USS Bowfin - Engines

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Engines
USS Bowfin (SS-287)
Main Propulsion Diesel Engines

Most fleet submarines in World War II were equipped with diesel engines manufactured either by the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division, General Motors Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio (shown here, aft outboard side, control end, right-hand engine), or by Fairbanks, Morse and Company of Beloit, Wisconsin. The General Motors engine was also known as the Winton V-type, while the Fairbanks-Morse was referred to as the opposed piston type. Some subs were fitted out with the Hooven-Owen-Rentschler (HOR) double-acting type engine, but the design proved to be a failure, and was taken out of the boats in favor of GM or FM engines. These engines had been in the process of development for several years, and the later models proved highly dependable under wartime operating conditions.

The Model 16-278A General Motors engine (shown here, forward inboard side, blower end, right-hand engine), four of which were installed aboard Bowfin, is a 16-cylinder V-type engine with 2 banks of 8 cylinders each. The engine operates on the 2-stroke cycle principle, is air started, and is rated at 1600 bhp at 750 rpm. The size of the bore and stroke of the 16-278A engine is 8 3/4 inches and 10 1/2 inches respectively.

On World War II submarines, diesel engines were coupled to the generators that charged the main storage batteries and supplied power to the electric motors, which in turn drove the propellers. For submerged operation, with no ready supply of air for the engines, the batteries powered the motors. Submarines of this type are commonly referred to as diesel-electric.

Most information taken from Submarine Main Propulsion Systems, NAVPERS 16161, June 1946.

Located below the deck in the after engine room aboard USS Bowfin is the General Motors 8-268 auxiliary engine. It is a straight-up, eight cylinder, in-line, 2-cycle diesel used for running a generator to create power for lighting, topping off the batteries, and other secondary systems. The engine is rated at 300 kilowatt generator output at 1200 rpm. It is equipped with mechanical or solid type injection and has a uniflow port system of scavenging.

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