known German military diesel manufacturer is MTU (Motoren- und Turbinen-Union GmbH) which, together with its aeronautical sister company (more properly speaking parent company) MTU Munchen constitutes the Engine Division of the Daimler-Benz-Subsidiary/Deutsche Aerospace AG. In 1969 MAN's and Daimler-Benz's activities in the high-speed diesel engine field were concentrated at MTU in Friedrichshafen.

In the 1950s Daimler developed at the request of the Swiss Army a tank engine for the Panzer 61, out of which there ...

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