The Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine is a 27-litre, liquid-cooled V12 piston engine that powered iconic WWII aircraft like the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, and Mustang. Starting at roughly 1,000 horsepower, continuous wartime updates and supercharging pushed late-war variants past 2,000 horsepower, making it a defining engineering triumph of the Allied victory.
Packard Rolls Royce Merlin 29
The Rolls Royce Merlin shown here was built by the Packard company in the USA who were sub-contracted by Rolls Royce, due to pressure of demand.
This is the Engine that will power Hurricane BW853, and is the correct type produced for Canadian Built Hurricanes.
The Merlin 29 produced 1,300 HP, following its wartime installation in a Hawker Hurricane, this engine saw service in a Hydroplane, named Slo-Mo-Shun V in 1951, and raced with great success in the USA. It has now been restored to its original specification and overhauled ready to power BW853.
BW853 MERLIN RUNNING
This is a video of the Packard Merlin 29 Engine Dyno run up to 1700 RPM.
Looking at a problem with the Bendix-Stromberg PD-16 pressure carb which causes the engine to go rich when it transitions from slow running to the main fuel circuit. You can clearly hear it misfire as it goes rich at 1500-1700 rpm, depending on load, accompanied by lots of black smoke. Figures on the screen are torque in lb ft.
MERLIN FIRST RUN AFTER REBUILD
This video is of the Packard Merlin 29 first start and first test run.
First start up in many years for this 1941 Packard-Built Rolls-Royce Merlin 29 engine, after partial rebuild, destined for a Hawker Hurricane project in the UK. This is an initial no-load run to check for leaks and allow the engine to run-in prior to applying they dyno load.
MERLIN IGNITION TIMING
This video is of the Merlin engine – camshaft and ignition timing.
Peter Grieve of Flight Engineering (Leeds, UK) and founding member of the Historic Aero Engine group, explains how to time the Merlin engine. Peter is a joint founder of the HAE group.
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Thank you to FlightEngineering1 for the use of this video.
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Thank you to FlightEngineering1 for the use of this video.
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Thank you to FlightEngineering1 for the use of this video.