As is typical of two-stroke designs, the Jumos used no valves, but rather fixed intake and exhaust port apertures cut into the cylinder liners during their manufacture, which were uncovered when the pistons reached a certain point in their strokes.

In addition, the power from the two opposing crankshafts had to be geared together, adding weight and complexity, a problem the design shared with H-block engines.

In the Jumo, these problems were avoided to some degree by taking power primarily from the "upper" shaft, somewhat offset upwards on the engine's front end.

In theory, the flat layout of the engine could have allowed it to be installed inside the thick wings of larger aircraft, such as airliners and bombers.

At high load, however, the turbocharger receives sufficient quantities of exhaust gas, which means that it alone can provide enough supercharging without the need of the inefficient mechanical blower.

The addition of the turbocharger to the mechanical blower made the engine more powerful without significantly increasing its specific fuel consumption.

It was far more successful as a power unit for airships, for which its characteristics were ideal, and for noncombat applications such as the Blohm & Voss Ha 139 airliner.