Power-egg

The power-egg, a literal translation into English of the German term Kraftei, was a design feature in German Second World War era aircraft. The power-egg was a completely "unitized" modular engine installation, consisting of engine and all ancillary equipment, which could be swapped between suitably designed aircraft, with standardised quick-changing attachment points and connectors. In aircraft so designed the power-egg was removed before mean time to failure was reached and a fresh one installed, the removed engine would then be sent for maintenance. In ideal conditions spare engines were placed in sealed containers protected from damage and the elements, to be opened when needed. These existed in two differing formats — the initial Motoranlage format which used some specialized added components depending on what airframe it was meant for use on, and the Triebwerksanlage format, a more complete unitization format usually including exhaust and oil cooling systems.

Inline and radial engines were both incorporated into the Kraftei concept : the Junkers Jumo 211 was a pioneering example of engine unitization, as used on both the Junkers Ju 88 using a novel annular radiator for both main engine coolant and engine oil cooling needs, with exactly the same nacelle packaging used to power the Messerschmitt Me 264 V1's first flights. Both the examples of the Dornier Do 217 medium bomber powered by inline engines, and the Axis Powers' largest-flown powered aircraft of any type, the Blohm & Voss BV 238 flying boat used essentially the same unitized Daimler-Benz DB 603 powerplants, complete with "chin" radiators under the nacelles as integral components. A differing Kraftei physical packaging is also believed to have been crafted by the Heinkel firm for the DB 603 engines used on its Heinkel He 219A night fighter, as what appears to be the same exact engine installation design used for the He 219A was also used for the quartet of ordered airframes for the same firm's He 177B four-DB 603-engined heavy bomber design's prototype series, as both airframe types' engine "units" used annular radiators and cylindrical cowls of identical appearance to enclose them. The air-cooled BMW 801 fourteen-cylinder, twin-row radial engine was also provided in both formats for a number of German designs, especially for twin and multi-engined airframes, with the "M" or "T" first suffix letter designating whether it was a Motoranlage (the original format of the Kraftei concept) or the more comprehensively consolidated Triebwerksanlage format unitized powerplant — the BMW-designed forward cowling ring always used with the 801 incorporated the engine's oil cooler, making it an easy task for aviation engineers to use for such a "unitized" mounting concept.

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