An assembled A57 Multibank engine
In World War II
aircraft and tank engines were in short supply.
Manufacturers were hard pressed to keep up with the demand. For the
early variants of the M4 Sherman tank, Chrysler developed a unique engine
comprised of five 6 cylinder engines in a single assembly which created a
powerful 30 cylinder tank engine called the A57 Multibank engine. This Dodge 6 cylinder engine was used in the
Dodge Windsor automobile before the war and was adapted for this purpose. Tooling
already existed to produce the Windsor engine in large quantity.
5 Six Cylinder blocks ready for assembly
Tanks with these unusual engines were supplied to our
Allies, most notably the British. The
engine produced 450 horse power and was very effective. It was reportedly very smooth and reliable
and could absorb a lot of punishment. Does it have anything to do with classic
guns? No but its very cool.
Beautifully restored M4 Sherman with a Multibank engine.
No comments:
Post a Comment