Originally Posted by
markkal
Hi EXDAC,
Lead thetraetyl was discovered in the US prior to WW2 . Its purpose was to delay the propagation of the flame inside the cylinders to prevent self ignition and detonation.
This is also the reason the German aircraft engines had trouble reaching the power to cubic displacement ratio US engines were capable of. They did not have the equivalent fuels, They were limited by detonation.
Detonation means higher pressure inside cylinder, high operating temperatures, and low engine output. Warbird flying ? This can be a problem without the right fuel...
https://www.nytimes.com/1978/08/06/a...tz-farben.html
Ethyl was made available to the Luftwaffe through many sources , one plant in England shipped it to Portugal and it was shipped indirectly to Germany through many covert channels . Many useful historical facts now becoming more available as more government documents are released .
Although the names of the shareholders in some transactions may never be publicly known . Might been interesting to know if the Luftwaffe ever bombed the shareholders and suppliers by mistake .