There was a Guiberson radial aircooled diesel engine prior to WW2. I
understand some were used in the US Army's light tanks. After teh war a
lot of thyem were used in Southern California orange groves. They were
mounted on stout poles and they spun props to prevent cold air from
pooling in the groves.
Also, I read that the Ju86 diesel engines were fine when set at a
constant RPM setting but the continual variance while flying formation
cut the engine life drastically - so that was that for the diesel
engine. Contrastingly, it did good service in the BV238 on ocean patrol
duties, where the low fuel consumption paid dividends.
Anybody know anything about the European development of a diesel for
light aircraft?
Walt BJ