Originally Posted by
Chugalug2
Was not the Sabre in reality two 12 cylinder engines with their twin crankshafts connected at the gearbox?
Yes, and er... no. That would be far too simple.
The propeller drive was actually taken from the ends of the four camshafts, which was either barking mad or a stroke of genius.
Personally I think it was very clever. The camshafts run at half crank speed so there's the first part of the reduction gearing and then there are four well-spaced gears transferring power to the output gear rather than the usual one.
Unlike the Merlin where the prop runs at around half engine speed, the Sabre's more like a quarter in round numbers. I imagine a standard reduction gear design would have been massive.
The Bristol engines did last longest but Sabres were in service surprisingly late until 1955 in Tempest target tugs.