
2 The diesel engine
2.1 SUITABILITY FOR ROAD TRANSPORT
It is a matter of common knowledge that diesel engines
have found widespread application in stationary power-
generating units and as prime movers for marine pro-
pulsion, rail locomotion and especially, by virtue of
their more economical operation than the petrol engine,
road transport.
The first four-stroke diesel engine to achieve a com-
mercial success in road transport was that introduced
by the German firm of MAN in 1924, but it was the
intensive research and development carried out on the
diesel engine by such British firms as Gardner and AEC
during the 1930s which probably made th