Klimov VK-107 is a V-12 liquid-cooled piston aircraft engine used by
Soviet aircraft during
World War II.
Development
VK-107 was a brand-new design having little in common with its predecessors
M-105 and
VK-106. To achieve a greater power output, each cylinder now had four valves (two intake and two exhaust),
crankshaft and
camshafts were completely revised, and a new
supercharger design was implemented. Although the engine could have been ready for production as early as
1942,
Soviet factories lacked the capacity to produce a brand new design. Thus, less powerful VK-105PF and VK-105PF2 were built instead. However, the appearance of
Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109G with
Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine in
1943 created an urgent demand for a more powerful engine.
VK-107A was put into production in
1944 and was used on
Yak-9U fighters. The engine was not well liked by either pilots or mechanics -- it had a life expectancy of only 25 hours and
war emergency power was almost never used for fear of decreasing this even more. The engine was also difficult to service, in part because exhaust gas collectors were on the inside of the cylinder banks.
Variants
Specifications (VK-107A)
Related content
Related developments:Similar engines:
Daimler-Benz DB 605 -
Rolls-Royce Merlin -
Rolls-Royce Griffon -
Allison V-1710
