Engineers determined that the cylinders could be bored out to a larger diameter without seriously affecting the strength of the existing block.

The supercharger was advanced for the era in that it used a barometrically controlled hydraulic clutch (fluid coupling) which allowed the system automatically to compensate for changes in altitude.

One major design difference was the switch from ball bearings to plain bearings which, when combined with increasingly poor grades of lubricants, led to serious problems in service, including engine fires; initially, for example, the use of emergency power was forbidden.

Although Daimler-Benz redesigned the bearings and added oil slingers and their associated coolers, the RLM considered the DB 605 to be a "sick engine" and the problems had not been fully resolved by the end of the war.

This was eventually fixed by applying a very heavy chrome plating to the exhaust valves, which rendered them just sufficiently resistant to scaling while still using less of a critical element than the original nickel alloy.

The DB 605ASB's takeoff power was also rated at 1,800 PS (1,775 hp), while maintaining the high-altitude performance of the ASM.

Thus, this series was ideally suited to catering for the chaotic fuel supply situation prevalent during the last months of the Third Reich.

In November 1942, Spitfire VB EN830 NX-X of 131 Squadron made a forced landing in a turnip field in German-occupied Jersey.

A Hispano Aviación HA-1112, a license-built Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2, has been rebuilt by EADS/Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany with a Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.