Rolls Royce Merlin - The Story Behind the Engine that Won the War

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The Rolls Royce Merlin became the engine that won the war, not because it broke the mold, but because its design was conservative and its improvements were incremental. While other engine manufacturers were busy simply trying to get their outlandish designs to work, Rolls Royce was supplying the allied forces with dependable power. In this video, we take a deep dive into the formation of the Rolls Royce company as well as the complete development cycle of the engine as well as the specific details of its construction.

00:00 - Introduction
02:59 - Brief History of Rolls Royce
14:21 - Merlin Pedigree
20:27 - Merlin Development
30:14 - The Nitty Gritty

#aviationhistory #ww2history #warhistory

[flightdojo]

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[bbb]

The Merlin's sound was stuck in my head as a boy from war movies where that sound meant victory. It has that aggressive growl combined with a dark, vibrating white noise that made you unconsciously feel the prop tearing through the air.

[rwnagel]

In German (Deutsch) the letter “W” is pronounced as if it were a “V”, the letter “V” is pronounced as if it were an “F”. So, it is Vermacht and Luftvaffe. It is Fau Vay, as in VW.

[paulm]

36:35 - the R.A.E. restrictor would fondly be referred to as "Miss Shilling's orifice" by pilots in the RAF.

[chrisbishop]

I enjoyed that, really interesting as my Grandfather worked at Supermarine and did all of the cooling copper work on the s6.His name was Herbert colling.My Mother told me she watched the trials of the s6 and how fast it was in it's day!They're all gone now but the aircraft is still in the museum in Southampton.

[lauriepocock]

Great bit of work, very well researched and presented.
Quite right to point out that the engine was named after a bird, not after some hairy fairy comic book character. BUT. In the eleventh century a book 'The Death of Arthur' told of a wizard who helped Arthur and at the end of the story he promises to return if ever England was in trouble. In 1940 the Germans are amassing across the channel, the Peregrine planned for the spitfire replacement the Whirlwind and its 4 cannons, the Vulture planned for the Tornado, the Hurricane follow on and the Avro Manchester all over the floor and what are we left with?

[dodo]

I am once again here to request a Bristol Centaurus episode.
Love your work, keep it up!

[plyduster]

Amazing amazing amazing thank you so much for making this video, I am a retired mechanical engineer and can relate to the problem issues that keep our mind churning for fixes to issues and thus keeping us from going to sleep!

[demenace]

Nice presentation.

The stories of Rolls AND Royce are most intriguing. With just the hints provided, I would like to know more about the spirits that drove them.

As a retired toolmaker from Detroit, I enjoyed watching the manufacturing operations, especially the mill work on aluminum valve head.

Among others, I heard the sound of a Merlin engine on the Detroit River during hydroplane boat races. While in the pits I saw at least 6 tarted up Merlin's in the Miss Budweiser trailer.

Thanks for all the memories generated!

[yelyab]

I’m 75 . My Dad worked at Packard while it was making the Merlin engines . I use to have a set of mahogany building blocks the tool room guys built for me when I was born in 47 and they were starting up the car business.

[csoanes]

I’m lucky enough to live on top of a hill in Kent, England. Most days we have a couple of spitfires and the occasional P51 buzzing around…

[rodpettet]

When I was about 6, I remember the sound of the planes flying around high over our school playground. We were close to Biggen Hill and they were almost certainly Spitfires. We used to emulate them running around with our arms out and making engine noises. Would have been about 1950.

[donmcdougall]

Great work! Detail is amazing and delivery excellent! Got to love history, especially when so critical to ensuring the world remained decent and peaceful.

[arightpest]

I live Near East midlands airport uk and through the summer I am treated to the sound of the Merlin engine from the spitfire based at the airport it’s always a treat to hear and never gets old.

[Sorarse]

1:30 Can't believe you didn't mention the D.H. Mosquito in that list. Superlative aircraft that filled a number of roles, in a large part thanks to it's power plants.

[timboth]

I love that you read the script and not an AI voice. Ty.

[cramersclassics]

Concise and well researched. Nice presentation with period footage!

[daviddaniels]

The RR Merlin in the Mustangs was/is one of the most awesome sounds I've ever heard!

[Dave-dm]

Early Merlins had a problem of throwing con-rods. The company really struggled and had to limit the V12 to 3000 revs (IIRC). Tests on V twin test bed versions worked just fine at much higher revs eventually led to them checking the oil pump. Basically it could not deliver enough oil at high revs. Bigger pump problem solved.
This has always been an issue with RR. Development is always step-wise on the assumption that all before has been as good as possible. This oil pump cock-up was a great example of groupthink not looking at all options.

[mikedench]

Thanks a million! For ever I have been trying to llearn what it was exactly that made the Merlin so special! I'. very grateful to you for finally answering my question.