Rolls Royce Merlin - The Story Behind the Engine that Won the War
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The Rolls Royce Merlin became the engine that won the war, not because it broke the mold, but because its design was conservative and its improvements were incremental. While other engine manufacturers were busy simply trying to get their outlandish designs to work, Rolls Royce was supplying the allied forces with dependable power. In this video, we take a deep dive into the formation of the Rolls Royce company as well as the complete development cycle of the engine as well as the specific details of its construction.
00:00 - Introduction
02:59 - Brief History of Rolls Royce
14:21 - Merlin Pedigree
20:27 - Merlin Development
30:14 - The Nitty Gritty
#aviationhistory #ww2history #warhistory
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A TRULY AMAZING REVIEW OF THIS ENGINE.....Congrats my friend..... Old Navy Flying Shoe🇺🇸
The Answer is actually the Wright R2800 18 cylinder radial, generating between 2,000 to 2,8000 Horsepower, produced from 1939 until 1960. Installed in the Brewster XA-32, Breguet Deux-Ponts, Canadair CL-215, Canadair C-5 North Star, Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf, Convair 240, 340, and 440, Curtiss P-60, Curtiss XF15C, Curtiss C-46 Commando, Douglas A-26 Invader, Douglas DC-6, Fairchild C-82 Packet, Fairchild C-123 Provider, Grumman AF Guardian, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Grumman F7F Tigercat, Grumman F8F Bearcat, Howard 500, Lockheed Ventura/B-34 Lexington/PV-1 Ventura/PV-2 Harpoon, Lockheed XC-69E Constellation, Martin B-26 Marauder, Martin PBM-5 Mariner, Martin 2-0-2, Martin 4-0-4, North American AJ Savage, North American XB-28, Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet, Northrop P-61 Black Widow, Northrop F-15 Reporter, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave, Sikorsky S-60, Vickers Warwick, Vought F4U Corsair, Vultee YA-19B and many others. If I had to personally pick any propeller driven aircraft to fly in WW2, it would be the P-47D with it's 8 .50 caliber machine guns, good armor, super durable airframe and rear facing tail warning radar.
@@jager6863 The crucial part was the Battle of Britain. The turn around point. The R2800 didn’t exist effectively during the BoB. And it would not have worked in a Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito or Lancaster. So yes it was the Merlin and not the R2800.
Just a minor tip: you use "as such" too much.
Thanks for the video. That carburettor restrictor became known by some more bawdy people as Mis Shilling's Orifice. You didn't mention the license built Merlin's, such as the Packard Merlin 65 series or the ones built by Hispaño Suiza. Can you tell us about the related Rolls Royce Griffon engines which were used in later Marks of Spitfires, Seafires and the Avro Shackleton, and other aeroplanes?
The Merlin's sound was stuck in my head as a boy from war movies where that sound meant victory. It has that aggressive growl combined with a dark, vibrating white noise that made you unconsciously feel the prop tearing through the air.
I love that sound. It was like the entire British Empire and it's people wanted to put the fear of God into the Nazi's.
Great description!
@@garrisonnichols807 And they did!
I'm quite often working in an open barn workshop under a route often used by Battle of Britain flight training spitfires, and the noise is glorious. Plus I'll never forget one day hearing a bigger, deeper chorus: ran outside, the there was a Lancaster banking round in a great graceful curve. Sweet.
It's a shame they don't include startup sound, the Merlin sounds fantastic doing that too.
In German (Deutsch) the letter “W” is pronounced as if it were a “V”, the letter “V” is pronounced as if it were an “F”. So, it is Vermacht and Luftvaffe. It is Fau Vay, as in VW.
...😂😂 schön erklärt, das mit "VW" find' ich total gut. 👍
in UK V stands for Victory 😂🇬🇧😉
did his mispronunciation make it indecipherable? or is it just slightly irksome? if it's the former; you're justified in your critique. if it's the latter; you're being needlessly punctilious. language is about communication foremost. you come to embrace this view when no one ever pronounces your name correctly and you realize you would be happier if you just didn't worry about it.
@@mexorlight9635 You're very brave. 😅 🇬🇧 PS "Battle of Britain Day"
Oh how i love the folk wagon
36:35 - the R.A.E. restrictor would fondly be referred to as "Miss Shilling's orifice" by pilots in the RAF.
Quite correct to do so, being as Gertrude Shilling came up with it.
Packard when contracted by RR to build the Merlin opted to use the new Bendix pressure carb that REALLY solved the stalling problem, and be Noted the much aligned Allison V1710 used the Bendix pressure carb from 1938 on 3 years before Packard used them !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 except that Allison never made a successful high altitude engine. In early 1942 RollsRoyce successfully implemented the new anti-G carburettor RR/SU AVT 44/199/1 for the Spit IX. The US was still gearing up for war and realized they'd have to replace Allisons with Merlins, which they did until GM interfered. For the high power Merlin 66, Rolls Royce needed an even larger choke carburettor and decided to modify the Bendix PD18 type Pressure carburettor to suit. Suitably modified, this carburettor was fitted as the Stromberg 8D44/1. There were some problems with the Bendix pressure carburettor, the modifications of which the US copied for their own version of the PD18 on the Packard-Merlin 266.
I enjoyed that,really interesting as my Grandfather worked at Supermarine and did all of the cooling copper work on the s6.His name was Herbert colling.My Mother told me she watched the trials of the s6 and how fast it was in it's day!They're all gone now but the aircraft is still in the museum in Southampton.
Good show ! The marriage between RR & Supermarine gave RJ the experience needed for designing a great lightweight fighter, something that Camm lacked at Hawker.
I’m 75 . My Dad worked at Packard while it was making the Merlin engines . I use to have a set of mahogany building blocks the tool room guys built for me when I was born in 47 and they were starting up the car business.
Great bit of work, very well researched and presented. Quite right to point out that the engine was named after a bird, not after some hairy fairy comic book character. BUT. In the eleventh century a book 'The Death of Arthur' told of a wizard who helped Arthur and at the end of the story he promises to return if ever England was in trouble. In 1940 the Germans are amassing across the channel, the Peregrine planned for the spitfire replacement the Whirlwind and its 4 cannons, the Vulture planned for the Tornado, the Hurricane follow on and the Avro Manchester all over the floor and what are we left with?
Is quite correct. Indeed it is a RR tradition to name aero piston engines after birds of prey and jet/by-pass/fan-jets after UK rivers.
I am once again here to request a Bristol Centaurus episode. Love your work, keep it up!
I need to find a good source for data on the engine. I’ve seen your comments. Let me see if I can find something and put a Centaurus video together.
@@flightdojo kind of the reason I’d love to see something on it with your level of detail and production quality is exactly that there seem to be so little information available on it ^^
@@dodo98989 Catch 22 Yossarian, you'll see. he'll do the vid and then over the next few months they'll all repeat it in their vids.
I'd like a video on the R-2800 engine which powered the Corsair, Hellcat and Thunderbolt please!
@@paul_mumford there is one on the channel already, and it’s a good one
My Old Man worked for Royce's from 1956 through to the early Noughties. Like Hooker, my Old Man was a Mathematician (he was a Stress engineer). My Old Man's final job at Royce's was as Project Director of the Trent. It was ALWAYS "Royce's", he had no time for Rolls.
Nice presentation. The stories of Rolls AND Royce are most intriguing. With just the hints provided, I would like to know more about the spirits that drove them. As a retired toolmaker from Detroit, I enjoyed watching the manufacturing operations, especially the mill work on aluminum valve head. Among others, I heard the sound of a Merlin engine on the Detroit River during hydroplane boat races. While in the pits I saw at least 6 tarted up Merlin's in the Miss Budweiser trailer. Thanks for all the memories generated!
I have similar memories watching the hydroplanes at Miami Marine Stadium when I was growing up. This was back when they used to call them Thunder boats (due to how loud those piston engines were) before they turned to turbine engines similar to the one in the Chinook helicopter. I remember one time my father and I were talking with Bernie Little, the owner of Miss Budweiser. He told us that one of the advantages they had was that they used the (more expensive from what I understand) Rolls-Royce Griffon engine when everybody else was using the Merlin or an Allison. But thank you for stirring up some incredibly fond memories I have of my father and I growing up.
Amazing amazing amazing thank you so much for making this video, I am a retired mechanical engineer and can relate to the problem issues that keep our mind churning for fixes to issues and thus keeping us from going to sleep!
Great work! Detail is amazing and delivery excellent! Got to love history, especially when so critical to ensuring the world remained decent and peaceful.
Concise and well researched. Nice presentation with period footage!
I’m lucky enough to live on top of a hill in Kent, England. Most days we have a couple of spitfires and the occasional P51 buzzing around…
can't wait for the wasp major!
Thank you so much for your presentation, it has inspired me to purchase the book you mentioned. Good job!
Really good videos on here. Keep it coming 👍
You failed to mention that the principle designed of the Merlin was the 20th century's greatest aero-engine designer, Arthur J. Rowledge. Finally, at last, someone mentions the Merlin' s start in life as an inverted V-12. Well done. However, what you failed to mention was that a barometrically controlled fluid-coupling was proposed (by Geoffrey Wilde) for the Merlin' s supercharger drive. You also didn't mention that a Rotary-Valve cylinder-head conversion was designed by Cross Manufacturing albeit not made.
Thank you for that, a completely absorbing video showcasing great British Engineering! I don't know if I missed it because I was called away a couple of times, but did you make any mentions of Sir Henry Royce's death and when it occurred?
Thanks a million! For ever I have been trying to llearn what it was exactly that made the Merlin so special! I'. very grateful to you for finally answering my question.
after burner upto 40 000 ft ??????? germans were limited to about 30000ft or some thing like that most of those eng were made in american factorys not briton
Great video! Interesting and informative. Thanks! I’m subscribed. Waiting to see more videos like this one.
2:27 Probably the best sound to ever come from an engine.
Loving your videos sir! 🫡 amazing content, narration, editing. Made me smile to hear you say RPM like we do this side of the pond and not RPMs! 😂 The R is the plural of course.. thank you!! Keep up the amazing work ❤️🇺🇸🇬🇧🍻👍🤩👍
I live Near East midlands airport uk and through the summer I am treated to the sound of the Merlin engine from the spitfire based at the airport it’s always a treat to hear and never gets old.
Early Merlins had a problem of throwing con-rods. The company really struggled and had to limit the V12 to 3000 revs (IIRC). Tests on V twin test bed versions worked just fine at much higher revs eventually led to them checking the oil pump. Basically it could not deliver enough oil at high revs. Bigger pump problem solved. This has always been an issue with RR. Development is always step-wise on the assumption that all before has been as good as possible. This oil pump cock-up was a great example of groupthink not looking at all options.
David Elliot one of the problems solved when Packard used a different, larger capacity oil pump and stronger rods !!!
The engine was limited to 1600 rpm via a governor. My father ran them on final inspection Each one was run a full eight hour shift. He tested the PT boat version. First thing in combat the boat engineer removed the governor and the engines would rev 3600 rpm. Rated hp was achieved at 1600 rpm so quite a boost in combat.
@@wilburfinnigan2142You know that Ford UK did the production line development for Rolls and Packard only did it for their own production? All performance enhancing development was done by Rolls and Packard were forbidden to do any under the licensing agreement. Rolls manufactured over twice the number of Merlin engines as Packard.
@@SvenTviking Bull$hit !!! As RR had to agree to changes to seperate head and block just to get the merlin made, because RR had a special machine to machine the valve seats and guides, that machine was not available, and Packard made many other changes also, carb, supercharger intercooler, what you FAIL to understand is PACKARD had been making aero engines nd Marine enginess lon as RR. WW I Liberty V12 was designed by Vincent of Packard as well as many engines up to and including the M2500 PT Boat engine. It was NOT Packards first rodeo !!! of the 155,00) Merlins Made Packard made 55,525 Ford UK 33,000 thats 88,000+ more than half, 57 % were not made by RR !!!!! DUUUUH!!!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 P Merlins ran hotter that the RR versions. Late war Lancasters had 3 RR and one P-Merlin. Pilots & FE's were told not to worry about that higher op temp. Having said that, early P-Merlins had reliability problems.
According to page 9 of Packard as an Aero Engine Builder The Packard Merlin Robert J Neal, 37,143 P-M's were made for "British Empire consumption". 31,143 of those were Lend Leased (not including Packard engines in 1,772 LL P51's). 16,485 were used by the US in P51's and P40's.
True Packard made 55,525 merlins total and the Brits received the 37,143 engines only and yes they received 1772 Lend lease P51 nmustangs with the Packard merlins !!! Also the P40 used the Packard V1650-1 single stage supercharged engine same as the 36,000 single stage V1650's the Brits received and 1040 of Packards 266 merlins, the 2 stage supercharged 2 speed version, the only 2 stage merlins the Brits received from Packard !!!
Excellent stuff - thank you! Along with the P&W Double (and Twin) Wasp, it's hard to imagine the Allies winning WW2 without those two impressive engines, one liquid-cooled and the other air-cooled. Very minor nit to pick - Rolls did not learn to fly on the "literal very first powered airplane that existed" - the 1903 Wright flyer was wind damaged after its fourth flight on 17 Dec 1903 and never flew again after that. It was the Wright Model A that Wilbur demonstrated in France in 1908 and in which Rolls flew. The Wright Model A was the first serial production airplane in the world, so in that sense, it was a literal very first. :)
Just beautiful, congratulations for the great video!
The RR Merlin in the Mustangs was/is one of the most awesome sounds I've ever heard!
David Daniels NO RR Built merlin was ever used in a P51 mustang !!! ! They were ALL Packard merlins made in tha USA !!! And it was a different version from RR's version !!! Facts son do the research !! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 sorry but that’s Not strictly accurate either: In April 1942, the Royal Air Force's Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) tested the Allison V-1710-engined Mustang at higher altitudes and found it wanting, but their commanding officer, Wing Commander Ian Campbell-Orde, was so impressed with its maneuverability and low-altitude speed that he invited Ronald Harker from Rolls-Royce's Flight Test establishment at Hucknall to fly it. It was quickly evident that performance, although exceptional up to 15,000 ft (4,572 m), was inadequate at higher altitudes. This deficiency was due largely to the single-stage supercharged Allison engine, which lacked power at higher altitudes. Still, the Mustang's advanced aerodynamics showed to advantage, as the Mustang Mk.I was about 30 mph (48 km/h) faster than contemporary Curtiss P-40 fighters using the same Allison powerplant. The Mustang Mk.I was 30 mph (48 km/h) faster than the Spitfire Mk VC at 5,000 ft (1,524 m) and 35 mph (56 km/h) faster at 15,000 ft (4,572 m), despite the latter having a significantly more powerful engine than the Mustang's Allison.[1] Rolls-Royce engineers rapidly concluded that the Mustang powered by a two-stage Merlin 61 would result in a significant improvement in performance and started converting five Mustangs to Merlin power as the "Mustang Mk.X" (i.e., Mk.10) With a minimum of modification to the engine bay, the Merlin engine neatly fitted into the adapted engine formers. A smooth engine cowling with an additional "chin" radiator was tried out in various configurations as the two-stage Merlin required a greater cooling capacity than could be obtained with the standard Mustang radiator alone. The Merlin 65 series engine was utilised in all the prototypes as it was identical to the Merlin 66 powering the Spitfire Mk IX, allowing for a closer comparison. Due to the speed of the conversions, engines were often swapped from aircraft to aircraft as well as being replaced by newer units. Scorched: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Mustang_Mk.X Also, The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). Replacing the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model, and transformed the aircraft's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (without sacrificing range),[8] allowing it to compete with the Luftwaffe's fighters.[9] The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed, two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang So the P-51 was effectively a aircraft design built for British contract (the USAAF didn’t want any to start with), for he RAF. And powers with a licensed British engine for the most part…
Narr sorry, Lancaster low pass at full chat kzhead.info/sun/h5yqm7GMoXdqoI0/bejne.html
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Aahh, more "finigan facts". Off you go, back on your tractor, wanker!
Eight Merlins in unison flying right over my head in the only two flying Lancasters takes some beating😉😉
Love your content and indepth explanation and detail of engines. I would love you to do a segment on the ww1 rotary engines. There concept is insane and difficult to get your head around. Also the unloved Rolls Royce vulture, it is usually glossed over but surely with development it’s unreliability could have been overcome. Keep it up.🇦🇺
Just found your channel…glad I did. Good job
I love your videos. I'm getting an education about engines, due to air racing, that I have been around for decades.
I acquired Graham White's marvelous ALLIED AIRCRAFT PISTON ENGINES OF WORLD WAR II very soon after it was published. Your wonderful video reminds me that I need to pull that book down from my bookshelf and go through it again. :-)
🔥🔥🔥🔥 killin it Flight keep up the good work
I get to see these amazing power plants at Vintage V-12. They have them broken down during restoration so you can see all aspects of this Incredible engine.
Aww, man. When you were talking about where the Merlin name came from and said the falcon of which there are two, I thought for sure you were leading into the African or European swallow, Monty Python joke. And it would have fit too, as an answer to the question, “what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?” Many, many years ago, Atlas Van Lines had a cigarette racing boat that I remember was powered by a RR Merlin engine. They not only had the boat on display but a spare engine was set up on a stand. They are huge motors.
Literally watched this the day it came out then the next day had a lecture on how rolls Royce came to be. Best pre-reading I’ll ever do lol.
Good presentation and great content!
An excellent synopsis - thank you!
Thanks for the book reccomendation... I really enjoyed it!
BTW love that book behind you "Catch 22."
That is a phenomenal amount of information regarding a single end-product. Done through collaborative engagement? Teamwork makes the dreamwork? Nice one! 😊
I would also recommend The Secret Horsepower Race by Calum Douglas. I grew up with Calum, let’s just say he’s knowledge on the subject is near encyclopaedic.
thanks so much my dad and I watched this video dad 96 🙏 had his fist solo in a AT6 Harvard or American Texan then called to scrambled jumped in a spitfire it was he called the sports car of the air I'm lucky to have a friend and dad appreciate you
Royce spent his time in a small village on the south coast of England, just down the road from the RR car factory and on the circuit for the Schneider trophy on which the UK won outright with the R9 engine
Thanks for the book recommendations. I also really loved "The Secret Horsepower Race: Western Front Fighter Engine Development" ( (c) 2020) by Calum E Douglas. Extremely well researched from original source documents from both Ally & Axis archives that exist today.
Looking at it as I read this comment.
WOW DUDE !!!!!! you really went down the rabbit hole on this video ! This is one of the best researched and in depth explanations of any piece of war equipment i ever heard Great fukin job i really mean that !!!! Im a mechanic so i really enjoyed this THANK YOU !!!!!!!! : )
I would like for SOMEONE to discuss the Bendix Stromberg Negative G Carb- from what I can find it went into the Spit 5's and later variants and the P-51 Mustang. A version of it was also used in the P&W Radial R2800 motors- and made inverted flight, as well as negative G dives a cake walk. Imagine the poor FW 190 pilot, assured a dive would get him out of trouble only to have a Spit or a Mustang, or even a P-47 glued to his tail in a dive.
Tim Mccreery ALL Packard built merlins whether the single stage 20 series merln or the later 1942 60 series V1650-3 or-7 or-9 Used the Bendix pressure carb, as well as the R2800 as you mentioned and the V1710 Allison from 1938 on. So ALL merlins in the P51 Mustangs and the P40 F & L's used the Bendix pressure carb. RR did not get around to using it untill the Merlin 60 2 stage came out used in the spitfire Mk IX & Mk VIII It was not used in the spitfire Mk V as it has the Merlin 20 series single stage supercharger !!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 the Mk.V used a number of progressively better engines, the Merlin 45,46 .... 55M and anti-G carburettors and other solutions were implemented. There is a fine video of Alex Henshaw flying a Mk.V inverted for long periods.
Great video thank you for sharing.. will say though before the last 6 years I always said I could never get bored of hearing the merlin planes in all their guises, but in the past 6 years there’s a spitfire ( a couple now and again going over this month) but in summer they have flights you can pay to have the experience in, the poor little plane goes over our house and back to land from 9 in the morning till about 8 at night and the flight probably lasts 7 minutes, honestly it’s constant I swear if you couldn’t see them land You’d think the passenger would have to jump out as the next got in without the planes wheels ever touching the ground 😂, and sometimes there’s 2 going, ( think if you pay a certain price) they do rolls and half loops which is cool and I only really see them doing that in the evenings ,I live in Gosport ( uk) right on the Solent where the shnider races took place. soo many great events took place in the past here like the fleet reviews eg .. must have been amazing to see. Kind regards Carl
The sound of the Merlin was a key part of the movie “ The Battle of Britain “ Long live the King “
1st time visiting your channel and I absolutely love it
Had to have a chuckle at the part where you state 'a light compact aftercooler' You've obviously never tried to pick one up! Great video though, thanks for all your effort.
So glad that I chose to SUBSCRIBE to this Channel to further "fulfill" my WWII curiosity! In the Merlin "what does it sound like clip", it would have been nice to have a RPG Guage in the lower corner to be able to understand the RPM V.S. Sound...
Thanks for the tip! I tried to get a clip of it at a higher rpm.
@@flightdojo Actually the sound is best heard when the aircraft is at low altitude, full boost and revving, with the listener on the ground. The ground test rig didn't do it justice.
Try this one 🥹 kzhead.info/sun/h5yqm7GMoXdqoI0/bejne.html
I think the double wasp might have helped a little on that war thing.
robertloe as well as the Wrights, the Pratt Whitney, Allisons all out numbered the merlin by about 6 times !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142fragile ego arsehole x
Very interesting. BTW Agincourt is pronounced 'ajincor', no doubt named after the famous Agincourt Battle that took place during the 100yr war.
Good explanation of Miss Shilling's Orifice.
Very well explained and plenty of facts .
Check out the RR Historical Series books. The Merlin in perspective - the combat years Alec Harvey-Bailey and Rolls-Royce and the Mustang David Birch. Abe Books currently lists copies of both books.
1:30 Can't believe you didn't mention the D.H. Mosquito in that list. Superlative aircraft that filled a number of roles, in a large part thanks to it's power plants.
Mention along with pictures at 37 minutes or so.
37:32-37:33
In the initial design, they also seriously considered the Napier Sabre at a projected 2400hp (post-war Sabres were officially type-tested at up to 3050hp) each. After designing the Mosquito, DH began the design of the Hornet (the aircraft was put on hold till the end of the war), also considered with the Sabre (briefly). With the much larger and heavier Sabre, the design would have been considerably different. Twin Sabres, I am trying to think about how that would sound. The post-war Hornet used a counter-rotating Merlin 130 series pair of 2070hp each (Sea Hornet, 2050hp) - the most powerful Merlins ever put into production.
@@robertnicholson7733 there is a you tube with Eric winkle brown saying the sabre developed far more power in service. One should be flying soon!
@@clive373 I would wish it so, but the pragmatist and professional engineer in me says no. Perhaps a ground-running one in the next few years, that alone would be fantastic. Unlike the Merlin, not only have few engines survived, but virtually no paperwork has survived. AFAIK, there are only a few sheets of engineering drawings in existence, and even they are of different marks. There were relatively few expert mechanics for the engine and virtually no engines to work on as there were only a few hundred Tempest V, Tempest VI, and Furies after the war, and no real attempts to keep them running once they went out of military service, so little if anything was learned from those few mechanics before they too were gone. Yes, there is one candidate for running, a factory-preserved engine, but this will have to be completely disassembled, inspected, reassembled, and tested. But remember, this engine has been sitting for 70 years, has it been turned over by hand or have the rings been sitting in exactly the same spot on the sleeves for those 70 years? And that is the elephant in the room, the sleeves! Everything else is relatively normal practice, but the sleeves are not, the final finishing process used by Bristol was so unusual that a couple of patent offices weren't going to allow it, it made no sense. If the money was available, the best thing would be to 3D scan every part of the engine, test all the materials to see what they were, determine tolerances, essentially computer analyse the entire engine, determine torque settings, etc for all the engines you could lay your hands on and then fabricate a new one using modern materials, machining techniques, etc. Probably a hybrid mark VII, there are at least two sectioned examples of these in existence, both the ones I know of are in Canada. Maybe then, if we are lucky, someone will be foolhardy to put that engine in a restored aircraft, and find someone equally crazy to fly it. I would be thrilled to just hear a modern recording of that engine at full song, it would be very unusual, the engine fired two cylinders at the same time, and it appears that at certain frequencies resonances between the exhaust were established and then there is the whine (scream) of the straight cut reduction gears transmitting that 2000hp to that huge propeller. Bill Gunston was no fan of the Sabre (he seemed to have a thing against Napier and Frank Halford) or the aircraft it was fitted to, but even he waxes lyrical about the thrill of hearing these aircraft taking off. The Germans were less a fan, the sound these aircraft made while attacking seemed to be etched into their brains. I will not naysay Eric Brown, but the power the engines produced can be calculated from the performance of the aircraft, I have not done so. It does seem unlikely that Napier would not put the record straight after the war (they were still trying to sell Sabres), but they did not. I will have to watch the video, I have many of Eric Brown's interviews, perhaps you can point me in the correct direction. Finally, this is the thing, the very thing! oldmachinepress.com/2014/10/14/hawker-fury-i-sabre-powered/
If you think back to those times some 70+ years ago there were no such things as computer aided design, to that end the machining and fitment of the engines is still marveled by modern engine builders - mechanics and engineers. If you look closely at these engines they are literally works of art and to think they built thousands of those things that were not bespoke pieces, I’m sure you could take parts from one and put them in another as long as you followed proper assembly ethos that any modern engine builder would do to this day!
Really enjoyed, thanks!
How independent was Packard’s inter/after cooling? I saw some cutaway drawings that suggested the Packard intercooling was at the output plenum of the first stage as opposed to RR’s second stage inlet position. It might not be the very most high tech part of the engine.
Those were ONLY used on the Packard V1650-3 or -7 or -9 which were only used on the P51 Mustang as almost all engines Packard delivered to the Brits, 37,137, were of the series 20 design using the SINGLE stage 2 SPEED version of the Merlin. ONLY the later 60 series and on used the 2STAGE 2 SPEED supercharger. Most people erronously believe ALL Merlins were the 2 stage 2 speed, but ooooh so WRONG !!!
Really great videos , thanks
It would have been interesting if you had compared a RR manufactured Merlin with a Packard V-1650 Merlin. BTW - RR had an agenda to discredit the Napier Sabre 24 cylinder sleeve valve engine because it was attempting to develop its own version the Lion. The Sabre was developed into the most powerful combustion engine once English Electric took over the company in 1942.
RR was adept at having things their way, well connected lobbyists in the Air Ministry. Several aircraft types were doomed by cancellations of RR engine projects, following into the jet age. They weren't able to bully Bristol quite the way they did to Napier.
@@coreyandnathanielchartier3749 Quite so
You sound like a man who understands engines well enough to teach about them. You also remind me of how messy it can be to give the customer the 'best', like shim washers being used to make the engines acceptable.
Speaking as a "Pit Snipe", an Intercooler would be between the 1st and 2nd Stages of a Supercharger (or between a Supercharger and a Turbocharger), and an aftercooler is between whatever air compressor system you're using, and the carburetors/intake manifold.... I hope this clears up what he is talking about!
Suggest reading the report (1946) by A.C. Lovesey, delivered to D.H. aircraft company, on Merlin development during it's service . Heavy reading, detailed analysis , lots of charts, and diagrams of failures and improvements. IOW, the kind of engineering geek stuff you don't often encounter these days.
Stanley Hooker's arrival at RR was shambolic. He applied for a job there, but hadn't told his government employer that he was looking to leave. Earnest Hive (who ran RR by then) phoned Hooker's boss in the middle of the job interview to ask what he thought of him! Talk about intimidating... His start in the job involved him being left alone with nothing to do. Eventually, he got a copy of a report on the supercharger performance. He made some calculation and comments on it, and put it back in the out tray. Somehow this reached the right person, who, astonished, immediately put him in charge of supercharger design. And the rest is history!
abarratt Hooker did NOT invent the 2 stage supercharger, that was invented and patented in 1938 in the USA !!! First plane to use it was the grumman F4F-3 Wildcat with the PW R1830 engine and the F4U Corsair with the PW R2800, Both Navy planes !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I never said he did. But he was in charge of supercharger development at RR, and he was rather better at it than anyone else.
After the part at the end about the number of planes the Merlin powered I would have appreciated a few words about how they were able to scale up and maintain production to meet that demand. This is not to detract from the terrific job you've done in telling us about the engine itself.
They met the engine demand by making them in the US.
@@russellkeeling4387 Ah, of course. Thanks!
149,659 Merlin engines were produced between start of production and closure of the last line in 1950. Rolls Royce had 3 plants building the type, Derby 32,377 engines produced. All Aircraft used in the Battle of Britain used Derby built Merlin's. Crewe 26,065 engines produced. Glasgow 23,675 engines produced. Ford Motor Compony UK had a Shadow Factory in Manchester building the Merlin. 30,428 engines produced. Packard built 55,523 between the summer of 1941 and the end of their production.
@28:28 you should really trim that "offline media" frame. ;-)
I love that you read the script and not an AI voice. Ty.
Jolly good show old man!
As a bog standard Eniglishman, I would probably pronounce Agincourt, 'aszhin-court' , say it quickly and maybe drop the 't' if wanted to sound like a 'history buff' off the BBC , something like 'aszhincor' .. best I can do. All said and done, it's French so ask them :) It's a bit like how you guys say "shire", when it comes to places like Devonshire, however, we would generally pronounce it "Devonsher", Staffordshire would be "Staffordsher" and so on. Either way, wonderful Video and keep up the good work :)
This is the great history lesson on a great engine… But as an engine builder, I’d prefer hands-on, taking it apart kind of stuff. I don’t know it’s just me ,anyway keep on rocking
De jóven quedé admirando la tecnología que tiene (aún hoy ) ese motor ... ( en la escuela tecnica en la cual fuí alumno , había uno ) gracias !!!
Great documentary.
Very good presentation.
Well done 👏
One point I would like to take issue with; I believe the first RR aero engine was the Hawk, Wikipedia is confused it says the Hawk was derived from the Eagle but also says the Hawk was first run in 1914 and the Eagle in 1915. As the Hawk was the same capacity as the Silver Ghost car engine it makes sense to me that it would have been the first.
Been on a right run since finding your channel today. Top notch :) One question I have not found an answer for yet is how is it that the DB601 in the Bf109, despite being a larger engine than the Merlin, has much smaller radiators than the Merlin? The Spitfire IX has the two big radiators, where as even the last K models of 109 still retained very shallow radiators.
A bigger engine yes, but a similar amount of power so a similar amount of heat being put out despite the larger size
@@entitygames9751 thanks for the reply, and a good point. But the 109 radiators are so small - right from the start.
Has to be if not the greatest motor ever invented, I don't know what is! P51d and the merlin are or was a match made in heaven!
Seen one at the HARS museum in Albion Park NSW Australia.
I was at RR in Derby in the -60s and the restrictor was still affectionately known as “miss Shilling’s produce”!🏴
Miss Schilling's OREFICE, not produce.......
@@danforthe2006 ORIFICE.
@@brianchisnell1548 Of course, you are correct, Brian. My college diploma has been mailed back to the school for shredding. Cheers!
Can you do a vid covering how much engine difference fuel octane made in WW2?
2:19 "What did the Merlin sound like?"... Victory!
Agreed!
Well, 80 years later we know what a lie that is.
A very good narrator.
He studied under Hiram maxim? That's some serendipitous shit right there.
The Merlin was certainly the big success story in WW2. They had it up to 2100 hp and calculated for further improvements to 2600 HP. Those plans were scuttled when jet engines came on the scene.
Outstanding!
The HP used in early engines was calculated from inlet vale and cylinder bore sizes. It had nothing to do with brake horsepower (bhp) we use today.
During the early part of the Bob, Merlins were suffering from a glycol leak into the exhaust manifolds, caused by imperfect castings of the one-piece block and head design. RR rapidly introduced the seperate block and head design which solved this problem. A coolant leak into the exhaust isn't a great problem in level flight - you just head for the nearest airfield or get back to base. The problem arose when you tried to land the plane, with its nose-up attitude and thick streams of glycol / water steam swirling around the front of the canopy. You can work for yourself how dodgy that made landing. Several pilots were lost because of that flaw.
Fred yellowsnow Actually It was Packard that first used the seperate head block casting from the git go as the special tooling to machine the valve seats deep into the head block combination !!! One of the first changes RR authorized pack to do !!
Great job
You forgot, Royce said, 'noise means wear'. Very true.
The mustang used allison engines as they were better than the merlin. they did try the merlin and some were fitted with merlins but they were only good for short range. the alinson was put on the mustangs that were used for escort fighters as they had a longer range. Avro didnt want the merlin for the lancaster as it vastly reduced is range and bomb load, the Manchester used 2 rolls royce Vultures that had far more power and a longer range an used less fuel. But they were prone to catching fire. so they tried with 2 merlins but couldnt get to take of speed so had to put 4 on. then the manchester got renamed lancaster. 1 spitfire got lost and landed at a German airbase by mistake. so the luftwaffe had an intact spitfire to play with. they took the merlin out and put in the same engine as the ME109 used and found it had double the range and was 50mph faster. They called it the mesherspit. By 1942 the RAF stopped using the merlin in its fighters as it lacked power and range.
I've seen some drivel on YT, but that post takes the biscuit!👏
Whilst you mentioned the R-R 'X' configuration aero-engines you completely failed to mention that they were the work of one of the 20th century's greatest aero-engine designers, Arthur J. Rowledge. No mere bystander, Rowledge became a lead designer of the Merlin.
"It was there and it worked". Love this comment. Watch Greg's Airplanes for the interesting in-depth analysis. Interesting to note if it wasn't for American high octane petrol refining technology given to Britain (to facilitate higher boost pressures), new fuel delivery technology in the form of replacing the British float carb that would ice up (and the aforementioned problems) with the American Bendix-Stromberg carb used on the Allison V12, and American supercharging technology as well as various refinements made by Packard, the Merlin engine would not have been the legend that it was.
True, Britain and the USA would use German as the official language had the invasion not been stymied while the rest of the world was either pacified or at peace. As George Orwell wrote, "Airfield One".
Well said and the truth !!!!
"Miss Schillings Orifice" stopped the Spitfire farting...
Very good! now I know why I was never an engineer of aircraft, I was barely able to keep up with your narrative. I just need to figure out why my Toyota runs terrible! LOL
You forgot about the Dehavilan Mosquito. 2Xmerlin
Very good, keep it going - jakarta Indonesia