Siemens-Halske Sh.III

The Siemens-Halske Sh.III was an 11-cylinder, air-cooled counter rotary engine developed in Germany during World War I.

[1] The crankshaft was driven at 900 rpm via a set of bevel gears, located at the back of the engine, with a 2:1 ratio.

The cylinders and propeller would have rotated at a speed of 1800 rpm anti-clockwise had the crankshaft been fixed.

[1] Additional benefits of the counter rotary design were lower aerodynamic losses[1] and reduced gyroscopic forces as the net cylinder rotational speed was reduced when compared to a conventional rotary of similar power output.

The engine tended to overheat as the relatively slow rotation of the cylinders limited cooling air flow.

Animation of the engine as it would have been seen looking at the front of the aircraft