BMW 139

The BMW 139 was an experimental 14-cylinder two-row radial engine that BMW developed in 1935, with a displacement of 55.4 litres and an output of 1,529 horsepower. It was meant to power the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but it was used only in the prototype Fw 190 V1. BMW had acquired a licence in 1929 to build the nine-cylinder Pratt and Whitney R-1690 Hornet as the BMW 114, and improvements such as direct fuel injection, a better cylinder design, a higher compression ratio, a stronger crankshaft and a new supercharger led to the production BMW 132. The 139 joined two of these 132 engines into a 14-cylinder design for a ministerial competition against a Siemens-Bramo engine, until BMW bought Bramo and merged the two projects. By the time the Fw 190 went into production its designers thought the 139 outdated, which led to the redesign that became the BMW 801.