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You could have included the fact that the Rolls Royce Meteor engine, used in most British tanks in world war two and in the post war years, was a RR Merlin adapted for ground use.
The Merlin was detuned by removing the supercharging. The engine was then made under licence by Rover, named the Meteor, with it being used in tanks like the Cromwell, Comet and Centurion. It was the best tank engine of WW2. The engine had to be detuned as the Cromwell went too fast reaching over 50mph. One jumped a canal in Holland.
Came to the comments to make this exact point. The Meteor was undoubtedly just as amazing as the Merlin, but far less well known since its most famous application was a largely post-war tank.
Many of the Metor engines were Merlin engine with no supercharger. The reduced power meant that these tanks did not need radiators to control the engine temperature that would have been much bigger.
Didn't they take a good look at that canal jumping tank later and find out that it was a lightweight mild steel prototype that should never have been issued for service? Suspicions were raised after small arms fire made little pits instead of bouncing off...
Hate or jealous Hermann goering actually said he was green with envy and jealousy that every piano make it was knocking it out he actually use those words
Would have loved to hear about their testing process. They would run the Merlin flat out until it broke, then open it up and inspect what broke. They they would make an improvement to make it stronger and run the test all over again.
@@dillonpierce7869 - Henry Royce was an insanely brilliant engineer who would be right at home in today's quality-driven manufacturing environment. He designed a test fixture for his cars that mounted a rolling chassis (which is what RR made, the bodies were added later by custom coach builders) at the wheels and then pulsed each corner independently with randomized cams. This would force every resonance of every component to reveal itself by breaking something. Royce expected his chassis' to survive a day or more of this punishment. He would sometimes mount a competitor's car to the rig to compare, and they generally didn't last an hour. Some were shedding pieces after only a few minutes!
@@dillonpierce7869 I have heard that Henry Ford said something along the lines of (paraphrasing perhaps here) -I could build a car to last forever, but why would I do that? You wouldn’t need to buy another one, and that’s not good for business- Sadly today items seem to be designed to last 3 years (surprisingly the length of a standard car lease) and then deteriorate rapidly. I have also been told that here in the UK, Swinton near Manchester to be precise, a bunch of eggheads built a 12v car battery that would never decay/degrade in its ability to be recharged and hold that charge (obviously alluding to the fact that most car batteries lose the ability to hold charge after a few years, maybe up to 10 if you’re lucky and it is used often). The old boy that told me about it has since passed but he said they had it in a glass case in the factory but never produced it commercially, most likely using the same business practise as Ford.
@@Morris2182 well everything will break eventually regardless how it was made but say from the time steel frames came out instead of wood they lasted ( 30's-90's before major crumple zones into play ruining cars in one crash now ). Like my current 98 ram.... Found a telephone pole in a ditch in the snow in February and knocked out the headlights and ruined the fenders. 🤷🏻♂️😅 Big deal. New truck would've been mangled to oblivion.
considering the average age of pilots during the battle of Britain was just 20 years old, some not even old enough to drive a car. i would heartily agree.
That thunder as it cranked over. 27 litres of displacement, near enough two thousand horsepower, enough torque to reverse the rotation of the earth, and no muffling whatsoever on the 12 individual flame belching exhausts. It would be like letting hell itself loose... and then realizing it was entirely at your command. Yours alone to unleash with the throttle lever.
@@StrangeTerrorheh, I too am a car enthusiast. Love crazy engines,no matter their application. Especially since some people were mad enough to put Merlins in cars.
They were also widely used in marine racing after the war. When I was a kid a guy brought a rare wood boat to have my dad work on. He was one of the few people who knew how to work on the old wooden boats. The boat was a high-speed launch(HSL) used by the RAF to pick up downed pilots in the English Channel during WWII. It was built with twin Merlin V-12's that we're both supercharged and turbocharged. It was very fast for a boat of that size/weight and one of the coolest boats we had come through the marina. We had cigarette boats that were cool but this was history and stupid fast. At just under 50ft it was a good bit smaller than the 64ft Whaleback that was most commonly used at the time. We couldn't find much information at the time about it. It was odd that it used the Merlin engine but it had all the plaques and paperwork for it. The Merlin wasn't widely used in the marine environment at the time. The owners and my dad believed it must have been a prototype of some sort. It was seized in the late 80s from some Columbians that were about to use it for a run. The owners bought it at an auction and couldn't find out much about it then. The funny thing was when they went to bid on it they had been outbid. However, the government refused to sell to the higher bidder because they were Columbians too. 🤣
Another cool bit of info. My best friend's dad was asked to come give the motors a tuneup. He had been the mechanic on the original Miss Budweiser(late 70's- early 80's). It was using a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine at the time. My friend's dad was considered to be one of the best mechanics when it came to Rolls-Royce engines in boats. If you have never seen or heard one in person, then you are missing out! When fully equipped they are the size of a small car and as heavy as a half dozen Ford Fiestas. 😄
The Merlins and Allisons have also been used extensively in tractor pulling. Allisons more in the US and the Merlin/Griffin in Europe. Both can be a sight to behold when two or THREE are stacked onto an 8,000 pound homemade chassis and hooked to a 60,000 pound sled.
@@jonathanstancil8544 That is a sight to see! They always seemed to have the tractor pull on the coldest night of the year when I was a kid. It didn't matter. My grandfather would get all of us kids together to go watch. They always had the tractor pulls and mud dragsters on the same night. I was just thinking about taking my kids the next time. It was canceled last time but I hope it won't be this time.
@@zoiders BULL$HIT they do !!!! ALL Mustangs use the Merlin engine, the Griffon was only installed in a couple of racers, and only 1700 Griffon $hitfires were ever built as only 8,000 Griffon engines were ever built !!! Stop with the lies and BS and get the truth !!!!
One of the greatest piston engines ever. Yay getting closer to the video I want to see you make. Please do one on the P-51. Love what you do , much love from WV USA 🐈🐾
@@GeoffTV2 P51 Spitfire Merlin Variants Service Ceiling 40900ft 43000 to 45700ft Climb 3475 f/m 4800 to 5500 f/m Roll Rate 94 Deg/sec 78d/s@ 400mph 105 to 150 d/s 220 Mph Turn Radius 883 ft 700 ft Range 1300 miles w drop Tanks 1150 miles with 90 Gal Belly tank Speed 437 mph @ 25000ft 424mph 29500ft MkVII Armament 6 x50 cal/ 2 x20mm and 2 x50 cal So where do you get awesome about a plane that was beaten comprehensively by your own Spitfire ?
And the Beaufighter was built using Sleeve valve.. radial engines quieter ...hence its japanese nick name whispering death the big Short Sunderland flyingboat also used radials .... but no mention of the fastest most versatile aircraft of the war ...the wooden wonder... and chief pathfinder the Mozzi. And the beginning of the Merlin line like the spitfire itself was in the Supermarine Schneider trophy float planes and the ultimate development was the actually the Gryphon, bigger capacity and brutally more powerful..requiring contra rotating props.
@@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 Contra-rotating props were trialled in some Griffon-powered Spitfire models - XIV and 21 - but not used operationally. Five-blade propellors were sufficient. The Mark 47 Seafire, however, used contra-rotating propellors: th-cam.com/video/_YioXYhbVPA/w-d-xo.html
When the P-51 first came out it was generally considered a mediocre aircraft. It wasn't until the Merlin engine was installed in it that it came out as one of the finest piston-engined aircraft of WW2. Eventually the USA did produce Packard designs that were the equal of the Merlin but it took until almost the end of the war to happen. The USA did produce the best radial engines of the war though, eventually surpassing 3000 HP with the P&W compound radials.
I think that the P-51's original Allison engine (another V12 with a supercharger) was actually a bit better than the Merlin *at low altitude*. Thing is, low altitude performance was never going to be relevant. The marriage of North American's design (especially that wing) and the Merlin was brilliant. Packard license built Merlins, but you suggesting that they also developed their own engine design. That sounds interesting! I guess it got swamped by the emergence of jet engines...
@@abarratt8869 You are correct but the aircraft was originally designed as an interceptor fighter so high altitude performance was a requirement and it failed to meet that requirement, even with the laminar flow wing design (which was supposed to help at altitude the best). When we sold some to the British they actually had the idea of adding the Merlin to it and that as they said 'made history'. Allison and Packard both built the Merlin under license but both had developed engines of similar output nearer to war's end but as you stated, the jet age overtook any further military interest in them. I believe it was Packard that was developing a V16 that would have been even more powerful but it was cancelled at the end of the war.
I came across this just the other day, he explains it pretty well, it's less about the actual engine than it is the use of dual staged turbos and/or superchargers and logistics. th-cam.com/video/oJPGFcXRZZI/w-d-xo.html
@@kl0wnkiller912 I think you might be thinking of the Chrysler XIV-2220, an inverted V-16 intended to produce over 2500hp. Aluminum block and hemispherical heads, it was so long that they decided to use a driveshaft in the V of the block, taking power off the center of the crankshaft to reduce crank flex. Packard did work on trying to build an X-pattern engine before the war, the 1A-2775, basically 2 V-12s Siamesed at the crankcase, but it wasn't successful. By far, Packard's most successful aircraft engine was the V-1650, which was the Merlin, with some modifications to improve mass-production (the original RR version was more of an artisanal affair, the makers more like craftsmen than factory workers).
@@chrisvandyk6807 Yes, the basic Allison V-1710 was considered at least the equal of the Merlin/V-1650, but was always let down by a single-stage, single-speed supercharger. The addition of a turbocharger, as in the P-38, really brought out the potential of the Allison, but at the cost of a lot of excess weight and complexity.
Back in the day, boat builders used Merlin Engines in Hydroplanes for racing. I can still hear the classic sound of low RPM's and lots of pistons. There were surplus engines after the War, so smart boat builders switched to Merlin's. They dominated in Unlimited Hydroplane class for years. It wasn't until there were lots of surplus turbine engines from helicopters after Vietnam that Gas Turbine Engines would dominate.
Gas turbines killed unlimited hydroplane racing. No thunder. Just woosh. Allison V1710's were used about equally in unlimiteds, and the Griffon was used in the rear-engine configuration of Miss Budweiser before they designed the turbine boat.
When I work at a Boeing plant building the apache. The nearby airfield had a wwii aircraft museum. And the p-51 with it merlin had a unique sound that set it apart and was only eclipsed by the b-17 four engines.
I lived for a few short months in the old RAF Married quarters opposite Duxford. Spitfires doing test flights in the evenings, Merlins backfiring on the circuit to land with such a gorgeous crackle. Then stepping out into the garden one Sunday as their B-17 sideslipped low over the house sounding like the biggest bee you've ever seen.
An interesting video. You should consider doing one on the other "war winning" aircraft engine. The Pratt and Whitney R-2800 radial powered multiple aircraft types and saw similar developmental improvements throughout the war.
Another thing going on with the supercharger development was fuel improvements, mostly by US oil companies. Octane ratings for AvGas went from 87 to 115/150.
This guy says he hopes we find this video interesting. What we found is someone who doesn’t know or care about the crap he is spewing. He is reading from an erroneous script and churning out internet garbage to make money! So sick of this and videos of people gushing over the sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines in the P-51s. No Rolls Royce engines were used in the North American P-51 Mustang. None! The first models were powered by Allison engines - and final models (including the P-51 D) were built with Packard engines - license built versions of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine - but manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company! In fact… in the final three years of WWII Packard Merlin engines were used in the manufacture of Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster fighters and bombers. Also… the Rolls Royce Merlin was not a “ twelve cylinder monster” as this idiot presenter gleefully exclaims. It was a smaller engine with a 27 liter displacement and used an old fashioned gravity type carburetor - whereas the German Daimler Benz DB-601 and 605 engines used in the Messerschmitt bf-109 had a huge 37.5 liters displacement and were fuel injected. If the people who produce this puerile content wanted to truly produce remarkable and informative videos - they could start by revealing how the smaller Rolls Royce and Packard Merlin’s were boosted to incredible power levels to compete and surpass superior German engines. *** (Hint… the Allies produced their own 130 octane aviation gasoline, while the Germans were forced to lower boost and detune their engines because they were supplied with 87 octane fuel from a refinery in Romania).
I was riding my bicycle on a undeveloped barrier island in Florida. I took a break, parked the bike, and was walking toward the shoreline when I heard a most wonderful sound. It was approaching rapidly. I sprinted toward the shoreline. I got there as a P-51 flew by about 50 ft off the water, well in excess of 300mph. Wow... I will never forget that moment, or that sound.
I admire your accurate description of how everything combined won the war. It was not just the M-1 Garand, the M4 Sherman or any one aircraft. It was the allies fighting the axis. A war of good against evil. And yes, when the British realized they could squeeze a Merlin into the P-51, the Mustang finally became a thoroughbred.
Yeah but without those M1's, M4's, P-51's, and Liberty ships the world would be TOTALLY different. An had both France an the Brits not fell asleep at the wheel countless lives could have been saved. But, Chamberlain made sure we had "Peace in our time" but hindsight is 20/20 an I'm being rude.
@@nicholascorbett1256 Lol for sure. I don't think he was downplaying the garand (*ping!*) or any of those other engineering marvels though. But you are correct regardless. Sucks how many lives were lost needlessly, stupidly, or because someone was backed into a corner
dwightminnich BULL$HIT !!!! The Brits only converted 4 Mk I Mustangs to merlin power as test mules, actually hashed them up and they NEVER saw combat. It was North American that engineered and installed all the PACKARD built in America merlins in ALL the production merlin Mustangs !!! Facts of history less the lies, hype and BS !!!
@@nicholascorbett1256 The Brits set up the armastice in WW I and could not enforce the terms and Hitler thumbed his nose at the Brits and French, who were helpless to stop him !!!
If I recall correctly, he actually said that when it was P-38s and P-47s over Berlin, not P-51s. It took some work to add enough inter all fuel to the P-51 so that (with drop tanks) it could get to Berlin and back - but those extended range P-51s were not the first Mustangs in theater, and until they arrived, the Jugs and Lightnings had better range. The exact quote (according to General Spaatz of the USAAF, who *personally* asked Göring about when he knew the war was lost) was, "When I saw your bombers over Berlin protected by your *long-range fighters* , I knew then that the Luftwaffe would be unable to stop your bombers. Our weapons plants would be destroyed; our defeat was inevitable." This is often *misquoted* in the shorter, pithier (and far more colloquially American), pro-Mustang version. Note that the first mission (3 Mar 1944) where American bombers were escorted over Berlin by fighters, and it was the *P-38s* that escorted the bombers all the way to Berlin and back.
@@geodkyt first the 38 and 47 couldn't make it that far. Regardless when the Merlin was put in the p51 c and d was when Hermann new the war was over. But General LeMay finally turned them loose. But the Red Trials made there make because of them.
Merlins absolutely are the best, but I have to admit, the old British standard hardware makes them a pain to work on. we have the in the newly rebuilt prototype XP-82 twin mustang!
There is another engine that helped win the war and perhaps had the greatest impact of any machinery. The Soviet Model V-2 engine that powered so many of their armoured vehicles. It was in their one hundred and sixty thousand or more T-34 tanks etc. Considering that the Soviets destroyed about 85-90% of Germany's armies, the V-2 probably can make the claim of winning the war -- if such a claim can be made. Growing up in England during the 1970-80s, I have seen "the Merlin won the war" claim made a lot. I never questioned it until I got to university. I do not agree now. I think it is national bias to make that claim, which is a common result of war stories focusing on your own country's efforts. The Merlin made a very significant contribution. The Curious Droid channel recently made that claim too, i.e., the English slap head bloke who wears shirts that look like pizza disasters. He tends to get a little misty eyed when talking about England. Lend Lease contributed to around 10% of Soviet war material. They produced almost everything else themselves. The most useful lend lease item appears to be varieties of 6x6 trucks, which the Soviets needed for logistics, i.e., maintaining supply lines to all those V-2 powered tanks and several million troops. I see the Americans claiming that nuking two primarily civilian cities in Japan won the war. I am not so sure. I read that Japan had already been trying to surrender multiple times before the nukes, so the costly invasion of Japan may not have been required. Therefore the claim that they had to use the nukes to prevent having to undertake that invasion seems bogus. What's more, the Soviets entered the war against Japan at this time in 1945, launching the 1.6 million strong Manchurian Operation against Japan, which was also a factor in the eventual surrender. They quickly defeated Japan's largest remaining army group and were pouring into the northern Japanese islands, Korea and China etc. The nukes were dropped, Japan surrendered, and the Soviet advance stopped (US forces quickly deployed after the surrender to cut off the Soviets in Korea etc).
nononono soviets bad british good! i can't agree more, merlin is such an overhyped engine. the mustang engine, the allison v1710 actually out performs the merlin handedly when in similar applications, i.e. dual stage superchargers.
Sources for "the Soviets destroyed about 85-90% of Germany's armies" and "two primarily civilian cities" ? You are correct about Japan trying to arrange surrender talks, however Japan asked the USSR to arrange them as they were unaware Stalin had agreed to declare war on Japan within 90 days after Germany surrendered. USSR declared war on Japan 89 days and 23 hours after Germany surrendered. If you read the Jewel Voice Broadcast you will find the bombs are cited as one of the reasons for surrender. However since the Emperor did not use the word "surrender" the USSR did not stop offensive operations until after all of the territory lost to Japan in the 1904-1905 war had been retaken. see Kuril Islands dispute
Simon, you ought to have mentioned the Schneider Trophy Races, where the RR engine and the airframe of R.J.Mitchell (Supermarine) wed to beat everyone. It was almost a Spitfire prototype.
@@massmike11 The Supermarine racing seaplanes had virtually nothing in common with the Spitfire - except that they were metal monoplanes. The engine used in the S6B (which eventually won the Schneider Trophy in 1931) was the Rolls Royce "R" (for "Racing") which was later developed into the Griffon. The Merlin had few connections to the R.
Performance had more to do with design than the RR engine. The P51 had the same engine as the Spitfire and was almost 100mph faster. the P47 was significantly faster than the twin Merlin engined Mosquito with only a single Pratt&Whitney engine. The F4U Corsair was also much faster than it's British counterparts with a single radial engine. The P38 lightning did not use RR engines either.
An excellent read about the Lancs during WWII is "Lancaster Target" by Jack Currie. He goes to great lengths about harmonizing the Merlins and how reassuring their purring sound was to him and his crew.
The P-51 was powered by the license-built Packard Merlin, which was a better engine than the Rolls Royce Merlin. Packard was better than Rolls Royce at engine mass production, so the Packards were more reliable. They were also less expensive to produce.
I wonder how it would feel going to work at Rolls Royce and there's suddenly more guard posts and AAA Cannon positions nearby. Talk about job security.
I never realized the Lancaster used Merlins... and I've been on an airstrip when a Lancaster came screaming by below treetop level, not 50 meters away. (Private airstrip holding an airshow, after the guests had gone home, so no FAA violations. But cool as Hell.)
@@RayleighCriterion The vast bulk of Lancasters used Merlins although a couple of hundred were fitted with Bristol Hercules air cooled radials (the Lancaster MkII).
@@EricIrl Also fun fact that about 1/2 of ALL Lancasters used the Packard, built in AMERICA merlins, 3,040 Mk BIII's built in England and 400 Canadian built Mk X of the 7700 built, and ALL were the Merlin 20 series SINGLE STAGE supercharged version, why a loaded Lancaster was lucky to get to 22,000 ft !!! B17 and B24's went 10,000 ft higher loaded!!! They were 2 stage with the turbo being the second stage !!
It would have been useful to mention the contribution Packard made to detailed redesign on the engine to improve manufactuability. Also the carburettor, engine cut out, victory roll vs fuel injection by the axis powers.
@jacktattis You have completely misunderstood me. I was not denegrating Rolss Royce, who improved the performance of the engine enormously when it qas most needed. I am talking about changes which made it easier to manufacture. That is well documented.
Thank you for the production numbers- somehow I had got the idea Packard had finished up building better than half- the Mustang was a huge user, but many were installed on Canadian built Spitfires and other license built British air frames. Not given much coverage was Packard's through going re engineering to gain a more readily producible and maintenance friendly finished product, much of which was taken back to Crewe and incorporated in the home built RR versions. BTW, the Packard contract contained a royalty agreement which Packard readily signed of on- Allison's engineers for the V 12 they were building had the opportunity to gain access to the new two speed, two stage SC but felt the idea of royalties was outrageous. Post war experiments with Allison V12's being built for unlimited hydroplane racing showed much the same improvement in sea level hp as the Merlin gained. Most of the military surplus converted to air racers were Merlin powered and also never flew above 1500 feet, so no final info, but many strong hints. Also not mentioned was RR practice of pass/fail testing both parts and finished assemblies; the successes went on to be installed on many aircraft, while the operational failures were down rated and made engines for British tanks and motor torpedo boats- a practice Packard followed- many "not aircraft quality engines" becoming powerplants for US torpedo boats. Simon- in your list of successful aircraft using the Merlin, you didn't mention Britain's "second darling" the De Havilland Mosquito- I'm wondering why. Without a doubt the most successful medium bomber/scout plane/night fighter of the European Theater if not the war. FR
There are 2 Lancasters in flying condition in the world. One is in Canada, where it was built, and is fitted with Packard Merlins. Correction: Spitfires were never built in Canada, but about 1400-1500 Hurricanes were.
@@CaptHollister TY- I am very "armchair" on much of this and "popular publications" play to big a place in my info stream about warbirds and their stories. Again, TY! FR
@@nickdanger3802 The M2500 and other Packard engines of the time were "kin" to the Liberty" aircraft engines of WW1- but were much re engineered to fulfill the marine roll based on the joint product of RR and Packard. Several of the same engineers are signed on to both projects- their names can still be seen on photos of factory drawings. BTW, neither the Liberty based nor the RR Merlin were any kin to the flat head Packard V12. FR
@@fredericrike5974 The PACKARD M2500 was being delivered to the US Navy and to the Brits long before RR came to Packard to build the Merlin. The PACKARD M2500 PT Boat engine has NOTHING to do with the RR Merlin, and RR engineers had NOTHING to do with its design or production. Packard built 55.525 Merlinsand 14,000 M2500 during the war !!! Facts of history less the hype, lies and BS you spout !!!
“The mechanical hardware that’s far less sexy than guns” …. Psssh! Here is an engine more powerful than some professional devoted racers today, built 80 years ago with restrictions of material, tools, computers, and knowledge…. Oh, and then it is mass produced during a war. That is sexy! Hearing the design and development details to achieve such a feat…. That can “turn one’s crank” and get one “revved up”
The amount of power produced by the Merlin is largely a product of its size, but its power output relative to its size is absolutely nothing special by today's standards.
Great as always. You could have touched upon Miss Shilling's Orifice too, as well as the Mosquito as had already been mentioned. That was a hugely significant aircraft, worthy of its own film 😊
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I think you're applying a confused timeline or revisionist history here: The earlier Mks of Spitfire were already deployed long before Packard starting building the Merlin under licence. What was needed was a cost effective retrofit solution and that which Mrs Shilling invented fitted that bill completely. I believe the pressurised carbs came later.
This engine is one of the reason we are speaking English today instead of German and I'm so grateful for the forgotten worker bee's who built these monsters. I had to pay respect as you always hear about the hero's, But hardy about the worker who kept production going as London was getting the crap bombed out of it.
I'm just here to prove that I watch other TH-cam videos on the subject and draw attention to myself. I'm surprise that think that's some new thing. Aircraft engines were used widely in tanks world wide.
"The Merlin XX incorporated a number of revisions based on early operational experience and the availability of 100 octane fuel from America." "It had been intended to utilise the evaporative cooling system but was replaced by the more reliable ethylene glycol liquid cooling system developed in the United States." "During the Battle of Britain it was discovered that the Merlin engine would cut out when pursing Me109s in a high speed bunt dive due to fuel starvation in the float controlled carburettor. Initial solutions involved inverting the aircraft into the dive and also the fitting a restrictor in the fuel supply line and a diaphragm known as Miss Shilling’s orifice, named after the female inventor (Beatrice Shilling) based at Farnborough at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. More permanent solutions involved moving the fuel outlet from the bottom of the carburettor to half way up and the use of fuel injection using a Stromberg (USA) pressure carburettor and finally an SU injection carburettor." The Spitfire Society Merlin page
100 octane "thanks both to pre-war agreement and wartime sales arrangements, American suppliers delivered sufficient quantities of performance-enhancing 100 octane fuel to England in time for use by Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain." page 84 The Burning Blue Addison and Crang Faber and Faber Ltd London WCIB 3DA The Mediterranean was closed to transit from June 1940 to mid 1943. The Suez Canal reduces the distance traveled from Britain to the Middle East by 5,500 miles. New York City to Glascow by air 3,219.95 mi (5,182.01 km) see Houdry Process American Chemical Society
Was the Hawker Hurricane the last wooden fighter plane used in combat? Quite fascinating from a mfg and logistics standpoint, the Hawker Hurricane subassemby manufacturing was apparently decentralized throughout 00s of wood craftsman workshops and didn't need much infrastructure for final assembly. Having a mfg & raw materials supply chain that was nearly impossible to bomb out of existence like a mfg plant was probably a bigger asset than the performance difference, what good is the most superior plane if you cant build anymore, or quickly repair the ones you have.
I have the pleasure of getting to hear 4 of these roar overhead most weekends during the summer, I live not to far from one of only 2 Lancasters left flying in the world.
And if you make a Merlin without a super charger you get a Meteor, which was used in the Centurion tank. The last one of which was decommissioned by the British Army after serving in Desert storm, sometime in the early '90's, so in one form or another the Merlin /Meteor served the UK for over half a century!
I think the internals of the Meteor were of a lower standard as well. It didn't need the high performance material that the Merlin needed, so they saved money. But yes, the Meteor was the N/A tank variant and still an awesome engine
Erm, wasn't the Merlin derived from the K engine that Supermarine used in its world beating float planes. That's a rather important bit that you missed. The Schneider Trophy.
A very good video, thanks. I was pleased to see that you talked about Stanley Hooker's work on the supercharger but you didn't mention Miss Shilling's orifice in the SU carburettor which prevented engine cut-out during negative G manoeuvres (during a dog fight).
I keep mentioning this, it's such a shame that she is so over looked. I was talking to a member of staff in the spitfire exhibit at the potteries museum, mentioned Beatrice Shilling and didnt get a response.
The most numerous Halifax variant was the much improved B Mk III of which 2,091 were built. First appearing in 1943, the Mk III featured the Perspex nose and modified tail of the Mk II Series IA but replaced the Merlin with the more powerful 1,650 hp (1,230 kW) Bristol Hercules XVI radial engine. wiki
For some reason, this episode really grabbed me. Most of your program content is really good. But some thing made this one outstanding! Keep it up and thanks.
I was hoping you would have touched on the Merlin's post-war legacy with the engine being repurposed for motorsports and marine applications. th-cam.com/video/MPRQ6zTpevI/w-d-xo.html
Jay Leno has three Merlin engines. Two are mounted in cars and one is a demonstrator mounted on a frame that has a propeller. They're on TH-cam and quite spectacular to watch in action. Incredible engines! Here is the link for the demonstrator th-cam.com/video/GYcKdK7hmEo/w-d-xo.html
A few years ago I heard this noise growing in the distance. It was immense. Then in the sky above our house a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane swept past. Wow.
The licensing to Packard was a huge step - their major contribution was the "standardization" of all the parts used - as a problem RR never quite ironed out early on was replicating the tight tolerances in mass production. In addition to the aviation usage covered, and the tank engine application others mentioned, a whole lot of Packard produced Merlins also saw service in PT Boats with the US Navy in the Pacific. They were truly ubiquitous for the entire Allied War effort. Air, Land, and at Sea. Or as Rolls Royce would put it - "Adequate"
RR standardised on all parts from all their engine plants. All, but the odd minor few, were interchangeable. The US licence holder to build the RR Merlin, Packard, changed the threads to US standard, that is all. That is why all Packard produced engines were issued with a socket set, so British and Canadians could work on them. British engine builders were far more skilled than the line workers at Packard. They could mix and match to get the best fit. Also, many regarded tolerances being too tight, a liability in assembly. RR never mass produced engines, until the Merlin.
The US Navy used Napier Deltic engines in some PT boats. The WW2 US PT boats used the old inefficient Packard V-12 engines. Rolls-Royce has been selected to provide the engine for the B-52. The decision means the Rolls-Royce F-130 engine will power the B-52 for the next 30 years. The US Air Force made the announcement after a vigorous multi-year competition. The USAF will purchase 650 engines - 608 direct replacements, 42 spare engines - for its fleet of 76 B-52s, in a $2.6 billion deal.
This is for PistonAvatarguy and other Merlinphobes Tolerances- HAYNES Owners Workshop Manual R/R Merlin 1933- 50 Pages 28/ 29 Installation Rolls Royce I Aero Engine Drawing D.7115 73 measurements all measured to the thousandth of an inch. SO ENOUGH OF THE GARBAGE THAT MERLINS WERE SLOPPY.
Merlin-powered Hurricanes and Spitfires can repel the Luftwaffe at their home turf, but the Merlin-powered Mustang can absolutely destroy the Luftwaffe flying as bomber escorts or hunting down large German aircraft formations.
Packard v-1650 Merlin were better than the Rolls-Royce Merlin. Because of Packard standardization & higher tolerances. The Packard ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN were more reliable
Interesting..... Ford building Merlin's in the UK while building engines (and many vehicles) simultaunsly in Germany...... and in the USA. Now there's some more home work for you Simon
I was at an air show back in the 70's when a Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito and Hurricane flew together in formation. All those Merlins, it was just wonderful.
Wright R-3350 Turbo-compound. Both super charged with exhaust driven turbos. Power for Lockeed' PV2, Constellaion, Douglas DC7, and others, 3,000 hp Plus in some models
Merlin engines only powered a small minority of the most famous fighters of WWII.. As in it powered none of the German and Japanese and Russian famous fighters, and a minority of U.S. famous fighters. It did power all the mot famous "British" fighters. That is unless you believe the Japanese Zero etc, the German Bf109, or Focke Wulf 190 and it certainly didn't power the F4u Corsair, the P47, P38 lightning etc.
Sorry, but your a bit bias I think. Some of the most successful, and famous, US aircraft didn’t use the RRM. And it is a pretty damn impressive list. The P-38 Lightning, the F-4U-4 Corsair, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the F6F Hellcat. So no, the RRM most definitely did not “power” them all. Your title should include the word “some”
Just a small query - at the start, it was mentioned the Pratt & Whitney R1830 was the most produced aircraft engine of WW2. Which was the R2800 Double Wasp? I thought it was this engine which powered the most airplanes at the time and hence that would have been the most produced aircraft engine? Are the two different engines R1830 and R2800?
The Eagle was also used on the Handley-Page O/400 which was earlier than the Vimy. The V-1650 designation is a reference to it's cubic capacity of 1650 cu in
Very interesting, as usual! However, the use of mis-matched photographs of the aircraft being talked about are too numerous to mention, and does detract from the general presentation.
The best known and most numerous fighter in Europe was the ME109, The fastest piston enginer fighter was the Do335, the fastest fighter of the war was the Me262. The most powerful bomber was the B29. The most famous carrier borne fighter was the Mitsubishi Zero, followed by the Wildcat, Hellcat (most effective) and Corsair. The most successful carrier strike aircraft was the Swordfish. To put the statement into perspective, The best known fighter in England and Hollywood is the Spitfire even though the Hurricane was the fighter that saved Britian. If a vote were to be cast, there are probably more Europeans who would consider the ME109 No1 than British who would split their votes between Hurricanses and Spitfires. I suspect that Americans would cast their votes between the P38, P47, and P51.
Lord Beaverbrook "The best production I ever saw was a job with which the Ministry had nothing to do, nothing at all. It was the production of the Rolls-Royce engines in the United States. It was done by the Pack hard Company. There was not a single representative of the Ministry there to supervise and only four representatives of the Rolls-Royce firm. The job was most 809 wonderfully done. In no time at all, production had been got under way. The output from that firm is remarkable. The Pack hard Rolls-Royce engine is an example to the whole world. There was a very good American aeroplane called the Mustang. The engine of the Mustang was giving good service, but some genius had the idea of putting Rolls-Royce engines into the Mustangs, and the result is a very good aeroplane, one of the best in the world-some people will say the very best. That was the result of this project in America over which the Ministry had no supervision, although the contract was made here by the Minister." Hansard FLEET AIR ARM. HL Deb 27 January 1943
Okay the Merlin never won the war. Just remove it from history Slower Hurricane, Slower Spitfire, lower bomb load and slower bombers, oh and the Mosquito would of been a failure as the German fighters could easily catch them. And of cause the P-51 would not of been, because the Battle of Britain would of been lost, UK invaded the Empire would of been claimed by German (except for Canada perhaps). The topic of this video of course would of course been about the magnificent DB-605 and would of perhaps mocked the British aircraft with there obsolete Rolls Royce Kestrel engines. Oh and this comment would be in German.
All credit to the Merlin engine, but it was the significantly larger and more powerful Rolls Royce Griffon engine (a kind of half-brother of the Merlin engine if you will) that ensured that Royal Air Force had the upper hand over the German fighter aircrafts in the years after The Battle of Britain in 1940. Like the Merlin, the Griffon had 12 cylinders, but the engine volume was almost 37 liters instead of just 27 liters (however, the physical size of the engines was about the same). There were other differences as well, such as gearing and oil cooling. At its best during the war, the Griffon engine delivered 2245 horsepower in the Supermarine Spitfire which had a top speed of 448 Mph or 720 Kph. Supermarine Spiteful, which was a planned successor to the Spitfire from 1944, would have had a Griffon engine that produced a full 2420 horsepower. However, this model became irrelevant when the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang came on the scene.
Not one single mention, photo or piece of video of a de Havilland Mosquito. How can anyone talk about the Merlin and not mention the Mossie? The most awesome plane of WW2. Faster than a spitfire, accurate, insanely versatile, and just stunningly beautiful. I'm disappointed, and it's my birthday. My first thumbs down for a Mega Projects video. Grumpy now. :-(
Some of your citations and pictures were of planes with air-cooled radial engines, not liquid-cooled Merlins. Perhaps you were talking about one-off test vehicles, like the XB-38. That was a B-17 they re-engined with inline, liquid-cooled Allisons to see if there would be sufficient change in performance to justify altering the design.
Wonder if those ladies who loved RAF pilots considered their man’s Hawks, Mozzies and Spits to be “The other woman,” like the American women did about their men and the “Mustang.” All hail the Merlin!
You missed the point that the Merlin was no monster in comparison to other engines during the war. At 27- litres, it was positively small in comparison with DB engines and other UK, German and US power plants. The high power to weight ratio gave many aircraft, using the engine, good handling. But towwards the end of the war RR conceded that a larger engine was needed and hence the Griffon at 37- litres which was still relatively small.
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If only the Russians shared their petal vortex throttle system
You could have included the fact that the Rolls Royce Meteor engine, used in most British tanks in world war two and in the post war years, was a RR Merlin adapted for ground use.
I came to say the same thing, not just the aircraft.
Maybe a side not of Charlie from PPC magazine fitting one to a rover SD1 lol
Wasn't there also a marine version of the merlin!!!
@@lxtechmangood9503 Yes, used by their Search and Rescue.
@@vumba1331 that's what I thought/ remembered/ wondered thanks 😊
I recall that this fact was mentioned in an earlier episode.
The Merlin was detuned by removing the supercharging. The engine was then made under licence by Rover, named the Meteor, with it being used in tanks like the Cromwell, Comet and Centurion. It was the best tank engine of WW2. The engine had to be detuned as the Cromwell went too fast reaching over 50mph. One jumped a canal in Holland.
Came to the comments to make this exact point. The Meteor was undoubtedly just as amazing as the Merlin, but far less well known since its most famous application was a largely post-war tank.
@@firewall2302
It was made until the 1960s
Many of the Metor engines were Merlin engine with no supercharger. The reduced power meant that these tanks did not need radiators to control the engine temperature that would have been much bigger.
@@walkergarya
That is what basically I wrote.
Didn't they take a good look at that canal jumping tank later and find out that it was a lightweight mild steel prototype that should never have been issued for service? Suspicions were raised after small arms fire made little pits instead of bouncing off...
Great video other than at 0.54 seconds in the labelled ‘spitfire’ flying in from the right is in fact a hurricane! Doh…!
How could you also not feature the best part of a RR Merlin …. The sounds of it!!!
Don't forget that Merlins powered PT boats (3 per boat!).
No, they did not.
I really don't mind hte sponsored product placement ad annoucements. I appreaciate you all making your money.
And two Merlins powered the versatile de Havilland Mosquito - hated by the Luftwaffe as it was so successful.
Hate or jealous Hermann goering actually said he was green with envy and jealousy that every piano make it was knocking it out he actually use those words
Mosquito was made of wood great aircraft.
The wooden wonder 🥰
Lightweight wood plane with 4000 combined hp, my grandfather was a RAF flight LT, said they could simply outrun the germans
@@macthemec only the very last mozzy had that much hourse power early ones had 1700 odd but yes if the saw a German they just opened up the throttle
Would have loved to hear about their testing process. They would run the Merlin flat out until it broke, then open it up and inspect what broke. They they would make an improvement to make it stronger and run the test all over again.
That's almost a direct quote of Henry Royce's design philosophy: "Test it until it breaks, and then fix what broke."
The proper way to produce long lasting things. Something they all need to relearn across the board...... Fridges to vehicles and beyond.
@@dillonpierce7869 - Henry Royce was an insanely brilliant engineer who would be right at home in today's quality-driven manufacturing environment. He designed a test fixture for his cars that mounted a rolling chassis (which is what RR made, the bodies were added later by custom coach builders) at the wheels and then pulsed each corner independently with randomized cams. This would force every resonance of every component to reveal itself by breaking something. Royce expected his chassis' to survive a day or more of this punishment. He would sometimes mount a competitor's car to the rig to compare, and they generally didn't last an hour. Some were shedding pieces after only a few minutes!
@@dillonpierce7869 I have heard that Henry Ford said something along the lines of (paraphrasing perhaps here)
-I could build a car to last forever, but why would I do that? You wouldn’t need to buy another one, and that’s not good for business-
Sadly today items seem to be designed to last 3 years (surprisingly the length of a standard car lease) and then deteriorate rapidly.
I have also been told that here in the UK, Swinton near Manchester to be precise, a bunch of eggheads built a 12v car battery that would never decay/degrade in its ability to be recharged and hold that charge (obviously alluding to the fact that most car batteries lose the ability to hold charge after a few years, maybe up to 10 if you’re lucky and it is used often). The old boy that told me about it has since passed but he said they had it in a glass case in the factory but never produced it commercially, most likely using the same business practise as Ford.
@@Morris2182 well everything will break eventually regardless how it was made but say from the time steel frames came out instead of wood they lasted ( 30's-90's before major crumple zones into play ruining cars in one crash now ). Like my current 98 ram.... Found a telephone pole in a ditch in the snow in February and knocked out the headlights and ruined the fenders. 🤷🏻♂️😅 Big deal. New truck would've been mangled to oblivion.
Imagine being at pilot and getting behind a Rolls-Royce engine for the first time. That had to be quite a rush.
considering the average age of pilots during the battle of Britain was just 20 years old, some not even old enough to drive a car. i would heartily agree.
That thunder as it cranked over.
27 litres of displacement, near enough two thousand horsepower, enough torque to reverse the rotation of the earth, and no muffling whatsoever on the 12 individual flame belching exhausts.
It would be like letting hell itself loose... and then realizing it was entirely at your command. Yours alone to unleash with the throttle lever.
@@VeraTheTabbynx Sir, I'm a car guy, and you just whispered sweet nothings into my ear 😅
@@StrangeTerrorheh, I too am a car enthusiast. Love crazy engines,no matter their application.
Especially since some people were mad enough to put Merlins in cars.
@@VeraTheTabbynx No bullshit, i have a 92 camaro (third gen f body) I want to put one in.
Nothing like lunch with #factboy. I love when his clone army and basement "employees" upload 18 videos in 3 minutes. All hail our TH-cam overlord.
Next do a video on the Pratt & Whitney R2800 double wasp
Good engine in work horses
And after the war Merlins were tuned to around 3800HP for Air racing, that takes a slick P51 to 540mph
Bloody hell. As a car guy, numbers like that make me swoon
They were also widely used in marine racing after the war. When I was a kid a guy brought a rare wood boat to have my dad work on. He was one of the few people who knew how to work on the old wooden boats. The boat was a high-speed launch(HSL) used by the RAF to pick up downed pilots in the English Channel during WWII. It was built with twin Merlin V-12's that we're both supercharged and turbocharged. It was very fast for a boat of that size/weight and one of the coolest boats we had come through the marina. We had cigarette boats that were cool but this was history and stupid fast. At just under 50ft it was a good bit smaller than the 64ft Whaleback that was most commonly used at the time. We couldn't find much information at the time about it. It was odd that it used the Merlin engine but it had all the plaques and paperwork for it. The Merlin wasn't widely used in the marine environment at the time. The owners and my dad believed it must have been a prototype of some sort. It was seized in the late 80s from some Columbians that were about to use it for a run. The owners bought it at an auction and couldn't find out much about it then. The funny thing was when they went to bid on it they had been outbid. However, the government refused to sell to the higher bidder because they were Columbians too. 🤣
Another cool bit of info. My best friend's dad was asked to come give the motors a tuneup. He had been the mechanic on the original Miss Budweiser(late 70's- early 80's). It was using a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine at the time. My friend's dad was considered to be one of the best mechanics when it came to Rolls-Royce engines in boats. If you have never seen or heard one in person, then you are missing out! When fully equipped they are the size of a small car and as heavy as a half dozen Ford Fiestas. 😄
The Merlins and Allisons have also been used extensively in tractor pulling. Allisons more in the US and the Merlin/Griffin in Europe. Both can be a sight to behold when two or THREE are stacked onto an 8,000 pound homemade chassis and hooked to a 60,000 pound sled.
@@jonathanstancil8544 That is a sight to see! They always seemed to have the tractor pull on the coldest night of the year when I was a kid. It didn't matter. My grandfather would get all of us kids together to go watch. They always had the tractor pulls and mud dragsters on the same night. I was just thinking about taking my kids the next time. It was canceled last time but I hope it won't be this time.
Great engine used by so many legendary planes. I will always admire De Havilland Mosquito, wooden plane with two Merlins protected by speed.
The Mosquito had problems in hot damp climates the glue used to construct the aircraft would cease to work.
I love the sound of Rolls-Royce Merlins in the morning.
Sounds like..sounds like victory.
If you hear an airworthy Spit or Mustang its got a Griffon engine.
@@zoiders and if you hear a plane that actually helped win the war in europe, its in a soviet vehicle.
and/or and allison v1710
Hearing the 4 RR Merlins on the Lancaster overhead here always makes me happy and gave my mom goosebumps.
@@zoiders BULL$HIT they do !!!! ALL Mustangs use the Merlin engine, the Griffon was only installed in a couple of racers, and only 1700 Griffon $hitfires were ever built as only 8,000 Griffon engines were ever built !!! Stop with the lies and BS and get the truth !!!!
@@daslynnter9841 BULL$HIT !!!!! it was an ALLIED effort and Russia had a lot of lend lease help !!!!
One of the greatest piston engines ever. Yay getting closer to the video I want to see you make. Please do one on the P-51. Love what you do , much love from WV USA 🐈🐾
Hell yeah me too! I'm close to D.C. well relatively. What about you?
yea thats what we need a MUSTANG VIDEO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im in Carolina Bois
@@nicholascorbett1256 Mid-Ohio Valley there abouts. Right on 🤘
I'm from the UK and I too would love a video on the Mustang. I mean Spitfires are OK but the P51 is just awesome.
@@GeoffTV2 P51 Spitfire Merlin Variants
Service Ceiling 40900ft 43000 to 45700ft
Climb 3475 f/m 4800 to 5500 f/m
Roll Rate 94 Deg/sec 78d/s@ 400mph 105 to 150 d/s 220 Mph
Turn Radius 883 ft 700 ft
Range 1300 miles w drop Tanks 1150 miles with 90 Gal Belly tank
Speed 437 mph @ 25000ft 424mph 29500ft MkVII
Armament 6 x50 cal/ 2 x20mm and 2 x50 cal
So where do you get awesome about a plane that was beaten comprehensively by your own Spitfire ?
Unfortunately the Spitfire shown at the beginning of this video is actually another Hawker Hurricane - I thought you ought to know....
And the Beaufighter was built using Sleeve valve.. radial engines quieter ...hence its japanese nick name whispering death the big Short Sunderland flyingboat also used radials .... but no mention of the fastest most versatile aircraft of the war ...the wooden wonder... and chief pathfinder the Mozzi.
And the beginning of the Merlin line like the spitfire itself was in the Supermarine Schneider trophy float planes and the ultimate development was the actually the Gryphon, bigger capacity and brutally more powerful..requiring contra rotating props.
@@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 Contra-rotating props were trialled in some Griffon-powered Spitfire models - XIV and 21 - but not used operationally. Five-blade propellors were sufficient.
The Mark 47 Seafire, however, used contra-rotating propellors:
th-cam.com/video/_YioXYhbVPA/w-d-xo.html
When the P-51 first came out it was generally considered a mediocre aircraft. It wasn't until the Merlin engine was installed in it that it came out as one of the finest piston-engined aircraft of WW2. Eventually the USA did produce Packard designs that were the equal of the Merlin but it took until almost the end of the war to happen. The USA did produce the best radial engines of the war though, eventually surpassing 3000 HP with the P&W compound radials.
I think that the P-51's original Allison engine (another V12 with a supercharger) was actually a bit better than the Merlin *at low altitude*. Thing is, low altitude performance was never going to be relevant. The marriage of North American's design (especially that wing) and the Merlin was brilliant.
Packard license built Merlins, but you suggesting that they also developed their own engine design. That sounds interesting! I guess it got swamped by the emergence of jet engines...
@@abarratt8869 You are correct but the aircraft was originally designed as an interceptor fighter so high altitude performance was a requirement and it failed to meet that requirement, even with the laminar flow wing design (which was supposed to help at altitude the best). When we sold some to the British they actually had the idea of adding the Merlin to it and that as they said 'made history'. Allison and Packard both built the Merlin under license but both had developed engines of similar output nearer to war's end but as you stated, the jet age overtook any further military interest in them. I believe it was Packard that was developing a V16 that would have been even more powerful but it was cancelled at the end of the war.
I came across this just the other day, he explains it pretty well, it's less about the actual engine than it is the use of dual staged turbos and/or superchargers and logistics.
th-cam.com/video/oJPGFcXRZZI/w-d-xo.html
@@kl0wnkiller912
I think you might be thinking of the Chrysler XIV-2220, an inverted V-16 intended to produce over 2500hp. Aluminum block and hemispherical heads, it was so long that they decided to use a driveshaft in the V of the block, taking power off the center of the crankshaft to reduce crank flex.
Packard did work on trying to build an X-pattern engine before the war, the 1A-2775, basically 2 V-12s Siamesed at the crankcase, but it wasn't successful.
By far, Packard's most successful aircraft engine was the V-1650, which was the Merlin, with some modifications to improve mass-production (the original RR version was more of an artisanal affair, the makers more like craftsmen than factory workers).
@@chrisvandyk6807
Yes, the basic Allison V-1710 was considered at least the equal of the Merlin/V-1650, but was always let down by a single-stage, single-speed supercharger. The addition of a turbocharger, as in the P-38, really brought out the potential of the Allison, but at the cost of a lot of excess weight and complexity.
I'm sure the video for the spitfire at the start is a hurricane... my immersion REEeeeeee :p
It was lol!
@@iCrapBubbles it was x 2, film repeated later :-)
first thing I thought
One of many errors in clip selection. Several of the planes shown are fitted with air-cooled radials.
Yep, spotted that too. Immediately. A small hiccup.
Back in the day, boat builders used Merlin Engines in Hydroplanes for racing. I can still hear the classic sound of low RPM's and lots of pistons. There were surplus engines after the War, so smart boat builders switched to Merlin's. They dominated in Unlimited Hydroplane class for years. It wasn't until there were lots of surplus turbine engines from helicopters after Vietnam that Gas Turbine Engines would dominate.
Gas turbines killed unlimited hydroplane racing. No thunder. Just woosh. Allison V1710's were used about equally in unlimiteds, and the Griffon was used in the rear-engine configuration of Miss Budweiser before they designed the turbine boat.
@@andyharman3022 agree 100 percent. Miss the 'Thunder' Boats. I used to live in Seattle and always went to Sea Fair.
When I work at a Boeing plant building the apache. The nearby airfield had a wwii aircraft museum. And the p-51 with it merlin had a unique sound that set it apart and was only eclipsed by the b-17 four engines.
Listen to four Merlins then! Music!
I lived for a few short months in the old RAF Married quarters opposite Duxford. Spitfires doing test flights in the evenings, Merlins backfiring on the circuit to land with such a gorgeous crackle.
Then stepping out into the garden one Sunday as their B-17 sideslipped low over the house sounding like the biggest bee you've ever seen.
The Meteor, used in a number of British tanks, is derived from the Merlin as well. It was used up to about 1960.
An interesting video. You should consider doing one on the other "war winning" aircraft engine. The Pratt and Whitney R-2800 radial powered multiple aircraft types and saw similar developmental improvements throughout the war.
Your P/W 2800 in the west was the work Horse where less efficiency did not matter
Another thing going on with the supercharger development was fuel improvements, mostly by US oil companies. Octane ratings for AvGas went from 87 to 115/150.
At the start yes but Shell Oil and BP were making their own
This guy says he hopes we find this video interesting. What we found is someone who doesn’t know or care about the crap he is spewing. He is reading from an erroneous script and churning out internet garbage to make money! So sick of this and videos of people gushing over the sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines in the P-51s.
No Rolls Royce engines were used in the North American P-51 Mustang. None! The first models were powered by Allison engines - and final models (including the P-51 D) were built with Packard engines - license built versions of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine - but manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company!
In fact… in the final three years of WWII Packard Merlin engines were used in the manufacture of Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster fighters and bombers.
Also… the Rolls Royce Merlin was not a “ twelve cylinder monster” as this idiot presenter gleefully exclaims. It was a smaller engine with a 27 liter displacement and used an old fashioned gravity type carburetor - whereas the German Daimler Benz DB-601 and 605 engines used in the Messerschmitt bf-109 had a huge 37.5 liters displacement and were fuel injected.
If the people who produce this puerile content wanted to truly produce remarkable and informative videos - they could start by revealing how the smaller Rolls Royce and Packard Merlin’s were boosted to incredible power levels to compete and surpass superior German engines.
*** (Hint… the Allies produced their own 130 octane aviation gasoline, while the Germans were forced to lower boost and detune their engines because they were supplied with 87 octane fuel from a refinery in Romania).
I was riding my bicycle on a undeveloped barrier island in Florida. I took a break, parked the bike, and was walking toward the shoreline when I heard a most wonderful sound. It was approaching rapidly.
I sprinted toward the shoreline. I got there as a P-51 flew by about 50 ft off the water, well in excess of 300mph. Wow... I will never forget that moment, or that sound.
I admire your accurate description of how everything combined won the war. It was not just the M-1 Garand, the M4 Sherman or any one aircraft. It was the allies fighting the axis. A war of good against evil. And yes, when the British realized they could squeeze a Merlin into the P-51, the Mustang finally became a thoroughbred.
Yeah but without those M1's, M4's, P-51's, and Liberty ships the world would be TOTALLY different. An had both France an the Brits not fell asleep at the wheel countless lives could have been saved. But, Chamberlain made sure we had "Peace in our time" but hindsight is 20/20 an I'm being rude.
@@nicholascorbett1256 Lol for sure. I don't think he was downplaying the garand (*ping!*) or any of those other engineering marvels though. But you are correct regardless. Sucks how many lives were lost needlessly, stupidly, or because someone was backed into a corner
dwightminnich BULL$HIT !!!! The Brits only converted 4 Mk I Mustangs to merlin power as test mules, actually hashed them up and they NEVER saw combat. It was North American that engineered and installed all the PACKARD built in America merlins in ALL the production merlin Mustangs !!! Facts of history less the lies, hype and BS !!!
@@nicholascorbett1256 The Brits set up the armastice in WW I and could not enforce the terms and Hitler thumbed his nose at the Brits and French, who were helpless to stop him !!!
The Merlin is probably the best (and most iconic) aircraft engine of all time, the sound of it is absolutely magical to me.🇬🇧🇬🇧✌✌
Goering on seeing Mustang's over Berlin. "The war is lost".
Of course he would say this in german
@@SRW_ "Der Krieg ist verloren." Although I suspect there was some cursing involved.
If I recall correctly, he actually said that when it was P-38s and P-47s over Berlin, not P-51s. It took some work to add enough inter all fuel to the P-51 so that (with drop tanks) it could get to Berlin and back - but those extended range P-51s were not the first Mustangs in theater, and until they arrived, the Jugs and Lightnings had better range.
The exact quote (according to General Spaatz of the USAAF, who *personally* asked Göring about when he knew the war was lost) was, "When I saw your bombers over Berlin protected by your *long-range fighters* , I knew then that the Luftwaffe would be unable to stop your bombers. Our weapons plants would be destroyed; our defeat was inevitable." This is often *misquoted* in the shorter, pithier (and far more colloquially American), pro-Mustang version.
Note that the first mission (3 Mar 1944) where American bombers were escorted over Berlin by fighters, and it was the *P-38s* that escorted the bombers all the way to Berlin and back.
@@geodkyt first the 38 and 47 couldn't make it that far. Regardless when the Merlin was put in the p51 c and d was when Hermann new the war was over. But General LeMay finally turned them loose. But the Red Trials made there make because of them.
@@christophergoodman404 There are literally file cabinets full of USAAF mission reports that disagree with your claim.
Merlins absolutely are the best, but I have to admit, the old British standard hardware makes them a pain to work on. we have the in the newly rebuilt prototype XP-82 twin mustang!
There is another engine that helped win the war and perhaps had the greatest impact of any machinery. The Soviet Model V-2 engine that powered so many of their armoured vehicles. It was in their one hundred and sixty thousand or more T-34 tanks etc. Considering that the Soviets destroyed about 85-90% of Germany's armies, the V-2 probably can make the claim of winning the war -- if such a claim can be made.
Growing up in England during the 1970-80s, I have seen "the Merlin won the war" claim made a lot. I never questioned it until I got to university. I do not agree now. I think it is national bias to make that claim, which is a common result of war stories focusing on your own country's efforts. The Merlin made a very significant contribution. The Curious Droid channel recently made that claim too, i.e., the English slap head bloke who wears shirts that look like pizza disasters. He tends to get a little misty eyed when talking about England.
Lend Lease contributed to around 10% of Soviet war material. They produced almost everything else themselves. The most useful lend lease item appears to be varieties of 6x6 trucks, which the Soviets needed for logistics, i.e., maintaining supply lines to all those V-2 powered tanks and several million troops.
I see the Americans claiming that nuking two primarily civilian cities in Japan won the war. I am not so sure. I read that Japan had already been trying to surrender multiple times before the nukes, so the costly invasion of Japan may not have been required. Therefore the claim that they had to use the nukes to prevent having to undertake that invasion seems bogus.
What's more, the Soviets entered the war against Japan at this time in 1945, launching the 1.6 million strong Manchurian Operation against Japan, which was also a factor in the eventual surrender. They quickly defeated Japan's largest remaining army group and were pouring into the northern Japanese islands, Korea and China etc. The nukes were dropped, Japan surrendered, and the Soviet advance stopped (US forces quickly deployed after the surrender to cut off the Soviets in Korea etc).
In my opinion thre most important part of land lease was the high octane fuel the Russians needed to make use of their aircrafts.
nononono soviets bad british good!
i can't agree more, merlin is such an overhyped engine. the mustang engine, the allison v1710 actually out performs the merlin handedly when in similar applications, i.e. dual stage superchargers.
Sources for "the Soviets destroyed about 85-90% of Germany's armies" and "two primarily civilian cities" ?
You are correct about Japan trying to arrange surrender talks, however Japan asked the USSR to arrange them as they were unaware Stalin had agreed to declare war on Japan within 90 days after Germany surrendered. USSR declared war on Japan 89 days and 23 hours after Germany surrendered.
If you read the Jewel Voice Broadcast you will find the bombs are cited as one of the reasons for surrender. However since the Emperor did not use the word "surrender" the USSR did not stop offensive operations until after all of the territory lost to Japan in the 1904-1905 war had been retaken. see Kuril Islands dispute
Simon, you ought to have mentioned the Schneider Trophy Races, where the RR engine and the airframe of R.J.Mitchell (Supermarine) wed to beat everyone. It was almost a Spitfire prototype.
I’m not sure the s-6b used a merlin, could be wrong though
@@massmike11 The Supermarine racing seaplanes had virtually nothing in common with the Spitfire - except that they were metal monoplanes. The engine used in the S6B (which eventually won the Schneider Trophy in 1931) was the Rolls Royce "R" (for "Racing") which was later developed into the Griffon. The Merlin had few connections to the R.
Thats what I thought but I wasn’t sure. Thank you for explaining.
Story Of The Spitfire
th-cam.com/video/oNPvQMNjJIo/w-d-xo.html
Performance had more to do with design than the RR engine. The P51 had the same engine as the Spitfire and was almost 100mph faster. the P47 was significantly faster than the twin Merlin engined Mosquito with only a single Pratt&Whitney engine. The F4U Corsair was also much faster than it's British counterparts with a single radial engine. The P38 lightning did not use RR engines either.
An excellent read about the Lancs during WWII is "Lancaster Target" by Jack Currie. He goes to great lengths about harmonizing the Merlins and how reassuring their purring sound was to him and his crew.
The P-51 was powered by the license-built Packard Merlin, which was a better engine than the Rolls Royce Merlin. Packard was better than Rolls Royce at engine mass production, so the Packards were more reliable. They were also less expensive to produce.
I wonder how it would feel going to work at Rolls Royce and there's suddenly more guard posts and AAA Cannon positions nearby. Talk about job security.
The aircraft you showed as a Spitfire was a Hurricane.
And... why does everyone forget the Mosquito... the best multi role combat aircraft of the war?
I never realized the Lancaster used Merlins... and I've been on an airstrip when a Lancaster came screaming by below treetop level, not 50 meters away. (Private airstrip holding an airshow, after the guests had gone home, so no FAA violations. But cool as Hell.)
An Avro Lancaster flew over my home today, the Merlin sound is easily recognizable.
@@RayleighCriterion The vast bulk of Lancasters used Merlins although a couple of hundred were fitted with Bristol Hercules air cooled radials (the Lancaster MkII).
@@EricIrl Also fun fact that about 1/2 of ALL Lancasters used the Packard, built in AMERICA merlins, 3,040 Mk BIII's built in England and 400 Canadian built Mk X of the 7700 built, and ALL were the Merlin 20 series SINGLE STAGE supercharged version, why a loaded Lancaster was lucky to get to 22,000 ft !!! B17 and B24's went 10,000 ft higher loaded!!! They were 2 stage with the turbo being the second stage !!
Stanley Hooker now there's a Biographics worth doing.
There is one. It's called "Not Much of an Engineer" and it is well worth a read.
It would have been useful to mention the contribution Packard made to detailed redesign on the engine to improve manufactuability. Also the carburettor, engine cut out, victory roll vs fuel injection by the axis powers.
Rubbish Packard made no redesign All improvement were by Rolls Royce with a few minor mods by Packard I have the Mod Numbers if you like
@jacktattis You have completely misunderstood me. I was not denegrating Rolss Royce, who improved the performance of the engine enormously when it qas most needed. I am talking about changes which made it easier to manufacture. That is well documented.
@@richardparkersmith4810 ok let us know what they were.
Whenever I hear: "Rolls Royce Merlin Engine" - I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm a Yank, by the way
The aircraft you featured at 47 seconds is a Lancaster but is not powered by a merlin, but by 4 Bristol hercules engines.
Thank you for the production numbers- somehow I had got the idea Packard had finished up building better than half- the Mustang was a huge user, but many were installed on Canadian built Spitfires and other license built British air frames. Not given much coverage was Packard's through going re engineering to gain a more readily producible and maintenance friendly finished product, much of which was taken back to Crewe and incorporated in the home built RR versions. BTW, the Packard contract contained a royalty agreement which Packard readily signed of on- Allison's engineers for the V 12 they were building had the opportunity to gain access to the new two speed, two stage SC but felt the idea of royalties was outrageous. Post war experiments with Allison V12's being built for unlimited hydroplane racing showed much the same improvement in sea level hp as the Merlin gained. Most of the military surplus converted to air racers were Merlin powered and also never flew above 1500 feet, so no final info, but many strong hints.
Also not mentioned was RR practice of pass/fail testing both parts and finished assemblies; the successes went on to be installed on many aircraft, while the operational failures were down rated and made engines for British tanks and motor torpedo boats- a practice Packard followed- many "not aircraft quality engines" becoming powerplants for US torpedo boats.
Simon- in your list of successful aircraft using the Merlin, you didn't mention Britain's "second darling" the De Havilland Mosquito- I'm wondering why. Without a doubt the most successful medium bomber/scout plane/night fighter of the European Theater if not the war. FR
There are 2 Lancasters in flying condition in the world. One is in Canada, where it was built, and is fitted with Packard Merlins.
Correction: Spitfires were never built in Canada, but about 1400-1500 Hurricanes were.
@@CaptHollister TY- I am very "armchair" on much of this and "popular publications" play to big a place in my info stream about warbirds and their stories. Again, TY! FR
Packard had been building V 12 aircraft engines since WWI. The V 12 used in PT boats had no connection to the RR designed V 12.
@@nickdanger3802 The M2500 and other Packard engines of the time were "kin" to the Liberty" aircraft engines of WW1- but were much re engineered to fulfill the marine roll based on the joint product of RR and Packard. Several of the same engineers are signed on to both projects- their names can still be seen on photos of factory drawings. BTW, neither the Liberty based nor the RR Merlin were any kin to the flat head Packard V12. FR
@@fredericrike5974 The PACKARD M2500 was being delivered to the US Navy and to the Brits long before RR came to Packard to build the Merlin. The PACKARD M2500 PT Boat engine has NOTHING to do with the RR Merlin, and RR engineers had NOTHING to do with its design or production. Packard built 55.525 Merlinsand 14,000 M2500 during the war !!! Facts of history less the hype, lies and BS you spout !!!
Do you know what sounds better than a Merlin engine?
Four Merlin Engines!
“The mechanical hardware that’s far less sexy than guns”
…. Psssh! Here is an engine more powerful than some professional devoted racers today, built 80 years ago with restrictions of material, tools, computers, and knowledge…. Oh, and then it is mass produced during a war.
That is sexy!
Hearing the design and development details to achieve such a feat…. That can “turn one’s crank” and get one “revved up”
The amount of power produced by the Merlin is largely a product of its size, but its power output relative to its size is absolutely nothing special by today's standards.
US Navy used marinized Packard Merlins in PT boats, also...
The indescribable rush of emotion, adrenaline and pride when you see a spitfire in the flesh with it's engine roaring.
A thing of beauty
Great as always. You could have touched upon Miss Shilling's Orifice too, as well as the Mosquito as had already been mentioned. That was a hugely significant aircraft, worthy of its own film 😊
Miss Shilling’s orifice, I think you will find.
@@jerry2357 slip of the thumb; thanks.
wings Miss shilling "orfice' was a non player as PACKARD solve the problem from the start using a Bendix pressure carb !!! Problem REALLY solved !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I think you're applying a confused timeline or revisionist history here: The earlier Mks of Spitfire were already deployed long before Packard starting building the Merlin under licence. What was needed was a cost effective retrofit solution and that which Mrs Shilling invented fitted that bill completely. I believe the pressurised carbs came later.
This engine is one of the reason we are speaking English today instead of German and I'm so grateful for the forgotten worker bee's who built these monsters.
I had to pay respect as you always hear about the hero's, But hardy about the worker who kept production going as London was getting the crap bombed out of it.
I was surprised you didn't mention the version of the Merlin that was adapted very successfully for use in tanks over the course of the war!
I think used in PT boats too.
I'm just here to prove that I watch other TH-cam videos on the subject and draw attention to myself.
I'm surprise that think that's some new thing. Aircraft engines were used widely in tanks world wide.
Please do a video on the colossus, the computer built by the British to crack codes in WW2.
"The Merlin XX incorporated a number of revisions based on early operational experience and the availability of 100 octane fuel from America." "It had been intended to utilise the evaporative cooling system but was replaced by the more reliable ethylene glycol liquid cooling system developed in the United States." "During the Battle of Britain it was discovered that the Merlin engine would cut out when pursing Me109s in a high speed bunt dive due to fuel starvation in the float controlled carburettor. Initial solutions involved inverting the aircraft into the dive and also the fitting a restrictor in the fuel supply line and a diaphragm known as Miss Shilling’s orifice, named after the female inventor (Beatrice Shilling) based at Farnborough at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. More permanent solutions involved moving the fuel outlet from the bottom of the carburettor to half way up and the use of fuel injection using a Stromberg (USA) pressure carburettor and finally an SU injection carburettor."
The Spitfire Society Merlin page
100 octane "thanks both to pre-war agreement and wartime sales arrangements, American suppliers delivered sufficient quantities of performance-enhancing 100 octane fuel to England in time for use by Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain." page 84 The Burning Blue Addison and Crang Faber and Faber Ltd London WCIB 3DA The Mediterranean was closed to transit from June 1940 to mid 1943. The Suez Canal reduces the distance traveled from Britain to the Middle East by 5,500 miles. New York City to Glascow by air 3,219.95 mi (5,182.01 km)
see Houdry Process American Chemical Society
Was the Hawker Hurricane the last wooden fighter plane used in combat?
Quite fascinating from a mfg and logistics standpoint, the Hawker Hurricane subassemby manufacturing was apparently decentralized throughout 00s of wood craftsman workshops and didn't need much infrastructure for final assembly.
Having a mfg & raw materials supply chain that was nearly impossible to bomb out of existence like a mfg plant was probably a bigger asset than the performance difference, what good is the most superior plane if you cant build anymore, or quickly repair the ones you have.
The DeHavilland Mosquito was wooden monocoque construction. It was the early form of stealth aircraft.
I have the pleasure of getting to hear 4 of these roar overhead most weekends during the summer, I live not to far from one of only 2 Lancasters left flying in the world.
Lucky you!!
Me too!
Shows a Lancaster with radials. 0:49 and Spitfire shows Hurricane.
And if you make a Merlin without a super charger you get a Meteor, which was used in the Centurion tank. The last one of which was decommissioned by the British Army after serving in Desert storm, sometime in the early '90's, so in one form or another the Merlin /Meteor served the UK for over half a century!
I think the internals of the Meteor were of a lower standard as well. It didn't need the high performance material that the Merlin needed, so they saved money. But yes, the Meteor was the N/A tank variant and still an awesome engine
Erm, wasn't the Merlin derived from the K engine that Supermarine used in its world beating float planes. That's a rather important bit that you missed. The Schneider Trophy.
Hi Simon, the K engine was as big as the Griffon but many features in the K engine was put in the Merlin... so K engine + Kestrel went to be Merlin.
Investing with Daniel Jean is the best this a person can do for himself because he pays a lot more money than many other trading experts.
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I can just imagine Simon after he turns off the camera, being like and I have no clue what any of that mechanical stuff meant lol
So has Rolls Royce sued spacex yet for stealing the engine name?
A very good video, thanks. I was pleased to see that you talked about Stanley Hooker's work on the supercharger but you didn't mention Miss Shilling's orifice in the SU carburettor which prevented engine cut-out during negative G manoeuvres (during a dog fight).
I keep mentioning this, it's such a shame that she is so over looked. I was talking to a member of staff in the spitfire exhibit at the potteries museum, mentioned Beatrice Shilling and didnt get a response.
I think the Bristol Beaufighter ll at 5:36 is fitted with radial engines?
I think the Handley Page Halifax at 5:41 is fitted with radial engines?
The most numerous Halifax variant was the much improved B Mk III of which 2,091 were built. First appearing in 1943, the Mk III featured the Perspex nose and modified tail of the Mk II Series IA but replaced the Merlin with the more powerful 1,650 hp (1,230 kW) Bristol Hercules XVI radial engine. wiki
1:35 - Chapter 1 - Rolls royce
2:35 - Chapter 2 - Build up to war
4:00 - Chapter 3 - Merlin
5:50 - Mid roll ads
7:05 - Chapter 4 - WWII
10:35 - Chapter 5 - Stateside
11:20 - Chapter 6 - The engine
14:00 - Chapter 7 - Victory
- Chapter 8 -
- Chapter 9 -
- Chapter 10 -
For some reason, this episode really grabbed me. Most of your program content is really good.
But some thing made this one outstanding!
Keep it up and thanks.
Did you know the exhaust outlets were deliberately angles backwards because they actually provided thrust?
This was true of most aircraft engines but it wasn't realized until the early 1930s.
I was hoping you would have touched on the Merlin's post-war legacy with the engine being repurposed for motorsports and marine applications.
th-cam.com/video/MPRQ6zTpevI/w-d-xo.html
Plenty of land and sea applications during the war too
Jay Leno has three Merlin engines. Two are mounted in cars and one is a demonstrator mounted on a frame that has a propeller. They're on TH-cam and quite spectacular to watch in action. Incredible engines!
Here is the link for the demonstrator th-cam.com/video/GYcKdK7hmEo/w-d-xo.html
I'm pretty sure at least 1 of Jay Leno's cars has a Meteor not a Merlin. Similar, but different engines.
One is a Bentley and the other is a Rolls. Both have these massive Merlin engines in them. The Bentley was featured on a Top Gear in England.
It made a hell of a "Jet" Engine on the Japanese Zero, well I learned that from Fact Boy on a recent video... ;-)
😆
A few years ago I heard this noise growing in the distance. It was immense. Then in the sky above our house a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane swept past. Wow.
That would have been the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The licensing to Packard was a huge step - their major contribution was the "standardization" of all the parts used - as a problem RR never quite ironed out early on was replicating the tight tolerances in mass production. In addition to the aviation usage covered, and the tank engine application others mentioned, a whole lot of Packard produced Merlins also saw service in PT Boats with the US Navy in the Pacific. They were truly ubiquitous for the entire Allied War effort. Air, Land, and at Sea.
Or as Rolls Royce would put it - "Adequate"
RR standardised on all parts from all their engine plants. All, but the odd minor few, were interchangeable.
The US licence holder to build the RR Merlin, Packard, changed the threads to US standard, that is all. That is why all Packard produced engines were issued with a socket set, so British and Canadians could work on them.
British engine builders were far more skilled than the line workers at Packard. They could mix and match to get the best fit. Also, many regarded tolerances being too tight, a liability in assembly. RR never mass produced engines, until the Merlin.
The engines used in PT boats were not related to RR designed engines.
The US Navy used Napier Deltic engines in some PT boats. The WW2 US PT boats used the old inefficient Packard V-12 engines.
Rolls-Royce has been selected to provide the engine for the B-52. The decision means the Rolls-Royce F-130 engine will power the B-52 for the next 30 years. The US Air Force made the announcement after a vigorous multi-year competition. The USAF will purchase 650 engines - 608 direct replacements, 42 spare engines - for its fleet of 76 B-52s, in a $2.6 billion deal.
This is for PistonAvatarguy and other Merlinphobes
Tolerances- HAYNES Owners Workshop Manual R/R Merlin 1933- 50 Pages 28/ 29 Installation Rolls Royce I Aero Engine Drawing D.7115
73 measurements all measured to the thousandth of an inch.
SO ENOUGH OF THE GARBAGE THAT MERLINS WERE SLOPPY.
I'm gonna slap a merlin 66 into a 2003 chevy silverado z71 👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿😬
“And of course the super marine spitfire” *shows hurricane again*
... and discussing the Mustangs over Germany, showing a clip of a Mustang escorting a Superfortress...
So then why show Beaufighter and Halifax with Bristol sleeve valve RADIAL ...engines you know better......
Merlin-powered Hurricanes and Spitfires can repel the Luftwaffe at their home turf, but the Merlin-powered Mustang can absolutely destroy the Luftwaffe flying as bomber escorts or hunting down large German aircraft formations.
Packard v-1650 Merlin
were better than the Rolls-Royce Merlin. Because of Packard standardization & higher tolerances. The Packard ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN were more reliable
It was a truly GREAT ENGINE ! . . . it just a "Pity", they COULDN'T stop it from "Sucking Fuel" !. By ratio, it consumed MORE than a :Jet Engine" !
Well, many, but not all of them.
P47, P38, Beaufighter, BF 109, FW 190, ME262, Zero....
Interesting..... Ford building Merlin's in the UK while building engines (and many vehicles) simultaunsly in Germany...... and in the USA. Now there's some more home work for you Simon
I was at an air show back in the 70's when a Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito and Hurricane flew together in formation. All those Merlins, it was just wonderful.
malahammer and did you know most all of those Merlins were Made by Packard In the USA ??
Thank you for highlighting Stanley Hooker's role; brilliant engineer, really good.
Wright R-3350 Turbo-compound. Both super charged with exhaust driven turbos.
Power for Lockeed' PV2,
Constellaion, Douglas DC7, and others, 3,000 hp
Plus in some models
Merlin engines only powered a small minority of the most famous fighters of WWII.. As in it powered none of the German and Japanese and Russian famous fighters, and a minority of U.S. famous fighters. It did power all the mot famous "British" fighters. That is unless you believe the Japanese Zero etc, the German Bf109, or Focke Wulf 190 and it certainly didn't power the F4u Corsair, the P47, P38 lightning etc.
Sorry, but your a bit bias I think. Some of the most successful, and famous, US aircraft didn’t use the RRM. And it is a pretty damn impressive list. The P-38 Lightning, the F-4U-4 Corsair, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the F6F Hellcat. So no, the RRM most definitely did not “power” them all. Your title should include the word “some”
Just a small query - at the start, it was mentioned the Pratt & Whitney R1830 was the most produced aircraft engine of WW2.
Which was the R2800 Double Wasp? I thought it was this engine which powered the most airplanes at the time and hence that would have been the most produced aircraft engine? Are the two different engines R1830 and R2800?
The Eagle was also used on the Handley-Page O/400 which was earlier than the Vimy. The V-1650 designation is a reference to it's cubic capacity of 1650 cu in
Very interesting, as usual! However, the use of mis-matched photographs of the aircraft being talked about are too numerous to mention, and does detract from the general presentation.
The best known and most numerous fighter in Europe was the ME109, The fastest piston enginer fighter was the Do335, the fastest fighter of the war was the Me262. The most powerful bomber was the B29. The most famous carrier borne fighter was the Mitsubishi Zero, followed by the Wildcat, Hellcat (most effective) and Corsair. The most successful carrier strike aircraft was the Swordfish.
To put the statement into perspective, The best known fighter in England and Hollywood is the Spitfire even though the Hurricane was the fighter that saved Britian. If a vote were to be cast, there are probably more Europeans who would consider the ME109 No1 than British who would split their votes between Hurricanses and Spitfires. I suspect that Americans would cast their votes between the P38, P47, and P51.
Lord Beaverbrook "The best production I ever saw was a job with which the Ministry had nothing to do, nothing at all. It was the production of the Rolls-Royce engines in the United States. It was done by the Pack hard Company. There was not a single representative of the Ministry there to supervise and only four representatives of the Rolls-Royce firm. The job was most 809
wonderfully done. In no time at all, production had been got under way. The output from that firm is remarkable. The Pack hard Rolls-Royce engine is an example to the whole world. There was a very good American aeroplane called the Mustang. The engine of the Mustang was giving good service, but some genius had the idea of putting Rolls-Royce engines into the Mustangs, and the result is a very good aeroplane, one of the best in the world-some people will say the very best. That was the result of this project in America over which the Ministry had no supervision, although the contract was made here by the Minister."
Hansard FLEET AIR ARM. HL Deb 27 January 1943
In Vallejo, CA USA, during WWII the shipyard workers received two days off per year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I love the sound of these Merlin's and the Daimler-Benz Bf-109 inverted V-12's on low fly by in WWII vintage fighters!
Okay the Merlin never won the war. Just remove it from history Slower Hurricane, Slower Spitfire, lower bomb load and slower bombers, oh and the Mosquito would of been a failure as the German fighters could easily catch them. And of cause the P-51 would not of been, because the Battle of Britain would of been lost, UK invaded the Empire would of been claimed by German (except for Canada perhaps). The topic of this video of course would of course been about the magnificent DB-605 and would of perhaps mocked the British aircraft with there obsolete Rolls Royce Kestrel engines. Oh and this comment would be in German.
"its not sexy but..." what do you mean, the merlin engine is SEX ON WINGS AND I WANT ONE IN MY MUSCLE CAR!
NO... Rolls Royce Merlins powered the greatest HYDROPLANES!!!!!
All credit to the Merlin engine, but it was the significantly larger and more powerful Rolls Royce Griffon engine (a kind of half-brother of the Merlin engine if you will) that ensured that Royal Air Force had the upper hand over the German fighter aircrafts in the years after The Battle of Britain in 1940. Like the Merlin, the Griffon had 12 cylinders, but the engine volume was almost 37 liters instead of just 27 liters (however, the physical size of the engines was about the same). There were other differences as well, such as gearing and oil cooling. At its best during the war, the Griffon engine delivered 2245 horsepower in the Supermarine Spitfire which had a top speed of 448 Mph or 720 Kph. Supermarine Spiteful, which was a planned successor to the Spitfire from 1944, would have had a Griffon engine that produced a full 2420 horsepower. However, this model became irrelevant when the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang came on the scene.
Not one single mention, photo or piece of video of a de Havilland Mosquito. How can anyone talk about the Merlin and not mention the Mossie? The most awesome plane of WW2. Faster than a spitfire, accurate, insanely versatile, and just stunningly beautiful.
I'm disappointed, and it's my birthday. My first thumbs down for a Mega Projects video.
Grumpy now. :-(
Can you do the Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1, Nakajima NK1C Sakae-12, and the Allison V-1710-39?
Some of your citations and pictures were of planes with air-cooled radial engines, not liquid-cooled Merlins.
Perhaps you were talking about one-off test vehicles, like the XB-38. That was a B-17 they re-engined with inline, liquid-cooled Allisons to see if there would be sufficient change in performance to justify altering the design.
Great TH-cam stuff.
Need to work on your editing guys.
Match up the pictures with the commentary a bit better.
Otherwise lovely.
Cheers!
Wonder if those ladies who loved RAF pilots considered their man’s Hawks, Mozzies and Spits to be “The other woman,” like the American women did about their men and the “Mustang.” All hail the Merlin!
You missed the point that the Merlin was no monster in comparison to other engines during the war. At 27- litres, it was positively small in comparison with DB engines and other UK, German and US power plants. The high power to weight ratio gave many aircraft, using the engine, good handling. But towwards the end of the war RR conceded that a larger engine was needed and hence the Griffon at 37- litres which was still relatively small.