Argus As III

The Argus As III was a six-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, aircraft engine produced in Germany by Argus Motoren during World War I. The Argus As III produced 180 hp (130 kW) at 1,400 rpm.

As III
License produced Opel Argus As III, image from a 1919 United Kingdom Air Ministry report.
Type	Piston aircraft engine
Manufacturer	Argus Motoren
First run	c.1916

Design and development

Argus Motoren already supplied a limited number 150 hp and 200 hp aircraft engines to the Imperial German Navy in the Summer of 1914. As these engines did not prove successful Argus decided to concentrate its development efforts on an improved 180 hp (130 kW) six-cylinder type which became accepted into service in January 1916 as the Argus As III. License production of the engine was ordered at Deutz, Güldner, M.A.N., Opel and Stoewer. First operational experience with the engine however proved troublesome, with overheating problems occurring among other things. These problems were only solved after several improvements of the engine and so it took until the end of 1917 for the engine to attain its full operational maturity.

Applications

• AEG C.IV
• Albatros B.II
• Albatros C.I
• Albatros C.III
• Gotha G.IV
• Hannover CL.II
• Hannover CL.IIIa
• LFG Roland D.II
• LFG Roland D.III
• Rumpler C.I
• Rumpler C.VIII
• Sablatnig C.I

Specifications

License produced Opel Argus As III, right side view

Data from Huth. (cf. Angle: Opel As III)

General characteristics

• Type: Six-cylinder, upright, inline piston engine
• Bore: 145 mm (5.71 in)
• Stroke: 160 mm (6.30 in)
• Displacement: 15.9 L (970 cu in)
• Dry weight: 295 kg (650 lb)

Components

• Valvetrain: Overhead-valve, two valves per cylinder, pushrod operated
• Fuel system: Twin carburettors
• Oil system: Pressure feed
• Cooling system: Liquid-cooled
• Reduction gear: Direct drive
• Twin Bosch ignition magnetos

Performance

• Power output: 180 hp (130 kW) at 1,400 rpm
• Compression ratio: 4.8

See also

Comparable engines

• BMW IIIa
• Liberty L-6
• Mercedes D.III

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines

References

Bibliography

• von Gersdorff, Kyrill; Grasmann, Kurt (1981). Flugmotoren und Strahltriebwerke (in German). München: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. pp. 22, 26–27. ISBN 3-7637-5272-2.
• Huth, Fritz (1920). Motoren für Flugzeuge und Luftschiffe (in German) (3rd ed.). Berlin: R. C. Schmidt & co. pp. 232–233. OCLC 2116726.
• Angle, Glenn Dale (1921). Airplane Engine Encyclopedia: An Alphabetically Arranged Compilation Of All Available Data On The World's Airplane Engines. Ohio: The Otterbein Press. pp. 368-371. OL 23525261M.
• Argus Motoren-Gesellschaft m.b.H (1916). Der Argus Flugmotor. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
• Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1993. p. 258. ISBN 1-85170-347-0