Aero engine ref

One of my favorite things about AC modeling is powerplants, love to detail & sweeten them till they look like the real thing, even if it means tossing the kit supplied motor and starting from scratch. If you're like me than "Major piston aero engines of WW II" ISBN 1-84037-012-2 is a most useful asset. Written by Victor Bingham it is the only source I know of dedicated to the subject.  Like so many British publications, much favoritism is payed to the home grown types, at least in volume. Much time is spent on Rolls Royce Kestrals, Merlins, Type R and Griffons, even throwbacks like R.R.s vulture and Armstrong Siddeley Deerhound are well examined and illustrated. German types are diluted to prototypical marks such as, BMW 801, "DB601 and developments" and "Ju 211 and developments", each w/ a paragraph or two about their miriad offshoots and successors.  Binghams text does however treat enemy types in an unbiased objective manner, unlike many english publications. U.S. types do a little better, though are want for illustrations.  Gnome-Rohne and Hispano-Suiza's are well represented, as is Soviet outgrowths of licensed western types.  Lots of great info here to, for instance did you know that German fuel injection, bain of th R.A.F was not the cutting edge secret technology it was veiwed as?.  But in fact the outgrowth of an industrial expediant from the 1920's, when jumo began a series of deisel AC engines. Deisels use direct  Fuel injection, it was simply thought easier to equip gas engines w/ FI, than to develop new & better carbuetors.