Is the Merlin better than the Daimler-Benz 601?

[eyerollthereforeiam]

I've never thought of the Merlin as 'small', but when compared to the others mentioned, it is small! That makes the power output even more remarkable.

[JosephCowen-fzvj]

My father Vincent Gilchrist Cowen, was a navigator in 460 squadron Lancaster's, they made it back from Germany on one Merlin V12 at 120 percent emergency power, for over 2 hrs ( it was only supposed to be at that for take off, 5:min at most ) the other 3 engines were shot out and failed, it flew almost back to England, but dropped in the english channel 100 yards from home, they bailed out almost at sea level, the one Merlin V12 couldnt keep the Lancaster up, they bounced along the water, their parachutes didnt even open, the merlin V12 was still trying to keep the Lancaster in the air at 120 percent when it hit the water, dad survived and the crew, he told me as a child no other motor could have done that ! At the time ! The Lancaster was recovered in 1964 on the sea floor ! A magic motor ! Saved my dad, he passed away in 1983 !

[peanuts]

Another classic case of Ango-American partnership 👌

[JimmySailor]

German engines lagged behind from fuel quality and from lack of good superchargers. German engineers preferred the roots type that didn’t perform as well as the vane type at high altitude and sucked more power from the engine.

[JosephCowen-fzvj]

A classic design ! It won WW2 ! Almost getting to the speed of sound in deep dives !

[jonbar]

There may be no "replacement for displacement" but advancing the timing and boosting an engine sure it gets a long way

[geramos]

The real deal against the german engines was the fuel advantage the allays had

[intothenightd]

Great series without any of the hyperbole.

[hinzuzufugen]

One guy put this small engine into a car, in the Seventies... It's ridiculously loud, needs constant fiddling, and the drive train is unable to handle it at near-full throttle...

[chrisblay]

You can’t beat the sound of a Merlin engine.

[NotGrimman]

601? Sure.
605? Nah.
603? Definitely not.
All of these ran on coal derived fuel

[geramos]

The merlin M61 is just about 10 kg lighter than the DB605 and is heavier than the db601. Considering that the germans produce a fuel injected engine with 6 or 8 litters more depending the 601 or 605 on the same weight than the merlin does not put the merlin on a good place. Brits got more out of the engine thanks to the higher octane fuel they could get and with more power you have more marin to add weight to the plane on intercoolers etc. Refrigeration also was more efficient on the DB engines

[johnallen]

Stanley Hooker of Rolls Royce...developed the 2 speed 2 stage supercharger for the Merlin 61/70....in the mk 9 Spitfire

[gregobern]

Hydroplane "Miss Madison" from Madison. Indiana excelled with a Merlin engine.
The movie with Jim Caviezel is worth watching.

[chippyjohn]

Db601 was 33.9 litres, not 39. Db605 was 35.7

[thaistic]

Cannot imagine the torque from that prop with 1000hp

[noelcastle]

Once Stanley Hooker a flow dynamic genius looked at the merlin and its ineffient supercharger he redesigned the supercharger into two separate superchargers and two speeds . This boosted the engine to upwards of 1800hp and could develop that at maximum altitude. Yes great supercharger tech and quality high octane fuel gave the merlin its war winning performance .

[Swiftzerman]

It's powerful for its weight considering how heavy the german engines are. And i think that reducing weight gives the spit for an edge by giving it more menu for ability and flexibility against the bf 109 as its primary role as an interceptor

[hairybubbles]

Ah, the merlin. A classic. The LS of its age. Merlin swap all the things!

[KekusMagnus]

less displacement but still the same weight as the DB 601 and 605 which produced more power at equal boost levels