Fw 190 Engine Control Kommandogerat 

Translation for the graphic showing the parts of the Kommandogerät: _Hebel f. Ladedruckeinflussauf Schaltlader-Dosenverstellung_ = lever for boost-pressure influence on pressure can of the switch charger _Ladedruckregler_ = boost pressure regulator _Ladedruckwählhebel_ = boost pressure selector lever _Anschluss für Temperaturmessung der Ladeluft_ = connection for temperature measurement of the charge air _Einspritzpumpenregler_ = injection pump regulator _z.Ladedruckmesser_ = (connection) to boost pressure sensor _Anschluss an Regelhebel der Einspritzpumpe_ = connection to regulator lever of the injection pump _Ölzulauf_ = oil supply _Ölrücklauf_ = oil return _Ölfilter_ = oilfilter _Leistungswählhebel_ = power selector lever _Sturzflughebel_ = dive lever _Duz Gestänge zur Zündzeitpunktverstellung_ = Duz linkage to ignition adjustor _Duz Gestänge zum Drehzahlregler_ = Duz linkage to the speed controller (engine)

Can I just point out that you are an unusual person in that you are incredibly knowledgeable, yet extremely humble. Instead of flexing your expertise everywhere, you say this is your best guess and invite comments and checks... makes us feel we are a part of the analysis

DUZ is the abbreviation for "Druck Und Zug" Gestänge, which translates to push-and-pull linkage. And Sturzflughebel is a lever used in a nosedive.

As a mechanical engineer I love such designs as they require much more know-how and imagination than many contraptions we see today. Damn the transistor. Thank you for sharing it with us, just fantastic.

German technology just amazes me in this timeframe. Its baffling how smart they were in all aspects of making something better. Not just fuel injection but direct injection. Seems like we barely just received direct injection on cars. The germans controlling direct injection with various sensors... atmospheric pressure, induction temp, manifold pressure sounds insane if you said this was 80-90 years ago.

Greg is an absolute gem of obscure knowledge. Makes me feel good about relatives who paid the ultimate price. Thank you Greg.

Gosh. What an otherworldly piece of engineering. Old stuff can be just as amazing as modern stuff. Like that rocket motor on the Apollo rocket series. That thing is insane.

I remember when I asked Greg for a video on the KommandoGerät. The engineering behind mechanical computers is incredible and I think this is going to blow our minds. The hype is real!

I had an Alfa with the Spica injection once upon a time. I rebuilt the engine in my driveway after I missed a shift and buried a valve head into a piston crown. I got the injection working well enough to limp it down to a hole-in -the-wall shop in South Philly that was owned by an Italian guy called Armando. The only thing I ever saw him consume was Galliano. He tried to talk me into a set of Webers for it, but I was pore an' starvin' at the time. He got the Spica working properly, but tinworm got her in the end. Love your videos Greg, please don't ever change. What happened to the history channel and Discovery was bad enough. I couldn't take another heartbreak.

Great video. Another example of a mechanical computer (analog computer is another name) that many have owned is an automotive automatic transmission. Most manufacturers didn't convert to electronically-controlled automatics until sometime between 1990 and 2000. Before then they were complicated mechanical devices (even without considering the gears themselves). They used non-digital inputs of speed, throttle position, vacuum, etc. to calculate when to change gears.

The torpedo data computer on US submarines during WW2 was another mechanical computer that is while not in the purview of this channel, but is worth a look.

When touring the battleship NC one of the most interesting parts was the mechanical fire control computer. So many variable inputs for a solution that didn’t last long.

Wow! Injecting the fuel directly into the cylinder causes huge problems that need to be overcome. For instance, the injection must be timed (as opposed to just metering the amount of fuel needed). To do this mechanically and make the system light enough to be practical would be an epic engineering feat of itself... let alone all the other engine management variables that this thing controlled. I worked on the Wright R-3350 and that one system created troubleshooting issues that had us scratching our heads many times. Bravo Greg! Great video.

Absolutely outstanding presentation! You expound on how certain issues that the engineers knew existed back when the 109 /Mercedes opposed to how differently those same circumstances where to be addressed to work for the 801 BMW radials in no shortage of mind-blowing concerted complexity!! I grew up in Auburn Indiana so having at times many opportunities to witness supercharged vehicle's of the 30s filling the streets along with every other example of automotive entity really put the hook in me! Now I'm flying the 190,P51D and B, spit mk14 p-39 ect..... RC. I find it keeps me sharp as a crane operator . In my travels found Robin Olds mustang "Scat III" in an unknown hanger. Stumbled across Kermit's B-26. While driving that old heavily rat rodded 83 Mercedes that shakes at the stoplights!! Just really saying thanks buddy looking forward to the next one.

Per your recommendation, I purchased a copy of "The Secret Horsepower Race", by Calume Douglas. It talks about the Kommandogerat but what impressed me was how handicapped the German aero engines were due to shortages of precious metals, fuel problems and low quality oil. Think of how they could have otherwise used all the engineering effort consumed overcoming these obstacles.

I have said this before but will say it again. Greg, you are an amazing teacher. I am a Registered Nurse with no engineering background though I am a low time pilot. You explain things in such a manner that I instantly understand or even jump ahead to the next step. You remind me of my physics professor. He had that same quality.

All your videos make me realize how far mankind has come since WWll. Truly incredible and almost unbelievable. It also opens my eyes how easy it would be for mankind to return to grass huts. Thank you for sharing.

This series was truly outstanding ( AUSGEZEIGNET ) ! FW-190... MY FAVORITE WW-II AIRCRAFT ! Thanks you very Much.

A friend of mine has a gorgeous 1957 Corvette with mechanical fuel injection. The only thing wrong with it...is he hardly ever drives it. Garage/hanger queens hurt my soul. Thanks for sharing.

I still remember my flight instructor smacking me with the checklist yelling, "Mixture Prop Throttle Prop Mixture!"

The day that Greg doesn't use NACA in a detailed and in depth video we will know he has thrown in the towel. The day Greg does a detailed and in depth explanation and history _of_ NACA my popcorn shall overfloweth.

This is going to be a good video! Kind of a "mechanical" FADEC system, very advanced for the time. The pilot just operated the throttle and the system adjusted the engine propeller pitch, supercharger, etc. A major advantage, particularly to novice pilots.

Wow. My head hasn't hurt so much since I went to the Allison Gas Turbine familiarization course and took training on operation of the Bendix hydromechanical fuel control for the TF-41 turbofan engine.

As someone who's used to modern automotive ECU's and industrial machines with PLC's, the mechanical computer seems terrifying. 😂 Thanks for the great presentation!

38:56 love the holden/pontiac GTO! I owned one for a very long time and it was a FANTASTIC car!! Flawless. Anyway, great video Greg! You are a treasure to the aircraft community. Keep up the great work sir

Basically an Hydro Mechanical Unit used in most helicopters pre FADEC or ECU or one used in the manual or back up mode. Neat stuff.

Back when I was a senior in high school (that'll be the only time in your life you'll want the word senior applied to you kids, remember that) in 1983 the guidance counselor's told us a good trade to get into was air conditioning because back then a businesses or engineering firms computer mainframe was huge and in a room of it's own, they produced so much heat that those rooms had their own dedicated air conditioning systems, the thinking being that computers were going to grow so much in use over the next 20 years that air conditioning technicians were going to be needed at the same rate computers were going to increase in common usage. Well, they got half of that right.

Watching one of Greg's videos leaves you with more questions than when you started, and WAY more answers than when you started.

For anyone interested there is another couple of places where mechanical computers still operate or did into the 1990s. The place I know for certain because I have seen them in place is in the oil & gas industry where they have these types of mechanical computers for what is called "black starting." Black starting is wen you have absolutely NO electrical power at all which CAN happen after an emergency shutdown. Usually you rely on battery backups but even they can fail and then the final option is pure mechanical. So you can get mechanical computer control for generators that can be piston or turbine so you can re-establish electrical power. The other place I believe they are still in use is in the nuclear power plants of military submarines and ships. I worked with an electrician a few years back who was and ex-USN powerplant operator. He didn't go into a lot of detail but basically told me there wasn't a lot of computer control on their power plants. One of the downsides of nuclear warfare is the EMP from nuclear detonations which scramble computer systems. Mechanical computers don't suffer from EMPs. So if you have mechanical computers on the power plant you still have the means for propulsion and steering if all the electronics fail as the result of an EMP.

American battleships used mechanical fire control computers through the 1980's. According to the curator of the battleship New Jersey the US Navy considered replacing the mechanical computers with digital computers but they decided that there wouldn't be any significant advantages to the change.

You triggered nostalgia , I have a Navigator's flight bag from Vietnam era and my own flag bag. I had to go look and see if I still have all my e6b, regular slide rule plotters Lots of people don't understand an engine optimized for Aviation use is an absolute dog in an automobile and vice versa . The big conflict is the RPM range at which the engine produces its best power and torque. I thoroughly enjoyed this article and now I understand why we didn't adapt that technology to American aircraft engine constructions it would have required a full redesign.

Waiting for a new video from Greg is akin to waiting for a new video from Hillsdale with Victor Davis Hanson.....much trepidation and unwarranted impatience. However....I do know something good is on the horizon. Thanks again !

God bless you and the internet. I can't imagine what a person would have to go through to obtain all the information you've provided to us before the internet. Very cool

Amazing video on amazing piece of engineering. Just realized that every carburetor is in essence more or less complex mechanical computer that operates mixture based on manifold pressure and throttle position with quite a few additional features in the more complex ones. And there are multiple designs that solve the same problem totally differently. For example Stromberg has almost nothing in common with Holley.

Hi Gregor, ist Ralf again from Germany. And I am currently enjoying your video on the FW190 "Kommando-Gerät", or as in modern aviation terms not FADEC but FAMEC (Full Authority Mechanical Engine Controll). It actually was a BMW801 device rather than a FW190 device, as it also was on the BMW801 which I restored in the NEAM in Windsor Locks, Ct.. and this BMW801 came from a Do217 Bomber. Now just two quick input: DuZ is an abreviation for "Druck- und Zug" Gestänge, in these days a German special form of Bowden Rod, with the difference, that it provided active press- and pull in one mechanical rod without a spring to backpull. It does this by putting metal pearls on to the steel wire in the Bowden rod and so it translated push (Druck) and pull (Zug) in one rod.

...and the Dive lever (Sturzflughebel) was putting the engine settings to actually survive a steep dive while acting as an air break for the aircraft without overreving and providing adequate settings for pull out of the dive - for this it was to be connected to the planned "Dive-Auto-Pilot" e.g. on the Do217.

I learn something new every time I watch this video. 👍

Dang big buddy ! I got ya - Thanks man , very well done sir ! A lost art . Excellent - We all should know these ways first ! Then … go for it if you choose . I really enjoy your videos . Very cool stuff that some refer to as history . Makes solid sense .

quick note if it has not yet been said. "oil pressure" on the diagram is oil return, btw loving the content 👍 edit: never mind its been said 😁

i listen to this channel all day while driving my tractor.

The kommandogerät was able to keep rpm high while the pilot reduce power to use the propeller as a brake while diving. I think the 'dive lever (sturzflughebel)' activate this mode.

"Thats all i have for now" a sad moment at the end of each video! Love your videos man!

Woohoo I always look forward to a greg talk . Much more interesting that that TED .

Fantastic Greg!! Keep it coming this precious informations!

I ,for one, _love_ the in depth tech stuff! Keep it comming!

Patiently waiting for this one for sure! Super excited about this. I also happen to be working on an FW 190 model airplane as we speak too, building model airplanes while listening to Greg talk about airplanes is my favorite pastime

Wonderful stuff as always. Incredible how interesting these technical deep dives can get and how relevant they are to the aircraft performance

Thank you for all the hard work you do Greg!

You remain the best in the business Greg! Another fantastic video that is very detailed but grounded and digestible

Thanks Greg , i have been looking forward to this video on the komando gerat since you mentioned it some time ago, you did a amazing job of it , just the right amount of tecnical information combined with the advantages it gave the pilot , a very balanced overview brilliant!

You make great videos Greg! Keep up the good work.

Amazing stuff. Thank you. Someone recommended looking into the amazing “brain box” of the D-13. Even though I’m too dumb to understand a lot of this, it’s still fascinating.

I am looking very much forward to see your new video regarding the Kommandogerat device that was a very advanced for it's time. 👍👍

The old time world I grew up in was loaded with hydro/electro/mechanical computers, say an SU carburetor using manifold vacuum to control the mixture valve, or the thyristor in a VT fuze which uses feedback from the target to set itself off, or a planimeter or the controls of old school automatic transmissions. These things are usually but analog so you get continuous variability. The big drawback is that they tend to be single purpose.

I believe my father was the person at RAE during the war who deciphered the workings of the Kommandgerat and enabled an intact captured FW 190 to be flown by Bristish pilots. His drawings, which my family posess, were sent to the US to enable them to understand the Kommangerat, or ´Brain Box´ as it was termed at the time. I am trying to find out more about this, as Inbelieve it was probably the aircraft captured in June 1942, but am not sure as no dates appear on the technical drawings he made.

Hello Greg, another well done video on a very technical subject! Let me add a piece to the puzzle that might help explain the rich mixture at altitude. The Bristol Centaurus is equipped with a speed density fuel injection unit manufactured by Hobson. This unit has two setting, Run and Idle cutoff so it two has automatic mixture control. When reading thru the manual I saw where it compensates for exhaust back pressure. On a normally aspirated engine the inlet pressure and exhaust back pressure decreases at the same rate as you go up in altitude. On a supercharged or turbocharged engine the inlet pressure remains constant (up to critical altitude) and the pressure on the exhaust is reduced with altitude! Simply put an engine running 2700 RPM and 50 inches at 10,00 feet produces more horse power than it would running the same RPM and boost at sea level. You can also see this in the pilot manual for the Beech Queen Air. It is equipped with the Lycoming IGSO540. If memory serves me right at sea level it made rated power (380HP) at 3400RPM and 47 inches. If you went to 5000 feet manifold pressure was limited to 45 inches. The manual doesn't say why but I believe it's because the engine makes rated power at reduced manifold pressure due to lower exhaust back pressure. So back to the mixture question. It would stand to reason that an engine running a constant RPM and Manifold pressure would require more fuel flow as it goes up in altitude since it is producing more horse power due to reduced exhaust back pressure. Note: the fuel flow is increasing not the fuel air ratio. Regards, Brian

Omg I can't fricken wait!!! German WW2 planes are my obsession so I LOVE watching these!! Thanks so much Greg Can't wait!! Oh and I think I speak for everyone when I say, WE WANT A DEEP-DIVE VIDEO ABOUT THE STUKA!!! 😁🛩️

Very good explaining and i think you are right about that particular kommandogerät being faulty. Very sharp observation. I would not have thought og that.

I like how clearly you speak in these and how I always know if and to what degree what you are currently saying is related to the things you have already said in the video, even if I am listening to it while doing housework. While part of that may be due to me already having some background knowledge of some terms, it is a credit to the work you put into making these.

Many, many thanks for this video! I have been hoping and waiting for it ever since you started the FW-190 series. The Kommandogerät have had my fascination since the first time I heard about it. I really appreciated the background info about mechanical computers. I will watch this video many times and read the referenced article and portions of the NACA report. I appreciate all the material in the Patreon's section. Reading the pilots handbooks for e.g. the P38 and P47 was great. Wish I could read German, but that's another project. Love the fact that I have access to German handbooks ans service manual. You do a great job with your channel!

Please do a video on ignition timing and air fuel ratios. That would be fascinating. I love to sit down occasionally and listen to a couple of your videos. They are easy enough to understand, very interesting and full of cool details.

Very enlightening video sir - thank you for all your efforts ! Cool stuff .

Your videos are almost like free - not boring - high quality college course. Much respect from the edge of the world.

The channel that gives you hope in humanity

Another great video! Your content is always good!

Delightful and eloquent delivery - mistakes completely understandable give timeline - that is as intellectually interesting as anything otherwise. All speculation is genuine and justified. Fascinating subject matter and inspirational observation. Thanks.

I can imagine a early P-38 pilot with not much training going up against a FW-190 and managing two touchy engines and dive restrictions, AND a inferior roll rate give the FW-190 a big advantage. No wonder so many were shot down. I would really enjoy you doing videos on rocket engines Greg. One of the big "what-if's" in history is if the space shuttle had been given liquid fuel boosters instead of the solid rocket boosters. Thanks for your videos.

Love this video just for the explanation of mechanical computers.

Fantastic video Greg! Well done!

Ölzulauf is oil supply to the engine. Ölrücklauf is oil return from the engine You do a fantastic job by the way … really enjoy these videos …. Thanks for your efforts

I love this detailed walk throughs!

This channel is great! Amazing how creative engineers were in the pre-digital age. I might add that the knowledge level of the commenters is definitely above the RU-vid average. Added bonus: I get to brush up on my high school German.

Your technical & engineering knowledge is very impressive. Having been thur 40yrs of Initials & recurrents @ FSI/Simuflite the thing I find really amazing is your presentations are quite entertaining/NOT BORING!

Nicely done, as usual, and - also as usual - comprehensible to an old guy who is neither engineer nor pilot.

Excellent presentation. Be blessed 🙌

Was waiting for a new video for some time) Thanks a lot for your videos)

Awesome! Thank you for sharing from a GE Aviation jet engine design engineer. This was fun

Another masterpiece. A+. Thank you so much.

Outstanding video and presentation.

oh man I have been waiting for this one!!!!!

Great content as always

Finally a video about the Kommandogerat!

My old vw pickup( man did I love that thing) had a fuel injection system similar to a diesel. Distributor type pump with lines running from the pump to the injectors.

I liked this article all along very much. Well it's not boring so it can be long! Some mechanical computers are used as "automats" to control production lines also. I used to design and make work some of them in the 80s and 90s. Kurt Tank's creations were full of interesting "smart" devices and pretty good solutions.

Thanks for the video Greg!!

I think that one of the most interesting and important (interestingly important?) points mentioned is how, at the time, mechanical computing was faster than electronic; and how in a way, it would act somewhat automatically to inputs. Food for thought when it comes to the why of the gradual change from propeller engines to jet engines as well. Great video as always!

Excellent video. Thank you.

great content, as always

Fascinating as always. Thanks for the consistently well researched videos, Greg. There’s a balance to be struck between complexity and producibility, and personally I think German weapons of the Second World War often were too complex for their own good, but this seems like a case where the extra complexity would have paid off. Not a serious suggestion really, but a comparison of the various mechanical fuel injection systems for cars (Alfa’s SPICA, Bosch’s Kugelfischer, Lucas’s and GM’s systems, etc.) would be very interesting. I know a reasonable amount about the SPICA, but next to nothing about the others.

Wow. Very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing.

The British also extensively evaluated the KommandoGerat and reported on it.

Very interesting. I had no idea something like this existed.

Great job, much interest to me. A few years ago I got involved with restoring a BMW 801 for the Bradly Air Museum in Windsor Locks CT. The engine had been sitting in the Pratt & Whitney bone yard in East Hartford since WWII. The engine was in great shape except the piston rings were frozen in the cylinders. Being a controls engineer I was particularly interested in the Kommandogerat. I took the cover off but that was it, what a mass of mechanical components. I also have a good original German document describing it. Also of interest, the early jet engine controls were all mechanical controls, the zenith being the control for the Pratt & Whitney JT-9 which powered all the early 747's, very complicated. However, the MD-80's still flying today with the JT-8 engine have a mechanical control which I worked on at Hamilton-Standard, one of my favorite jobs, all done with slide rules.

I learned the German love for complicated mechanical computers working on German book binding machinery. Love this stuff it's always neat to see the solutions from the past. Likewise the VW mechanical fuel injection system from the late 70s to mid 80s was something I loathed working on.

Nice job, Greg.

Hello again! Love learning about this interesting bird

Greg blesses us once again! D;

As usual, great!

Awesome video, thank you for making it. Another monument to the golden era of RU-vid self-made educational videos. And I'm not trying to sound cheeky or over the top, I really feel this way; I love this, what I call, mechanical art. Just signed up for the Patreon. Anyway, gotta strongly disagree with your comment about this technology being made unnecessary by jet engines. They're "relatively simple" precisely *because* of hydromechanical fuel controllers that were essentially the same thing as Kommandogerät, until the later introduction of electronic controllers (and finally, FADEC): inputs from various air pressures, sometimes temperatures, RPM's, etc, and of course the pilot's throttle lever, going through a panoply of rods, shafts, cams, gears, springs, bellows, bellcranks, flyweight governors, and other other magical bits... to output only fuel flow in the early days; but later also controlling the positions of variable stators, inlet guide vanes, compressor bleeds, and supersonic inlet and exhaust variable geometry. Take a look, for example, at the Hamilton Standard JFC 68 that controlled the JT9D. Even in the early days of only fuel flow being controlled, controlling (slowly!) the rate of acc/deceleration was crucial when accelerating, to avoid rich blowout, or an overtemp, or fire, or compressor stall/surge; and when decelerating, avoiding lean blowout. Even in civilian flying (the only kind I've done) it's liberating (and not just in emotion, but actual task management) in knowing you can slam the levers forward or back to your heart's content, and the fuel controller will manage all this and only accelerate and decelerate the fuel flow in accordance with the engine's painstakingly slow spoolup/down time. Otherwise the pilot would have to do this themselves, with ultra-slow movement of the lever.

Great info. Really interesting. Thanks