Merlin The Legendary Engine and its Aircraft

MERLIN The legendary engine and its aircraft

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INTRODUCTION

Rolls-Royce Merlin

3

The legendary engine and its aircraft

N

o other sound in aviation has the power to evoke such an emotional response as that of the Rolls-Royce Merlin, without doubt the world’s greatest and most famous engine. Forever synonymous with the iconic Spitfire, the legendary Merlin was also the beating heart behind such history-makers as the Hurricane, Lancaster, Mosquito and Mustang, to name but a few. Quite simply, without Sir Henry Royce’s masterpiece, the RAF would not have had the power to take on the might of the Luftwaffe during World War 2. Like the Spitfire, the strength of the Merlin lay in its ability to evolve and adapt, meaning that it was still in production in 1951 with over 168,000 having been produced to power over 40 aircraft types, from fighters to bombers, transports to trainers... and even a helicopter.

This, then is the fascinating and intriguing story of the world’s most famous engine, told through the aircraft that it propelled to glory. The entries are listed under type (single-engine, multi-engine and transports) and chronologically from the dates of their first flights. AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES ‘Rolls-Royce Merlin’ is No 29 in the Aviation Archive series. As ever the series features unparalleled photographic coverage, including many exclusive and rare shots that have never been published before. The words and photographs are complemented by ‘period’ cutaways from the talented pens of the ‘Flight’ and ‘Aeroplane’ artists of the era, together with aircraft profiles from the archives of Pete West.

Aviation Archive Series

Rolls-Royce Merlin: The legendary engine and its aircraft • Editor: Allan Burney • Design: Key Studio • Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox • Executive Chairman: Richard Cox • Commercial Director: Ann Saundry • Group Editor: Nigel Price • Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000 • Printing: Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH. All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is © Key Publishing 2016. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the bona fides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1780 755131. Fax: +44 (0) 1780 757261. Website: www.keypublishing.com ISBN: 9781910415788

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CONTENTS

5

Rolls-Royce Merlin

The legendary engine and its aircraft MULTI-ENGINE

50 ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH WHITLEY The case of an aircraft re-invented by the Merlin

52 HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX The first four-engined heavy to be fitted with Rolls-Royce engines

56 DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO The lightning fast ‘wooden wonder’, a true multi-role aircraft

61 AVRO LANCASTER Engine and aircraft in perfect harmony, a combination that helped change the course of the war

HISTORY

68 AVRO LINCOLN The last Merlin-powered heavy bomber

6

THE LEGEND OF MERLIN The story of the world’s greatest aircraft engine

SINGLE-ENGINE 16 HAWKER HURRICANE The story begins with Hawker’s classic fighter

21 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE The legends of the Spitfire and the Merlin are simply inseparable

28 FAIREY BATTLE A case of the wrong aircraft at the wrong time

32 BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT A flawed concept, reinvented as a night fighter

36 FAIREY FULMAR The Royal Navy’s first dedicated monoplane fighter was sturdy rather than agile

41 FAIREY BARRACUDA A purposeful rather than aesthetic torpedo- and dive-bomber

46 NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG The Merlin made a good aircraft great

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70 DE HAVILLAND HORNET The Merlin’s ultimate speedster

72 SHORT STURGEON A rather inglorious end to service life

TRANSPORT 74 AVRO LANCASTRIAN The Merlin and Lancaster turn civil

76 AVRO YORK A reliable transport in war and peace

81 AVRO TUDOR Britain’s first pressurised airliner was unloved and unwanted

86 CANADAIR NORTH STAR AKA the Argonaut, a DC-4 hybrid with Merlins

OTHERS 90 MINOR TYPES Other aircraft that were fitted with Merlin engines

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6

THE LEGEND OF MERLIN

The legend of Merlin

Above: Two pioneers that changed the course of history, Reginald Mitchell (left) and Henry Royce. Sadly neither was to live to witness the true success of their endeavours. Above right: Where it all began, with the Rolls-Royce ‘R’ engine that propelled the Supermarine S6B racing seaplanes.

T

he path to creating the Merlin – the most prolific Rolls-Royce engine in history – can be traced back to 1931 and the Schneider Trophy that was held at Calshot. The RollsRoyce ‘R’ engine propelled the Supermarine S6B racing seaplanes to victory and a new world air speed record. Despite these achievements, the Air Ministry was, at the time, unwilling to fund development of a new production engine based on the ‘R’. Instead, Rolls-Royce decided to go it alone, approving a private venture initiative in December 1932. As conceived by Sir Henry Royce, the new aero engine would combine the reliability of his earlier Kestrel design with the power of the ‘R’ engine that had won the Schneider Trophy. The definitive Kestrel had appeared in 1930 and set the standard of a Rolls-Royce V-12

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with a ‘monobloc’ casting for each bank of six cylinders. The Kestrel proved to be such a success that its production even outstripped that of the World War 1-era Eagle (4,750 compared to 4,674 engines built), and it also set a precedent for continued refinements throughout its career, adding full supercharge, automatic boost control, 87-octane fuel and other improvements. Among the many and varied aircraft powered by the Kestrel were the Hawker Demon, Fury, Hart and Hind, and the Short Singapore flying-boat. The result of Royce’s new project was the PV12 of early 1933, the designation signifying that the new engine was a private venture, with the now classic V-12 arrangement. Generally conventional, this 27-litre liquid-cooled engine featured a single-stage supercharger. While initially rated at 750hp (559kW), plans

were already afoot to increase this output to 1,000hp (746kW). With the death of Royce on 22 April 1933, the engineer was not to see his PV12 begin test runs, let alone the startling success that it would eventually yield. On the day that Sir Frederick Henry Royce died, the final drawing for the PV12 was completed in the company’s design office. Six months after Royce’s death, a first test run of an initial PV12 engine took place on 15 October 1933. At first, however, the new engine proved troublesome and it was probably only a degree of luck that saved it from being abandoned altogether. Among other failings, the PV12’s reduction gear required replacement and the monobloc casting was prone to cracking. Nevertheless, in July 1934 an example completed a successful test, developing 790hp (589kW) at 2,500rpm. In April 1935 the engine was test-flown in a Hawker Hart. Meanwhile, two British fighter prototypes would be designed around the Rolls-Royce engine: the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. By spring 1935 the new engine had finally gained Air Ministry support and as a result it was named Merlin, continuing the tradition of naming Rolls-Royce aero engines after birds of prey. The first of the Merlins proper was the Merlin B, which introduced changes including ramp-type detachable heads with twin inlet valves at 45 degrees, but which continued to suffer from cracking of the cylinder blocks. It was intended that the 890hp (663kW) Merlin C should power both the Hurricane

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and Supermarine. The ‘C’ finally dealt with the cracking problem by replacing the monobloc casting with separate cylinder blocks. Despite the limited performance of the ‘C’, the engine was sufficient to demonstrate the potential of both aircraft, and their importance to the engine-maker’s fortunes was demonstrated

by the fact that Rolls-Royce provided funds of £7,500 towards construction of the initial Spitfire prototype – half the total required. In the end, failure of the Merlin C in a 955hp (712kW) type-test in May 1935 put an end to this variant, although a glimpse of future potential had been provided by a successful

50-hour civil test accomplished in December 1935. The ‘C’ was succeeded by the Merlin F, which was the first of the line to be approved for production, as the Merlin I. In this form, it provided the power for the Hurricane and the Fairey Battle, and production extended to around 180 examples.

Rolls-Royce aero engine origins Today, the Rolls-Royce name is firmly associated with aircraft engines, the British manufacturer’s current product line ranging from the Trent 1000 that powers the Boeing 787, to the lightweight RR300 used in the Robinson R66 light helicopter. Frederick Henry Royce initially established himself as a manufacturer of electrical and mechanical components in 1884. His firm produced its first automobile in 1904 and in the same year Royce met Charles Rolls, an established car dealer. Between them it was decided that Royce Limited would produce cars that would be sold exclusively by C. S. Rolls & Co, under the RollsRoyce brand. The story of Rolls-Royce aero engines begins with World War 1, the outbreak of which found the Derby-based company, under chief engineer Royce, as a leading manufacturer of luxury automobiles. Concerned that banks might begin to refuse wartime credit for such an expensive consumer product, the company board elected to downsize and prepare to refuse any government request to switch to aero engine production. However, this decision was swiftly reversed after the Royal Aircraft Factory convinced the company to tender to build a batch of Renault aero engines. After the board agreed to the move, Royce led the company in its new direction, despite deteriorating health that forced him to move to the south coast. Royce’s ailing health was certainly worsened by the long hours that he worked, and his stubborn refusal to eat proper meals. The first aero engines to leave the Rolls-Royce factory were 50 examples of the Renault design, urgently required to power Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 light bombers. After examining the French design, Royce decided to begin work on his own aero engine, a water-cooled V-12 that would draw inspiration from the company’s existing car engines and the German six-cylinder Daimler DF80 aero engine. This would become the Eagle. Within just four weeks of the outbreak of World War 1, the board agreed to build two experimental V-engines at a cost of about £1,500 each. With the banks now behind it, the company rebuilt its workforce and by October 1914 the company was also developing two smaller derivative engines, the Falcon and the Hawk. By early 1915 the company had received orders for the Eagle, to power the Handley Page O/100 bomber. By the end of the war, Rolls-Royce completed around 2,000 Eagle engines. The Eagle also powered the Vickers Vimy, the aircraft in which John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919 and which would firmly cement the company’s reputation as a builder of aero engines.

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Merlin production totals Derby Crewe Glasgow Ford Packard 2,377

26,065

23,647

30,428

55,523

The Rolls-Royce Eagle powered the Vickers Vimy of World War 1 fame. This aircraft was taking part in an air race to Australia in 1919, and won.

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8

THE LEGEND OF MERLIN

The magic begins

MERLIN II

The initial Merlin I version was not the most auspicious debut for the new engine. Very soon, it was apparent that the ramp-head potential was not being achieved. After major changes were incorporated in the cylinder head design, the Merlin G emerged, now with an output of 1,030hp (768kW) at 3,000rpm. Compared to earlier versions, the Merlin G’s flat head was cast integral with the block, with the four valves in parallel. The ‘G’ would enter production as the Merlin II early in 1937. The changes heralded in the Merlin II required a major redesign of the nose of the Hurricane, as well as the fighter’s engine controls, but this was considered a small price to pay for the promised improvement in performance. Similar changes also had to be made to the Battle light bomber. It was also in 1937 that Rolls-Royce engineer Ernest Hives, a former chief test driver and now head of the company’s experimental division, developed a ‘racing’ version of the Merlin. Thanks to high-octane fuel, the racing Merlin could develop 2,160hp (1,611kW) for short periods, and was capable of running at 1,800hp (1,342kW) for a full 15 hours. The performance of this engine suggested that the Merlin would finally be able to match the larger powerplants then being developed for Germany’s fighters. At the outbreak of World War 2 in September 1939, the Merlin II powered all Spitfires and Hurricanes in Royal Air Force service, while the Merlin III arrived in time for the Battle of Britain in 1940. During the battle, the fighters’ Merlin

Cutaway diagram of a Merlin II as fitted to Spitfires and Hurricanes at the start of World War 2.

Right and below: The Rolls-Royce experimental department at Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, testing 12-cylinder engines in 1938.

engines were powered, where possible, by 100-octane fuel, bulk quantities of which had first arrived in the UK in June 1939. The key to the success of the Merlin design was its capacity for continued development. Throughout the war, Rolls-Royce engineers continued to eke more and more power out of the engine, including through the introduction of improved superchargers and the use of high‑octane fuels. A ‘bomber’ version of the engine appeared in the form of the Merlin X, which powered the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Handley Page Halifax. This version featured a twostage supercharger and its introduction in 1938 coincided with the arrival at the firm of Stanley ‘Doc’ Hooker, whose legacy included a refinement of the supercharger to yield even greater performance from the Merlin family.

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THE LEGEND OF MERLIN

9

When faced by the German Messerschmitt Bf109 in the Battle of Britain, the RAF’s Merlinpowered Hurricane and Spitfire initially faced a major disadvantage against the Luftwaffe fighter. Since the early Merlins lacked the direct-injection of the German engines, the British fighters were unable to sustain sudden negative-g in combat: the engine would be starved of fuel and suffer a loss of power. As a result, the pilot of a Hurricane or Spitfire faced the possibility of being unable to follow a Bf109 into a dive. Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling at the Royal Aircraft Establishment was able to provide a simple solution. ‘Miss Shilling’s orifice’ added a metal diaphragm with a small, calibrated hole Right: A Merlin engine, with its distinctive ‘fishtail’ exhaust stubs, is fitted into a Hurricane airframe at a Hawker factory during final assembly.

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10 THE LEGEND OF MERLIN inside the carburettor’s float chamber. This ensured the engine would keep running even under negative-g conditions. With Hooker’s work on superchargers continuing, Rolls-Royce was able to introduce the Merlin XX for the Hurricane and the Merlin 45 for the Spitfire, as well as related engines to power different families of bombers. Among the latter was the Avro Manchester, which was converted to become the Lancaster once it had been fitted with complete Merlin ‘power eggs’ originally developed for the Bristol Beaufighter II. With a readymade powerplant available, the Lancaster became the most important RAF heavy bomber of the war. Of the first generation of supercharged Merlins, Hooker subsequently recalled: ‘The work I had done on the supercharger and its air intake appeared on production in 1940 in the form of the Merlin 45 for the Spitfire and the Merlin XX for the Hurricane, Mosquito and Lancaster. The effect was to increase the full-throttle altitude of the engine from 16,000ft (4,877m) with the Merlin III to over 19,000ft (5,791m) with the Merlin 45. For me, the impossible had come to pass. I had changed a Rolls-Royce engine designed by the great Henry Royce himself.’ Midway through 1940 the need for a highaltitude addition to the Merlin family had been recognised. Such an engine was needed to power the Vickers Wellington VI, and the solution was initially seen as being a turbocharged version of the Merlin. The work was charged to Hooker, who instead developed a two-stage supercharger, including an intercooler, with the initial ‘blower’ being derived from that used in the Rolls-Royce Vulture. ‘I argued that, to obtain the necessary power, all we had to do was raise the full-throttle power of the Merlin from 16,000 to 30,000ft (4,877 to 9,144m)’, Hooker remembered. ‘To do this we needed two superchargers in series at the back of the engine, driven by the same gears that existed on the standard Merlin.’ The supercharged Merlin emerged as the Merlin 60 series, which provided twice the power at high altitudes, as Hooker had promised. Once incorporated in the Spitfire, the fighter was now able to boast a 10,000ft (3,048m) improvement in ceiling and a 70mph (113km/h) increase in maximum speed. By 1942 the RAF’s Spitfire IX was thus powered by the Merlin 61, fitted with the twospeed, two-stage supercharger and developing 1,280hp (954kW). Such was the degree of improvement in terms of performance that the Merlin was now adopted for the North American P-51 Mustang, to create another

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war-winning fighter. Ultimately, Packard would produce a total of over 55,000 examples of the Merlin under the V-1650 designation. At first, it had been planned for the American Merlin to be manufactured by Ford at Dearborn, Michigan, but this was switched to the Packard Motor Corporation. After a batch of development V-1650s was produced by Continental, in August 1941 Packard ran a first example of its Merlin, totally redrawn and adapted for American production. In addition to US output, the demand for Merlin engines during the war saw additional UK production facilities established at Crewe and Glasgow, and Ford Motors in Manchester also produced engines under sub-contract. Despite the arrival of the larger, more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, the Merlin’s continued success was ensured by the variety of its applications, including the Lancaster and de Havilland Mosquito. By the end of the war, versions of the Merlin were producing 2,780hp (2,073kW) thanks to the use of fuel with monomethyl aniline additives. As well as a range of fixed-wing aircraft, the adaptable Merlin also found use as the powerplant of one of the United Kingdom’s first helicopters: the impressive Cierva Air Horse was an evolutionary dead-end, but made it into the air in December 1948 on the power of a 1,620hp (1,208kW) Merlin driving three equal rotors; left and right rotors at the back and one above the nose. At the time of its appearance it was the largest helicopter ever built. In an ironic turn of events, one of the final applications for the Merlin was the Hispano Aviación HA-1112, a post-war Spanish fighter that was essentially a licence-built version of the Bf109, the wartime foe of the Hurricane and Spitfire. After a batch of aircraft powered by Hispano-Suiza engines proved to be inadequate for front-line service, these were re‑engined with Merlin 500-45s ordered from the UK as surplus in 1953. The first of these ‘Merlin Messerschmitts’ entered service in 1956, and a total of 173 were produced, finally being retired in late 1965. Quite apart from military applications, the Merlin saw success within the civil aviation industry. Immediately after the end of the war, the Merlin provided the powerplant for the Avro Lancastrian and York transports and the Canadian-built DC-4M Argonaut, examples of which also supported the Berlin Airlift that began in 1948. Production continued until 1951, by which time a total of 168,040 Merlin engines had been made, including Packard versions in the United States. Thomas Newdick

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THE LEGEND OF MERLIN 11 MERLIN XX The 1,280hp Merlin XX was the first production version with two-speed supercharger and powered the likes of the Avro Lancaster.

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12 THE LEGEND OF MERLIN

Perspective drawing of the new two-stage two-speed supercharger of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 engine. The twin rotors are mounted on a single shaft. Change of speed of the supercharger drive is effected by a hydraulic pump.

MERLIN 61 Groundcrew working on a Spitfire IX powered by the game-changing Merlin 61, fitted with the two-speed, two-stage supercharger and developing 1,280hp (954kW).

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THE LEGEND OF MERLIN 13

MERLIN 130/131 The Rolls-Royce Merlin 130 was a redesigned ‘slimline’ version built for the de Havilland Hornet. The engine was modified to decrease frontal area to a minimum and was the first Merlin series to use down-draught induction systems. Its two-speed, two-stage supercharger and S.U. injection carburettor gave a maximum boost of +25psi (172kPa). On the Hornet, the Merlin 130 was fitted in the starboard nacelle, while the Merlin 131 was fitted in the port and was converted to a ‘reverse’ or left-hand tractor engine using an additional idler gear in the reduction gear casing.

MERLIN 620 The Merlin 620 was a civilian engine derived from the Merlin 102 and designed to operate in the severe climatic conditions encountered on Canadian and long-range North Atlantic air routes. It powered the Avro Tudor, Avro York and Canadair North Star.

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14 THE LEGEND OF MERLIN

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THE LEGEND OF MERLIN 15

Merlin’s rivals ALLISON V-1710 As the only US-developed V-12 liquid-cooled engine to see service during World War 2, the V-1710 was the direct counterpart of the Merlin, and was famously replaced by the British engine in the P-51. The first iteration of the V-1710 was contracted in 1930 as an airship engine, and went on to power the huge USS Macon. After a redesign in the mid-1930s, the V-1710 showed promise as a fighter engine, outshining the Merlin by developing 1,000hp (746kW) on 87-octane fuel and also being lighter than the British design. Different versions included a pusher model for the Bell XFM-1, and a shaft-drive model for the Bell P-39, allowing that fighter to be armed with a hub-firing cannon. Left- and right-handed versions were produced for the Lockheed P-38, while the major production application was the Curtiss P-40. Although supplanted by the Merlin for the P-51, after the war the V-1710 replaced the Packard Merlin in the F-82 Twin Mustang, bringing the Allison Mustang story full circle.

DAIMLER-BENZ DB601

KLIMOV M-105 Vladimir Y. Klimov was one of the pioneers of water-cooled engines in the Soviet Union and was responsible for a series of powerplants based on the Hispano-Suiza 12Y. Somewhat shorter than the French engine from which it was derived, the Klimov unit entered production in 1935 with a single-speed supercharger and a rating of 750hp (559kW). The most numerous of these engines was the M-105 that was cleared to 2,700rpm and which could be arranged to accommodate a hub-firing cannon. The basic M-105 was rated at 1,050hp (783kW) while the M-105P developed 1,100hp (820kW), the M-105PF 1,260hp (940kW), and the M-105RA 1,100hp (820kW). The last of these featured a decreased propeller reduction gear ratio and was optimised for use in bombers. From a total of 129,000 of the Klimov inline engines manufactured between 1935 and 1947, the M-105 series accounted for 101,000. Among the key Soviet warplanes powered by the M-105 were the Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3, Petlyakov Pe-2, Yakovlev Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-7 and Yak-9.

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At the time of the Battle of Britain, the equivalent fighter engine to the Merlin on the German side was the DB601, an inverted V-12 unit with glycol cooling that was first run in 1935. The DB601, which powered fighters including the Bf109 and Bf110, suffered from poor reliability early in its production; however, unlike the Merlin it incorporated direct fuel injection, which meant it was unaffected by negative-g. Other advantages over the Merlin included immunity to choketube icing, superior performance when running on inferior fuel and lower fuel consumption. Like the Merlin, the DB601 underwent successive improvements during the early years of the war, resulting in the DB601E cleared to run at 2,700rpm and with an improved supercharger, and the DB601N that introduced flat-top pistons for an increased compression ratio. The DB601also formed the basis of the most important inline fighter engines employed by Germany’s Axis allies, Italy and Japan. In Italy, the DB601 was licence-built by Alfa Romeo as the RA.1000 RC 41 that powered the Macchi MC202 Folgore, regarded as one of the finest Italian fighters of World War 2. However, the limited availability of these engines (early aircraft were powered by imported DB601s, before production by Alfa Romeo had ramped up) meant that Macchi was forced to continue to build the radial-engined MC200 Saetta. Only one inline fighter entered large-scale Imperial Japanese Army Air Force service, the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien. This was powered by a Kawasaki Ha-40, a version of the DB601 for which Japan obtained licencing rights in 1939 before putting the engine into full-scale production in November 1941.

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16

SINGLE-ENGINE

Hawker Hurricane I t is the eternal fate of the Hurricane to lie in the shadow of its more glamorous counterpart, the Spitfire. And yet the Hurricane was the first production fighter to be fitted with Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary new Merlin and was the mainstay of RAF Fighter Command in the darkest early days of war and through the fateful summer of 1940. If it lacked the out-and-out performance of the Spitfire, the Hurricane proved itself manoeuvrable, dependable and, most importantly, easy to repair from battle damage. The Hurricane went on to serve on almost every front, in particular earning itself a fearsome reputation in the anti-tank role in North Africa. Back in the 1930s, the Royal Air Force’s leading fighter was the Hawker Fury. This sleek biplane was a dream to fly, but was lightly armed and had a top speed of barely 200mph. The RAF had serious need of something better. Hawker’s Chief Designer Sydney Camm looked at improvements to the Fury design before opting for an all-new solution, recognising that a monoplane with retractable undercarriage and much heavier armament would be needed to meet the RAF’s future fighter needs. Initial studies were undertaken as the Fury Monoplane, but any real similarity to the earlier type disappeared when the design discarded the Goshawk in favour of an all-new engine being developed by Rolls-Royce. Known at the time as the PV12 (it would later become the Merlin), the powerplant was 12-cylindered and liquid-cooled, and offered far more development potential. In its construction, though, the new aircraft – the ‘Interceptor Fighter’ as it was referred to – would be conventional with fuselage and centre

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Hurricane IIb Engine:

Type: Crew: Max speed: Length: Height: Wingspan: Max weight: Range: Armament:

1 x 1,260hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XX Monoplane fighter One 340mph (547km/h) 32ft 0in (9.75m) 13ft 1in (3.99m) 40ft 0in (12.19m) 7,900lb (3,591kg) 460 miles (740km) on internal fuel 12 x 0.303in Browning machine guns

Right: A tight formation of Hurricane IIcs of No 1 Squadron from Tangmere, headed by Z3778 JX-Y in 1942. Hurricane pilot Mike Croskell noted: ‘I was confident that in a scrap with Bf109s, the Hurricane could always out-turn it. But to try to follow a Bf109E in a climb or in a dive was asking more than the Hurricane and its Merlin powerplant could deliver.’ Below: The Hurricane prototype, K5083, made its maiden flight on 6 November 1935 in the hands of Flt Lt ‘George’ Bulman. Below right: Hurricane P3886 UF-K belonged to No 601 (County of London) Squadron and was flown during the Battle of Britain from RAF Tangmere by American Billy Fiske. In just 27 days and 47 sorties, Fiske claimed one aircraft destroyed, three probables and two damaged. On 16 August 1940, Fiske’s Hurricane was hit in the reserve fuel tank, causing an intense fire. Instead of bailing out he decided to try to save his Hurricane and managed to land back at his base. Fiske suffered severe burns and passed away in hospital the following day.

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HAWKER HURRICANE

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17

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THE ENGINE The Merlin II variant fitted to initial production Hurricane Is developed 1,030hp at 16,000ft and had a dry weight of 1,355lb (615kg). The Merlin III which powered later MkIs was similar, but was equipped with a different design of propeller shaft which could fit either a Rotol or a de Havilland variable-pitch propeller, while the Merlin XX which equipped the Hurricane II and the (heavier) IV developed 1,260hp at 11,700ft. Various studies were undertaken to re-engine the Hurricane, possible powerplants including the Napier Dagger, the Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder radial and even, in 1940, the Rolls-Royce Griffon (as used on later Spitfires). Nothing came of these schemes.

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19

20

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THE ENGINE The Merlin II variant fitted to initial production Hurricane Is developed 1,030hp at 16,000ft and had a dry weight of 1,355lb (615kg). The Merlin III which powered later MkIs was similar, but was equipped with a different design of propeller shaft which could fit either a Rotol or a de Havilland variable-pitch propeller, while the Merlin XX which equipped the Hurricane II and the (heavier) IV developed 1,260hp at 11,700ft. Various studies were undertaken to re-engine the Hurricane, possible powerplants including the Napier Dagger, the Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder radial and even, in 1940, the Rolls-Royce Griffon (as used on later Spitfires). Nothing came of these schemes.

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Right: The early Hurricane Is of No111 Squadron based at Northolt in 1938 were fitted with two-bladed props. When the Battle of Britain commenced in July 1940, the Hurricane was numerically by far the most important RAF fighter, outnumbering the Spitfire in squadrons by nearly two to one. This was the Hurricane’s – as well as Britain’s – finest hour. Nothing could disguise the fact, though, that the Hurricane was half a generation older in design than the Spitfire.

section of ‘girder construction’ in steel tube with fabric covering to the rear fuselage and wings. Prototype K5083 was built at Kingston and made its first flight from Brooklands in the hands of Flt Lt ‘George’ Bulman on 6 November 1935. The aircraft completed its service evaluation and testing at Martlesham Heath early in 1937, even as Hawker was preparing for large-scale production of the type in its factories at Brooklands and Kingston. In the absence of a production contract, Hawker boldly decided in May 1936 to put in hand the necessary expansion of its production facilities and workforce to build an initial batch of 1,000 aircraft. With German expansionism now evident to all, a contract for an initial

batch of 600 of the new aircraft was awarded to Hawker on 3 June 1936; the new fighter was named as the Hurricane 24 days later. The RAF would soon have its first fighter capable of exceeding 300mph in level flight. The first production Hurricane I, L1547, took to the air on 12 October 1937 at Brooklands. Early production aircraft differed little, at least externally, from K5083, but the eventual replacement of the original two-blade fixed-

Sea Hurricane The Sea Hurricane became the Fleet Air Arm’s principal fighter in the Mediterranean, the type’s wide undercarriage track suiting it well to landing on the heaving decks of aircraft carriers. Other Sea Hurricanes, rapidly converted, became ‘Catafighters’ or ‘Hurricats’. These were designed to be launched by catapult from the decks of converted merchant ships (‘CAM ships’) to meet the threat posed by Luftwaffe Fw200 Condor bombers ranging far out into the Atlantic. The aircraft, many of which had previously seen extensive service with the RAF, were intended for a single mission and were classed as ‘expendable’, since there was no way of landing the aircraft back on board ship.

pitch wooden airscrew by a three-blade variable-pitch unit gave a huge improvement in performance. Initial MkIs were equipped with the Merlin II engine that produced 1,030hp at 16,000ft. When war was declared on 1 September 1939, the RAF had 16 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. Almost all aircraft in service were MkIs, although Hurricane production had gone over to all-metal wings from March 1939. With its thick wing a hallmark of the Hurricane’s design, Sydney Camm’s team knew that any significant improvement in performance could only come from getting Rolls-Royce to develop a more powerful variant of the Merlin. The Merlin XX developed 1,260hp and this engine, fitted in the Hurricane IIa, gave a maximum speed of 340mph, an improvement of some 20mph. While the Hurricane’s days as a front-line fighter were clearly numbered, it did still have a future as a fighter-bomber, and the Hurricane IIc was fitted with four 20mm Oerlikon or Hispano cannons in the wing and was capable of carrying bombs or fuel tanks on under-wing hardpoints. The MkIId was developed as a ‘tank buster’ and featured a pair of under-wing Vickers 40mm cannon while retaining two 0.303in Brownings for sighting. The Hurricane served from the first day of the war to the last, but it did not remain in production throughout the conflict, with the last example rolling off the production line in July 1944. The final production Hurricane was the MkIV, which featured a ‘universal’ wing able to carry a variety of fixed gun armament and underwing stores including eight 60lb unguided rocket projectiles. Left: With Merlins already installed, Hawker Hurricane IIs near completion on the Langley final production line in 1943.

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SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE 21

Supermarine Spitfire

Top right: Visionary aircraft designer Reginald Mitchell, the brainchild behind the Spitfire. In 10 years of production and development, Mitchell’s fighter progressed from the Spitfire I with a top speed of 355mph, maximum weight of 5,280lb and rate of climb of 2,500ft per minute, to the Seafire 47’s 451mph, maximum weight of 12,500lb and climb of 4,800ft per minute. Above: The Spitfire prototype showing off the design’s classic elliptical wing. Left: The first cutaway published of Supermarine’s ‘new’ Spitfire fighter. Bottom left: Spitfire II P7531, L-ZI, was the aircraft of Flt Lt Charles Green, leader of 421 Flight flying out of RAF Hawkinge, Kent, in November 1940. The unit was formed for the purpose of tracking and reporting on incoming raids approaching the UK. The Flight’s aircraft retained the ‘LZ’ code of No 66 Squadron, from which it was formed, but added a small dash between the two letters, hence the reference to this aircraft as ‘L-Z-I’. P7531 was passed to No 91 Squadron in January 1941 when 421 Flight was expanded to become a full squadron.

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I

f the sight and sound of one aircraft is embedded in the spirit of a nation, it is the Supermarine Spitfire. This World War 2 fighter was born of the genius of Reginald Mitchell, a visionary designer who changed the course of history. Propelled by the equally revolutionary Rolls-Royce Merlin, the Spitfire underwent continuous development throughout the conflict. A rare combination of power and purity, strength and agility, it is of little surprise that the enthusiasm for this classic fighter remains undiminished. The legends of the Spitfire and the Merlin are simply inseparable. The Supermarine Spitfire was the brainchild of aircraft engineer Reginald J. Mitchell, who incorporated into his new monoplane fighter the fruitful results of experience gained in the design of a series of high-speed seaplanes that commenced in 1925. Mitchell’s Supermarine Type 300 fighter showed the distinctive lines of the Schneider racers in its fuselage, but had a new elliptical-shaped wing. However, it

was the emergence of the Rolls-Royce PV12 engine – later named Merlin – that was to be the most important catalyst in the new fighter’s development. With the help of the RollsRoyce team under E. W. (later Lord) Hives, the famous Merlin and later Griffon engines were honed to perfection, together with propeller development, first by de Havilland and then Rotol. The Spitfire legend was born. Built to a 1934 Air Ministry specification that called for an eight-gun fighter that could fly at over 275mph and have a good rate of climb, the prototype Type 300 (later named Spitfire) first flew at Eastleigh, near Southampton, on 5 March 1936, with Capt J. ‘Mutt’ Summers, the Vickers (Aviation) Group’s chief test pilot, at the controls. ‘The handling qualities of this machine are remarkably good. I want nothing touched’ he commented after landing. This aircraft, serial K5054, was fitted with one of the first Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and had a fixed-pitch two-blade wooden propeller giving a maximum speed of 342mph (542.2km/h).

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THE ENGINE All Merlins were 12-cylinder V-type engines with the two sets of cylinders arranged at an angle of 60 degrees. An early modification was the fitting of a controllable-pitch propeller and the later Merlin II had a universal shaft to take either a de Havilland or Rotol constantspeed propeller. Increased power necessitated increased cooling, and progressive changes were made to the cooling arrangements in the wing culminating in the use of duplex radiators, one side combining glycol and oil coolers and on the other glycol and intercoolers. As the power of the Merlin engine advanced, four-blade propellers were required.

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THE ENGINE All Merlins were 12-cylinder V-type engines with the two sets of cylinders arranged at an angle of 60 degrees. An early modification was the fitting of a controllable-pitch propeller and the later Merlin II had a universal shaft to take either a de Havilland or Rotol constantspeed propeller. Increased power necessitated increased cooling, and progressive changes were made to the cooling arrangements in the wing culminating in the use of duplex radiators, one side combining glycol and oil coolers and on the other glycol and intercoolers. As the power of the Merlin engine advanced, four-blade propellers were required.

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SINGLE-ENGINE This made it, at that time, one of the fastest military aircraft in the world. In a rare and inspired moment of foresight, the Air Ministry put its faith in an unproven design, an act that was to have great significance in the global conflict then brewing. The first order for 310 production Spitfire Is was placed on 3 June 1936 and exactly two years later the first deliveries were made to the RAF, entering service with No 19 (Fighter) Squadron at Duxford in July 1938. Sadly, R. J. Mitchell had died of cancer a year previously aged just 42, not knowing that his last aircraft design was to play such a critical part in the defence of Britain over the next eight years. The high performance of the Spitfire came from the low drag of the thin elliptical wing, the Left: These Spitfire Is and their Merlin engines were part of the first batch of 310 fighters ordered by the Air Ministry and built by Supermarine at its Woolston plant between May 1938 and September 1939. Below: Pre-war Supermarine Spitfires of No 19 Squadron carrying the unit’s WZ markings. The codes were changed to QV in September 1939.

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SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

slender form of its fuselage and the complete harmony of the parts that made up the whole aircraft. Throughout its production life it was possible to step up the performance by adding more and more powerful engines, because the basic structural design was capable of continuous development. By July 1940, at the start of the Battle of Britain, nearly 1,000 were on the strength of 19 RAF squadrons. Developments of the basic airframe and engine soon followed, from the team now led by Joseph Smith who had succeeded Mitchell as Chief Designer, and the type evolved to meet specific Fighter Command requirements. The Spitfire I and II were similar fighters, the latter having an improved Merlin engine, three-blade propeller and increased armour protection. The Spitfire V, VIII, IX and XVI meanwhile were fighters or fighter-bombers powered by the Merlin 45 series (MkV), Merlin

60 series (MkVIII and IX) or the Packard Motorsbuilt Merlin 266 (MkXVI) and fitted with re-designed wings. In the case of the ‘B’ wing, this allowed the carriage of more fuel and 20mm cannon in place of the Browning machine guns on the ‘A’ wing, while the universal ‘C’ wing could be adapted to take any combination of cannon/ machine guns. The subsequent ‘E’ wing fitted to the MkIX in 1944 had the bigger 0.50in US Brownings. The Spitfire VI and VII were highaltitude fighters powered by the Merlin 47 (MkVI) and Merlin 60 series (MkVII), both with pressurised cockpits, retractable tailwheel and ‘C’ wing. Unarmed photo-reconnaissance variants were the Spitfire IV, X and XI, with the MkXIII being an armed recce version. Over 18,300 Merlin-engined Spitfires were built. Through the war years the Spitfire was at the forefront of battle, but it was certainly not alone and was not, as the statistics show, always an

Seafire Spitfires were also developed for the Fleet Air Arm where they were known as Seafires. Initial versions were converted Spitfire Vbs and Vcs, the latter forming the basis for production Seafire IIcs, of which 262 were built. The Fleet Air Arm’s adaptation of the Spitfire for carrier operations was never a great success. The Spitfire’s relatively weak, narrow-track undercarriage brought disaster to many an unwary pilot as he bounced onto the heaving deck of a carrier. Until the arrival of the contra-rotating propellers of the Seafire 47, the torque swing from the powerful Griffon engine equally caused problems on take-off or overshoot, causing some spectacular mishaps.

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Above: Spitfire IAs of No 610 Squadron based at Biggin Hill on patrol during the Battle of Britain.

overwhelming success. The Spitfire scored on aesthetics, manoeuvrability and aerodynamic refinement and showed greater potential for development than its opposite number, the Bf109. Unfortunately, the speed at which the enemy progressed with its alternative fighter designs, such as the Focke-Wulf Fw190, could not be matched by the overstretched Supermarine team. Thus a period came in 1941-42 when the enemy’s fighters had the edge – at least until the Spitfire IXb entered service. Now it became a versatile, fast, wellarmed fighter, demonstrating its flexibility in the low-level fighter, ground attack and fighter reconnaissance roles in particular. In 1943, the Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined Spitfire XII entered service. The new powerplant increased the aircraft’s power, speed and rate of climb, particularly at low level. The Spitfire flew on every operational front, including Italy, Malta, the Middle East, India and Australia. Apart from being a standard fighter in the Royal Air Force and the Commonwealth air arms, it was also used by France, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Belgium, Portugal, Russia and the US. The last of 22,758 Spitfires was built in October 1947, and the famous fighter remained in active RAF service until 1951.

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SINGLE-ENGINE

Spitfire I Engine: Type: Crew: Max speed: Length: Height: Wingspan: Max weight: Range: Armament:

Spitfire IX Engine: Type: Crew: Max speed: Length: Height: Wingspan: Max weight: Range: Armament:

1 x 1,030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin II/III Monoplane fighter One 362mph (584km/h) 29ft 11in (9.1m) 11ft 5in (3.48m) 36ft 10in (11.23m) 5,800lb (2,631kg) 395 miles (636km) 8 x 0.303in machine guns

1 x 1,565hp Rolls-Royce Merlin III Monoplane fighter One 408mph (657km/h) 31ft 0.5in (9.45m) 11ft 8in (3.56m) 36ft 10in (11.23m) 7,500lb (3,402kg) 434 miles (698km) 4 x 0.303in machine guns; 2 x 20mm cannons

Top: A striking air-to-air view of Spitfire Vb EN821/SN-M of No 243 Squadron, a unit reformed in the UK after flying Brewster Buffaloes against the Japanese. Remaining in Britain for about three months before transferring to Algeria in December 1942, No 243 flew Spitfires until disbanding in Italy in October 1944. Above: Spitfire IXc MA588 from No 331 (Norwegian) Squadron. There were some combat fighters that were faster, there were some that could carry a greater load or fly further, but there was none that could match the Spitfire in terms of overall performance or ease of handling. Left: Pilots of No 19 and No 616 Squadrons pose by a Spitfire. Sitting on the wing (left to right) are Brian Lane, ‘Grumpy’ Unwin and Francis Brinsden – with Flash the Alsatian and Rangy the Spaniel. In front, are Bernard Jennings, Colin MacFie, Howard Burton and the American volunteer Philip Leckrone. Three of the men – Lane, Burton and Leckrone – did not survive the war. MacFie went on to fly with Bader’s Tangmere Wing until he was shot down in combat and captured in July 1941. Right: WAAF mechanics busy working on a Merlin engine in 1939. Although they were not allowed to fight on the front-line, WAAF mechanics and engineers played a vital role in keeping aircraft serviceable.

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Fairey Battle

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ot all Merlin-engined aircraft were a success. The much-maligned Fairey Battle light bomber will always be remembered for its heroic but tragic attacks on the bridges near Maastricht following the German invasion in May 1940. A victim of a misguided specification rather than bad design, the single-engined Battle lacked performance and was effectively obsolescent even before it entered service. In 1933, the UK Air Ministry decided that it wanted to replace the Hawker Hart light bomber with a new aircraft that could carry two crew and a 1,000lb bomb load for 1,000 miles

Top: The prototype P.27/32 (later named Battle), being flown by Fairey test pilot Chris Staniland in April 1936. Left: During the so-called ‘phoney war’, the Fairey Battle was used to fly reconnaissance sorties over the German front line. It was during one of these missions, on 20 September 1939, that a Battle shot down a Messerschmitt Bf109, giving the type the honour of having achieved the first RAF kill of the war.

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FAIREY BATTLE

at 200mph. Unfortunately they wanted all this from a single-engined machine. The aircraft that emerged from this challenging specification was the Fairey Battle, powered by the new Rolls-Royce Merlin, the only engine that was deemed powerful enough to provide the performance required. Compared to the aircraft it was replacing, the Fairey Battle was of ‘modern’ construction, a low-winged monoplane with stressed skin. Even before the prototype (K4303) took to the air on 10 March 1936, the Air Ministry contracted for 155 to offset its outclassed inter-war biplanes. When introduced into service in 1937 with No 63 Squadron, it could carry twice as many bombs over twice the distance as the Hawker Hart and Hind bombers it replaced. It could carry four 250lb bombs in its bomb bay, and two more under the wings. The final aircraft carried a crew of three, with the pilot and air gunner/radio operator in the long ‘glasshouse’ cockpit and the bomb aimer/observer in a prone position in the bottom of the fuselage. The Battle had very

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limited defensive armament, carrying one 0.303in Browning machine gun in the starboard wing, with the potential to add a rear-firing Vickers ‘K’ gun on a mounting at the back of the cockpit. In overall appearance it looked more like a fighter than a bomber, which in many ways was its downfall. By 1939, some 1,000 Battles were in the RAF’s inventory in preparation for war. The harsh truth was that it was already out-dated, but due to the lack of more modern types it remained in front-line service. Battles of No 226 Squadron were the first RAF aircraft to be sent to France on the outbreak of war. The German attack in the West began on 10 May 1940. Two days later an attempt was made to halt the German advance towards Brussels by bombing two road bridges over the Albert Canal near Maastricht. Six Battles of No 12 Squadron attacked through a withering barrage of anti-aircraft and small arms fire. All six aircraft were shot down. Flying Officer Garland and Sgt Gray were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for

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THE ENGINE The single-engined Fairey Battle monoplane bomber was progressively powered by various models of the Merlin engine, such as the Merlin I, II, III and V. their part in this action, the RAF’s first of World War 2. After suffering more crippling losses (on 14 May, 35 Battles were shot down by Bf109s), the type was withdrawn from France but continued their attacks against enemy occupied Channel ports. Removed from operations in September 1940, the Battle was subsequently used for training in Britain and Canada. Eventually 2,201 Battles were built for the RAF, 1,155 by Fairey, 1,029 by the Austin car company as part of the Shadow Factory Scheme and one by Hayes, all to orders placed by the end of 1939. The majority of these aircraft were powered by the Merlin III engine.

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Fairey Battle II Engine: Type: Crew: Max Speed: Length: Height: Wingspan: Max weight: Range: Armament:

1 x 1,030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin II Light bomber Three 257mph (413km/h) 42ft 4in (12.9m) 15ft 6in (4.72m) 54ft 0in (16.45m) 10,792lb (4,895kg) 1,000 miles (1,610km) Guns: 1 x 0.303in Browning machine gun (starboard wing); 1 x Vickers K machine gun (rear cabin). Bombs: 4 x 250lb (110kg) internally, 500lb (230kg) (externally) Above: Battle aircrew from No 226 Squadron stationed at Harwell, prepare for a peacetime training sortie. Top right: The first production Battle, K7558, was used to perform a series of official handling and performance trials in advance to the wider introduction of the type to operational service. During these trials, it demonstrated the Battle’s ability to conduct missions of a 1,000 mile range while under a full bomb load Left: The bomb aimer’s position in the belly of the Fairey Battle. With the weapons release switch in his right hand, the bomb aimer would release the payload when the target passed through a line defined by two sets of sights. Below: With his aircraft’s engine already running, a Battle pilot makes final checks with his groundcrew before settling down into the cockpit. The Battle was a robust aircraft that was frequently described as being easy to fly, even for relatively inexperienced aircrew. The pilot was provided with overall good external visibility and the cockpit was considered to be roomy and comfortable for the era. However, for the size and weight of the aircraft, its singleengine configuration would always represent a challenge, even for the Merlin.

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FAIREY BATTLE

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Boulton Paul Defiant T he Defiant seemed like a good idea at the time. Equip a new monoplane fighter with the latest in turret weaponry and then power it with the stateof-the-art Merlin engine. Sadly, though, the concept was deeply flawed and the Defiant was cruelly exposed in the dangerous skies over southern England during the summer of 1940, falling easy prey to the vastly more agile Bf109s of the Luftwaffe.

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In the early 1930s the RAF was impressed by the rate of fire achieved by the four-gun power-operated turrets entering service with its new bombers and decided to try them out in small, fast single-engined aircraft, designed to replace the now obsolescent Hawker Demon biplane fighter. Competing for Specification F9/35 were the Hawker Hotspur and Boulton Paul Defiant, but with Hawker struggling to cope with Hurricane production, the Defiant

was chosen as the only viable contender to fill the two-seat fighter role. Powered by a 1,030hp Merlin II engine, the Defiant was fitted with a licence-built French SAMM turret behind the cockpit. This contained four 0.303in ColtBrowning machine guns, with 600 rounds per gun. Introducing a new tactical concept in twoseat fighters, the Defiant had no fixed forwardfiring armament, a decision that was to become its achilles heel. The prototype made its maiden

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BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT flight on 11 August 1937, by which time Boulton Paul had already received a contract for the construction of 87 Defiant Is. The long period that passed between the conception of the Defiant turret fighter and its operational acceptance, impaired its usefulness. The delays in production, to some extent caused by the enormous demand for the Merlin engine in other fighters, resulted in only three aircraft being delivered before Below: Defiants of No 264 Squadron hold tight formation. The Luftwaffe soon realised that the Defiant was vulnerable to frontal attack and the squadron suffered heavy losses of aircraft and its aircrew.

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the outbreak of war. The first unit to equip with the type was No 264 Squadron, which moved to Martlesham Heath to take delivery in December 1939. Engine and hydraulic malfunctions caused a grounding order late in January 1940, which was lifted the following month. Forced into action as an interceptor alongside the Spitfire and Hurricane, the Defiant first entered combat in May, and achieved a somewhat patchy record. Against bombers, the Defiant’s extremely heavy turret armament was very effective; and by operating mixed formations of Defiants and Hurricanes the RAF could make use of the superficial resemblance between the two types to

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confuse and trap German fighters. However, when the Messerschmitts caught Defiants on their own and recognised them for what they were, they inflicted appalling casualties. The Defiant’s technique of the pilot positioning his aircraft with the gunner’s field of fire in mind was feasible against slow bombers, but proved quite impossible in a fast dogfight. So heavy were the losses inflicted on the Defiant units, that they were removed from Fighter Command’s frontline strength by the end of August 1940. Although the Defiant went on to enjoy some success as a nightfighter, it was never committed to daylight operations within range of enemy fighters again.

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Boulton Paul Defiant I Engine:

1 x 1,030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin III Type: Monoplane fighter Crew: Two Max Speed: 304mph (489km/h) Length: 35ft 4in (10.77m) Height: 12ft 2in (3.70m) Wingspan: 39ft 4in (12.00m) Empty weight: 6,078lb (2,757kg) Max T/O weight: 8,318lb (3,773kg) Range: 465 miles (748km) Armament: 4 x 0.303in machine guns in dorsal turret

Above: With their Rolls-Royce Merlins already installed, Defiants enter their final stage of production on the assembly line at Boulton Paul’s factory at Pendeford, Wolverhampton. Left: A gunner of No 264 Squadron about to enter the turret of his Defiant. The gunner’s hatch was in the rear of the turret, which had to be rotated to a side to enable entry and exit. There was not enough room in the turret for the gunner to wear a seat-type or backpack parachute so gunners were provided with a special all-in-one garment nicknamed the ‘rhino suit’. In the event of an emergency, a Defiant gunner had very little chance of escaping from his turret. Centre right: A high-speed target tug variant, the Defiant III, was developed in response to a growing demand for such a type; this model featured considerable modifications for the role, such as lacking the dorsal turret. Many of the surviving MkI and MkII Defiants also had their turrets removed when they were converted for the same role. Right: The Defiant re-invented itself as a night fighter, typically attacking enemy bombers from below, more often from slightly ahead or to one side, rather than from directly under the tail. During the winter Blitz on London of 1940–41, the Defiant equipped four squadrons, shooting down more enemy aircraft than any other type.

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BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT

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Fairey Fulmar S turdy is the adjective most often used to describe the Fairey Fulmar. Powered by a single Rolls-Royce Merlin, the Fulmar was the Fleet Air Arm’s first dedicated monoplane fighter when it was introduced in 1940. However, like its Fairey Battle antecedent its performance was less than desirable. With the likelihood of war fast approaching, the Royal Navy was in dire need of a carrierborne fighter. At the time the Fairey design team had been developing a cut-down version of the Battle, designated P4/34, and this aircraft was assessed as needing only detail work to adapt it for Fleet use and to optimise its

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long-range escort potential. The result was the Fairey Fulmar, a two-man fighter armed with eight 0.303in machine guns (the same as frontline RAF fighters), but with a six-hour endurance at 138mph for patrol duties, or three hours at 175mph for escort duties. The first prototype Fulmar was powered by a 1,080hp Rolls-Royce Merlin III, but performance was poor with a top speed of only 230mph (370km/h). With the Merlin VIII engine – a variant unique to the Fulmar and with supercharging Below: The Fairey Fulmar entered FAA service in 1940. Despite being overtaken by more agile single-engined fighters from 1943, it remained operational for most of the war. This aircraft is Fulmar II N4062, powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 V-12 engine of 1,300hp.

optimised for low-level flight – speed was improved to 265mph which, owing to the desperate need for modern fighters, was considered adequate. As a simple derivative of an existing prototype, the Fulmar promised to be available quickly and an initial order for 127 production aircraft was placed in mid-1938. The first production aircraft flew from Fairey’s facility at RAF Ringway near Manchester on 4 January 1940. The first unit to be equipped with the Fulmar was 806 NAS in July 1940, and this squadron began operating from HMS Illustrious shortly afterwards. Initial responses were mixed. The Navy had specified a two-seat machine, feeling that a navigator was needed to cope with the challenges of flying over the open

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FAIREY FULMAR

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Left: The prototype P.4/34 (from which the Fulmar was derived), first flew on 13 January 1937 at Fairey Aviation’s Great West Aerodrome with test pilot Chris Staniland at the controls.

ocean. As a result, the Fulmar was far too large and unwieldy when it came into contact with single-seat, land-based opposition. Nevertheless, when it first saw action on Malta convoy protection patrols in September 1940, the Fulmar was able to achieve victories

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against its far more agile Italian and German adversaries. Its long range was also put to good use at times, as evidenced in the 1941 chase of the German battleship Bismarck, where Fulmars acted as carrier-borne spotters, tracking and trailing the fleeing battleship.

In 1942, Fulmars were sent to the Far East to defend against Japanese incursions threatening around the Indian Ocean and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). To help bring more power to the line, the Fulmar II was also introduced during 1942 with its Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 V-12 engine of 1,300hp. The aircraft now reached 272mph with a service ceiling up to 27,200ft, a range out to 780 miles and a climb rate of 1,320fpm. Despite this, the Fulmar was still limited as a fighter, especially when it encountered the agile Mitsubishi A6M Zero, which took a heavy toll on the now-outmoded aircraft. Although single-engined fighters such as the Seafire soon superseded it, the Fulmar has the distinction of destroying 112 enemy aircraft, more than any other Fleet Air Arm fighter during World War 2.

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KEY 1 Starboard navigation light 2 Deck-handling hold 3 Starboard wingtip 4 Aileron control linkage 5 Aileron torque tube 6 Underwing pitot head 7 Starboard wing gun ports 8 Aileron control rod 9 Wing rib 10 Starboard aileron 11 Aileron trim tab 12 Starboard flap 13 Flap operating mechanism 14 Trailing-edge wing-fold mechanism 15 Wing-fold hinge line 16 Camera gun access 17 Camera gun port 18 Three-blade Rotol constant-speed propeller 19 Spinner 20 Coolant header tank capacity 16 Imp gal (73 litres) 21 1,080 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII engine 22 Coolant pipes 23 Elector exhaust manifold 24 Engine bearing frame support 25 Engine accessories 26 Propeller speed control unit 27 Engine bearer strut 28 Oil/coolant intake 29 Starboard mainwheel fairing

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30 Starboard mainwheel 31 Carburettor air intake 32 Intake duct 33 Oil radiator (centre) 34 Coolant radiators (port and starboard) 35 Firewall bulkhead 36 Rudder pedal mounting 37 Control column 38 Exhaust glare shield 39 Oil tank 40 Windscreen 41 Reflector gunsight 42 Rear-view mirror 43 Aft-sliding cockpit canopy 44 Sling shackle 45 Pilot’s fire extinguisher (hand-held) 46 Pilot’s seat 47 Seat harness 48 Arrester hook release 49 Underfloor control linkage 50 Fuselage/main spar attachment 51 No 1 fuselage frame 52 Transmitter/receiver 53 Accumulator 54 Dry battery 55 Canopy track 56 Receiver 57 Fuselage fuel tank, capacity 155 Imp gal (705 litres) 58 Hydraulic header tank 59 Aerial mast

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60 Observer’s auxiliary instrument panel (ASI/altimeter) 61 ARI.5003 indicator 62 Indicator cradle 63 Fire extinguisher 64 Sliding chart table 65 Oxygen cylinders (port and starboard) 66 Observer’s swivel seat 67 Oxygen supply tube 68 ARI.5003 transmitter unit 69 Compass mounting 70 Compass 71 Observer’s canopy section (forwardsliding) 72 Fixed aft canopy 73 Dorsal identification light 74 Aerial lead-in 75 Break-out window panels 76 Signalling lamp stowage 77 Signal cartridge stowage 78 C02 cylinder (dinghy inflation) 79 First-aid kit 80 Dinghy stowage 81 Jettisonable panel 82 Aerials 83 Aft canopy fairing 84 Starboard tailplane 85 Starboard elevator 86 Elevator trim tab 87 Fin leading-edge 88 Fin structure

89 Rudder trim tab control 90 Rudder upper hinge 91 Rudder frame 92 Rudder trim tab 93 Rear formation light 94 Rear navigation light 95 Tailcone 96 Rudder lower hinge 97 Aft fuselage frame (No 22) 98 Rudder pivot 99 Elevator cross-shaft control 100 Elevator trim tab 101 Elevator frame 102 Tailplane structure 103 Fixed tailwheel 104 Tailwheel shock-absorber 105 Fuselage frame (No.20)/tailfin attachment 106 Rudder cables 107 Dinghy release cord (external) 108 Fuselage structure 109 Elevator cables 110 Arrester hook tunnel 111 Arrester hook 112 Catapult spool 113 Arrester hook pivot 114 Arrester hook shock-absorbing damper

115 TR.1133/1143 aerial, sea marker flares/smoke-float stowage 116 Fuselage frame 117 Flare/float chute 118 Entry foot/handholds 119 Aft cockpit floor level 120 Wingroot fillet 121 Flap section 122 Flap structure 123 Port aileron trim tab 124 Aileron frame 125 Deck-handling hold 126 Port navigation light 127 Outer wing ribs 128 Rear spar 129 Forward spar 130 Leading-edge ribs 131 Four .303-in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns 132 Machine gun barrels (blast tubes omitted) 133 Gun ports 134 Diagonal bracing ribs 135 Ammunition box stowage

136 Strengthened wing rib (No.10) 137 Diaphragms 138 Outer wing (hinge) diagonal frame 139 Stringers 140 Rear spar attachment 141 Inboard rib 142 Intermediate (inboard) strut 143 Undercarriage retraction link 144 Port mainwheel well 145 Radiator shutters 146 Mainwheel inner fairing 147 Rib cut-outs 148 Undercarriage catch/lock 149 Undercarriage pivot 150 Toggle spring 151 Retraction lever 152 Wing hinge

40

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Undercarriage rear bearing strut Landing lamp Mainwheel leg outer cylinder Side bracing Mainwheel leg fairing Sliding member Mainwheel fairing Port mainwheel

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KEY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 

Starboard navigation light Deck-handling hold Starboard wingtip Aileron control linkage Aileron torque tube Underwing pitot head Starboard wing gun ports Aileron control rod Wing rib Starboard aileron Aileron trim tab Starboard flap Flap operating mechanism Trailing-edge wing-fold mechanism Wing-fold hinge line Camera gun access Camera gun port Three-blade Rotol constant-speed propeller 19 Spinner 20  Coolant header tank capacity 16 Imp gal (73 litres) 21  1,080 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII engine 22 Coolant pipes 23 Elector exhaust manifold 24 Engine bearing frame support 25 Engine accessories 26 Propeller speed control unit 27 Engine bearer strut 28 Oil/coolant intake 29 Starboard mainwheel fairing

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30 31 32 33 34 

Starboard mainwheel Carburettor air intake Intake duct Oil radiator (centre) Coolant radiators (port and starboard) 35 Firewall bulkhead 36 Rudder pedal mounting 37 Control column 38 Exhaust glare shield 39 Oil tank 40 Windscreen 41 Reflector gunsight 42 Rear-view mirror 43 Aft-sliding cockpit canopy 44 Sling shackle 45 Pilot’s fire extinguisher (hand-held) 46 Pilot’s seat 47 Seat harness 48 Arrester hook release 49 Underfloor control linkage 50 Fuselage/main spar attachment 51 No 1 fuselage frame 52 Transmitter/receiver 53 Accumulator 54 Dry battery 55 Canopy track 56 Receiver 57  Fuselage fuel tank, capacity 155 Imp gal (705 litres) 58 Hydraulic header tank 59 Aerial mast

39

60  Observer’s auxiliary instrument panel (ASI/altimeter) 61 ARI.5003 indicator 62 Indicator cradle 63 Fire extinguisher 64 Sliding chart table 65  Oxygen cylinders (port and starboard) 66 Observer’s swivel seat 67 Oxygen supply tube 68 ARI.5003 transmitter unit 69 Compass mounting 70 Compass 71  Observer’s canopy section (forwardsliding) 72 Fixed aft canopy 73 Dorsal identification light 74 Aerial lead-in 75 Break-out window panels 76 Signalling lamp stowage 77 Signal cartridge stowage 78 C02 cylinder (dinghy inflation) 79 First-aid kit 80 Dinghy stowage 81 Jettisonable panel 82 Aerials 83 Aft canopy fairing 84 Starboard tailplane 85 Starboard elevator 86 Elevator trim tab 87 Fin leading-edge 88 Fin structure

89 Rudder trim tab control 90 Rudder upper hinge 91 Rudder frame 92 Rudder trim tab 93 Rear formation light 94 Rear navigation light 95 Tailcone 96 Rudder lower hinge 97 Aft fuselage frame (No 22) 98 Rudder pivot 99 Elevator cross-shaft control 100 Elevator trim tab 101 Elevator frame 102 Tailplane structure 103 Fixed tailwheel 104 Tailwheel shock-absorber 105 Fuselage frame (No.20)/tailfin attachment 106 Rudder cables 107 Dinghy release cord (external) 108 Fuselage structure 109 Elevator cables 110 Arrester hook tunnel 111 Arrester hook 112 Catapult spool 113 Arrester hook pivot 114 Arrester hook shock-absorbing damper

115 TR.1133/1143 aerial, sea marker flares/smoke-float stowage 116 Fuselage frame 117 Flare/float chute 118 Entry foot/handholds 119 Aft cockpit floor level 120 Wingroot fillet 121 Flap section 122 Flap structure 123 Port aileron trim tab 124 Aileron frame 125 Deck-handling hold 126 Port navigation light 127 Outer wing ribs 128 Rear spar 129 Forward spar 130 Leading-edge ribs 131 Four .303-in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns 132 Machine gun barrels (blast tubes omitted) 133 Gun ports 134 Diagonal bracing ribs 135 Ammunition box stowage

136 Strengthened wing rib (No.10) 137 Diaphragms 138 Outer wing (hinge) diagonal frame 139 Stringers 140 Rear spar attachment 141 Inboard rib 142 Intermediate (inboard) strut 143 Undercarriage retraction link 144 Port mainwheel well 145 Radiator shutters 146 Mainwheel inner fairing 147 Rib cut-outs 148 Undercarriage catch/lock 149 Undercarriage pivot 150 Toggle spring 151 Retraction lever 152 Wing hinge

40

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Undercarriage rear bearing strut Landing lamp Mainwheel leg outer cylinder Side bracing Mainwheel leg fairing Sliding member Mainwheel fairing Port mainwheel

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Above: Produced throughout 1940-43, exactly 600 Fulmars were built, comprising 250 MkIs and 350 MkIIs. Left: Fulmars at sea. The big fighter first went into action in September 1940 during the protection of the Malta convoys. Below left: The Fulmar has that typical ‘Merlinpowered’ look, but the size and weight of the aircraft hampered its manoevrability.

Fairey Fulmar II Engine:

1 x 1,300hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 Type: Monoplane fighter Crew: Two Max Speed: 272mph (438km/h) Length: 40ft 2in (12.25m) Height: 14ft 0in (4.27m) Wingspan: 46ft 4in (14.13m) Empty weight: 7,015lb (3,182kg) Max T/O weight: 10,200lb (4,627kg) Range: 780 miles (1,255km) Armament: Guns: 8 x 0.303in machine guns mounted in the wings. Bombs: 2 x 250lb (110kg) bombs

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FAIREY BARRACUDA 41

Fairey Barracuda T he Rolls-Royce Merlin powered some of the most aesthetic aircraft the world has ever seen. The Barracuda was not one of them. It was ungainly on the ground and only marginally better in the air. But it was an aircraft designed for a purpose, and that purpose was torpedo-bomber. The Barracuda was the first monoplane torpedo bomber to go into service with the FAA. The original S.24/37 was designed around the Rolls-Royce Exe 24-cylinder X-type engine, but early in the construction stage the powerplant was changed to the RollsRoyce Merlin 30, thus delaying the initial production programme. The Merlin-engined prototype first flew on 7 December 1940 and demonstrated a much improved performance capability over its predecessors, the Fairey Swordfish and Albacore. A cantilever shoulderwing monoplane of all-metal construction, its foldable wings incorporated huge FaireyYoungman trailing-edge flaps that doubled as dive brakes. The fuselage accompanied a crew of three in tandem cockpits, enclosed by a long ‘greenhouse’ canopy.

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Because of the high priority afforded to RAF fighters, it was not until February 1942 that Barracuda service trials and evaluation were completed. These showed the need for airframe strengthening that, together with the addition of equipment not included in the original specification, resulted in the aircraft suffering from a weight problem that persisted through its service life. It seriously reduced take-off and climb performance and after 30 Barracuda Is had been built, introduction of the 1,640hp (1223-kW) Merlin 32 resulted in the Barracuda II, which was the main production version. In all, 1,688 Barracuda IIs were built by Fairey, Blackburn, Boulton Paul and Westland. The later Barracuda TRIII was evolved to take a new ASV radar installation, with a blister radome beneath the rear fuselage. The Barracuda began entering service in late 1943 with Fleet Air Arm units, and at one point equipped 23 front-line squadrons. The Barracuda saw intense action from the Arctic, to the Mediterranean and to Malaya. Missions included attacking shipping, mine laying of

Above: Fairey Barracuda P9967 in typical attack mode, diving towards its target before levelling out to drop its lethal 1,620lb torpedo. The type was famous for its role in sinking the German battleship Tirpitz.

European harbours and support to invasion forces in Italy. The most notable success of the Barracuda was in the crippling of the German battleship Tirpitz in Kaa Fjord (Norway) on 3 April 1944. Barracudas were also credited with the sinking of two German U-boats. The Barracuda continued in Fleet Air Arm service until the mid-1950s, by which time it was replaced by Avengers.

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Fairey Barracuda II Engine:

1 x 1,640hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 32 Type: Torpedo/dive bomber Crew: Three Max Speed: 228mph (367km/h) Length: 39ft 9in (12.12m) Height: 15ft 2in (4.62m) Wingspan: 49ft 2in (14.99m) Empty weight: 9,350lb (4,250kg) Max T/O weight: 14,100lb (6,409kg) Range: 686 miles (1,104km) Armament: Guns: 2 x 0.303in Vickers K in rear cockpit. Bombs: 1 x 1,620lb (735kg) torpedo or 4 x 450lb (205kg) depth charges or 6 x 250lb (110kg) bombs

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41

42

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Fairey Barracuda II Engine:

1 x 1,640hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 32 Type: Torpedo/dive bomber Crew: Three Max Speed: 228mph (367km/h) Length: 39ft 9in (12.12m) Height: 15ft 2in (4.62m) Wingspan: 49ft 2in (14.99m) Empty weight: 9,350lb (4,250kg) Max T/O weight: 14,100lb (6,409kg) Range: 686 miles (1,104km) Armament: Guns: 2 x 0.303in Vickers K in rear cockpit. Bombs: 1 x 1,620lb (735kg) torpedo or 4 x 450lb (205kg) depth charges or 6 x 250lb (110kg) bombs

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41

42

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Above: A Barracuda pilot is waved off during carrier operations. Note the large flaps that also doubled as air brakes. Below: FAA mechanics work on the Barracuda’s Merlin engine. The bulbous drums under the nose are the engine and oil coolant radiators.

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FAIREY BARRACUDA

45

Left: Barracudas accounted for the destruction of two U-boats, though on this occasion it is carrying out a simulated training attack. Right: When returning to its parent aircraft carrier, Barracuda pilots were grateful for the aircraft’s powerful flaps and good visibility. However, carrier operations were unforgiving as this Barracuda demonstrates as its hits the barriers after missing the wires. Below: A pair of Barracuda TRIIIs of 714 NAS over the Irish Sea during a training exercise from Ronaldsway. Nearest the camera is MD892 R3M. The MkIII was specially introduced for anti-submarine operations and was fitted with a radome under the fuselage.

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46 SINGLE-ENGINE

North American P-51 Mustang T here is arguably no greater demonstration of the power of the Rolls-Royce Merlin than the North American Mustang. The British powerplant revolutionised the performance of the aircraft and turned it from a capable fighter into a war-winning weapon. During the dark days of World War 2 when Britain stood alone against Hitler, the RAF asked North American designers Edgar Schmued and Raymond Rice to design a new fighter. The heavily-armed P-51, with considerable speed and the capability to operate at high altitude, was born in less than 120 days. The prototype NA-73X took to the skies in October 1940 and showed so much promise that the RAF ordered 320 as the Mustang I. It was a design incorporating cutting-edge technology. The innovative laminar flow wing – halving drag over conventional wings – and aerodynamic smoothing made the Mustang an outstanding escort fighter. Flown in anger

over France in May 1941, these Mustangs, powered by a 1,100hp Allison in-line engine, proved themselves in low-level attack and reconnaissance missions. However, the Allison engine ran out of breath at high altitudes. As such, tests with the Rolls-Royce Merlin transformed the P-51 to be the long-range aircraft that the Allies were looking for. The results were instantaneous: a further 100mph at 30,000ft over the Allison. These new Merlinpowered Mustangs were the MkIII to the RAF, the P-51B and C to the USAAF. The type was to then evolve into the P-51D, the definitive aircraft in the Mustang series with its assured appearance. The framed ‘razorback’ cockpit was replaced with a British ‘teardrop’ canopy and armament was increased to six 0.50in machine guns. This was the Mustang that was the scourge of the Luftwaffe and the real answer for a long-range fighter that could escort the heavies to Berlin and back. With its licencebuilt Packard V-1650-7 Merlin engine rated at

1,490hp giving a maximum speed of 437mph at 25,000ft, the Mustang could make a tactical radius of an unbeatable 750 miles with two 100-gallon drop tanks. Its rivals, the Bf109 and Fw190, were on an equal footing in terms of manoeuvrability, but the Mustang remained supreme at high altitude and dives. Also, it was economical to produce, had excellent range and was durable. Over 17,000 examples were built and the Mustang became an icon of aerial warfare, the perfect long-range fighter. The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theatres. During World War 2, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft. P-51s served with at least 55 air forces around the world, being produced in five main versions. The P-51D/K variant was the most numerous with 9,602 airframes built. Remarkably, the Mustang was in military service from late 1942 until 1978.

THE ENGINE The early Mustangs were powered by the Allison F-series engine. However, this gave poor high-altitude performance. An RAF test pilot suggested fitting a Rolls-Royce engine and the new powerplant revolutionised the Mustang. A licencebuilt version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 68/9 two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, the Packard V-1650 Merlin, completely changed the character of the Mustang, rendering it one of the finest fighters of the war. Driving a four-bladed propeller, the US Merlin unleashed awesome power so that it could fly over 400mph and reach over 2,200 miles with drop tanks. Right: Four RAF Mustang IIIs (FB113 ‘QV-H’ nearest) of No 19 Squadron based at Ford, Sussex, flying in starboard echelon formation. The aircraft have been painted with white identity markings on the nose and wings to prevent mis-identification as Messerschmitt Bf109s!

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NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG 47

Above: ‘The Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney’. USAAF Mustang P-51Ds of the 352nd FG lined up at RAF Bodney, Norfolk, with 44-14696 Hell-er Bust of Capt Edwin L. Heller, 486th FS, in the foreground. Right: A gathering of Mustang aces. Don Bochkay describes a dogfight with William ‘O’Bee’ O’Brien (left) and Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson (right).

P-51D/P-51K Mustang Engine:

1 x Packard (Rolls-Royce) V-1650-7 Type: Monoplane fighter Crew: One Max speed: 437mph (703km/h) Length: 32.25ft (11.233m) Height: 13.67ft (4.16m) Wingspan: 37.04ft (11.289m) Max T/O weight: 12,100lb (5,488kg) Range: 1,180/1,900 miles (1,899km/3,057km) (DT) Armament: Guns: 6 x 0.50in machine guns Bombs: 2 x 1,000lb (453kg) bombs/rockets

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48 SINGLE-ENGINE

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NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG 49

Above: Tuskegee airmen 1st Lt Roscoe Brown Jr (right) and crew chief Marcellus G. Smith working on the Packard V-1650 Merlin engine of a 100th FS P-51 Mustang. Brown later became one of the few pilots to shoot down a German Me262 jet fighter. The famed Tuskegee airmen were the first AfricanAmerican squadron in the US armed forces during World War 2. Below: North American P-51B Ginger WZ-D of Capt George Loving, 309th FS, 31st FG, sporting three kill markings to represent his victories against a Bf109, an Me210 and a Ju-52. Bottom: North American P-51D Daddy’s Girl 44-14733, CS-L, flown by Capt (later Maj) Ray Wetmore of the 359th FG. With an eventual 21.25 victories to his name, Wetmore was the eighth most successful US fighter pilot in the European theatre. His last victory was on 15 March 1945 when he destroyed an Me163 rocket fighter. During his pursuit, the air speed indicator of Daddy’s Girl showed 600mph. Maj Wetmore died on 14 February 1951 when the Republic F-84 Thunderjet he was flying crashed.

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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley IV

T

he Whitley was one of three new twin-engined strategic bombers operated by the RAF at the beginning of World War 2. It looked slow and cumbersome, and it was. However, when the Whitley IV was re-engined with the Merlin its performance was transformed and the type went on to play a key role in Bomber Command operations until the advent of the four-engined ‘heavies’ in 1942. The Whitley was developed in response to Air Ministry Specification (B.3/34) issued in July 1934. Armstrong Whitworth proposed a twin-engined aircraft with a stressed-skin construction, powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Tiger radial engine, driving threeblade, variable pitch propellers. The first prototype flew on 17 March 1936 and the Whitley, as it was christened, was selected to be the standard RAF heavy bomber and an order for 80 aircraft was placed. However, by 1937 many regarded the design as obsolete when aircraft like the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax were being anticipated.

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The Whitley was Armstrong Whitworth’s first aircraft to incorporate monocoque construction and proved to be a very robust aircraft. The wing had an 8.5 degree angle of incidence which resulted in its characteristic nose-down flight attitude. It went through several design changes during its life, including the addition of split flaps and dihedral to the wings, this dihedral being increased on the MkIII onwards. The most significant change occurred in April 1939 with the MkIV when Merlin IV in-line engines of 1,030hp replaced the underpowered Tiger radials, effectively giving the Whitley a new lease of life. The other main change was the inclusion of a power-operated Nash and Thompson tail turret, armed with four 0.303in Browning machine guns. Forty MkIVs were built, the last seven as MkIVAs, with 1,145hp Merlin X engines. The MkV was by far the most common version of the Whitley. It used the same Merlin X engines as the MkIVAs, had increased fuel

capacity and a slightly longer fuselage, giving improved visibility for the tail gunner. Six Whitley squadrons were operational at the outbreak of the war and they were in action over Germany from the first night in which they participated in a so-called ‘nickel’ sortie, dropping leaflets over the Ruhr Valley. In 1941, they were used in the first paratroop operation of the war over southern Italy. Later versions served in the vital fight against U-boats with coastal command using radar and depth charges. The Whitley also helped develop British airborne forces by serving as parachute and glider-tug trainers, as well as parachuting SAS and agents into occupied Europe.

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ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH WHITLEY IV

51

IV

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V Engine:

British Overseas Airways Corporation also operated 15 Whitley Vs converted into freighters in 1942. Running night supply flights from Gibraltar to Malta, they took seven hours to reach the island, often landing during air attacks. They used large quantities of fuel for a small payload and were replaced in August 1942 by the Lockheed Hudson, with the 14 survivors being returned to the RAF. Having played its part with Bomber Command, the Whitley bowed out of front line operations in April 1942, but continued to serve with training units and Coastal Command. Production of the Whitley stopped in June 1943, after 1,814 of all versions had been produced.

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Top: A fine air-to-air study of Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V Z6640/EY-Y of No 78 Squadron, a veteran of many night bombing raids over Germany. The Whitley was a sturdy aircraft with few vices, generally liked by those crews who flew them on operations. It could take a lot of punishment and was said to be a pleasure to fly, although a little on the slow side, even with its Merlins. Above: The Whitley VII was designed for service with Coastal Command and was capable of longer-range flights (up to 2,300 miles/3,700km) having additional fuel tanks fitted in the bomb bay and fuselage. It was equipped with Air-to Surface Vessel (ASV) radar for anti-shipping patrols with an additional four ‘stickleback’ dorsal radar masts.

2 x 1,145hp Rolls-Royce Merlin Xs Type: Heavy bomber Crew: Five Max Speed: 230mph (370km/h) Length: 70ft 6in (21.49m) Height: 15ft 0in (4.57m) Wingspan: 84ft 0in (25.60m) Empty weight: 19,300lb (8,768kg) Max T/O weight: 33,500lb (15,196kg) Range: 1,650 miles (2,650km) Armament: Guns: 1 x 0.303in Vickers K in nose turret, 4 x 0.303in Brownings in tail turret. Bombs: Up to 7,000lb (3,175kg) of bombs in fusleage and 14 individual cells in wings. Bombs as heavy as 2,000lb could be carried

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Handley Page Halifax T he Rolls-Royce Merlin was the powerplant of choice for the second British four-engined bomber to enter service in World War 2, the Handley Page Halifax. But it did not start or end that way… The Halifax was designed by Handley Page in response to a 1936 RAF requirement for a bomber powered by two 24-cylinder RollsRoyce Vulture engines. However, the Vulture encountered problems in development and the bomber design was reworked in 1937 to take four Rolls-Royce Merlins. Such was the promise of the new model that the RAF had placed its first order for 100 Halifax BIs ‘off the drawing board’ in January 1938. The maiden flight of the Halifax took place on 25 October 1939 from RAF Bicester, not long after Britain declared war on Germany. As first flown, the Halifax BI was an all-metal, mid-wing monoplane, with twin tailfins of knotted triangular shape. A large bomb-bay in the fuselage was complemented by six small bays in the inner wing panels. Early versions of the Halifax were armed with a power-operated tail turret mounting four 0.303in (7.7mm) machine guns, powered turrets mounting two 0.303s on the upper fuselage and belly, and two 0.303s in the nose blister. Production of the Halifax began in October 1940, a year ahead of the more famous Lancaster, and it began active service with Bomber Command in March 1941. It was the first four-engined bomber to strike Germany when one took part in a raid on Hamburg on the night of 12-13 March 1941. However, it quickly became apparent that the aircraft’s defensive armament was inadequate for daylight use and by the end of 1941, the Halifax was used only by night in the bombing role. Consequently, the Halifax BII srs I introduced 1,390hp Merlin XX engines and a twin .303in (7.7mm) dorsal turret instead of waist guns. This was soon followed by the BII srs IA that featured a moulded Perspex nose (the standard for future Halifax variants), a four-gun Defianttype dorsal turret, Merlin 22 engines and larger, trapezoidal-shaped vertical tail surfaces, which solved control deficiencies from fin-stall. The Halifax was a sturdy and reliable aircraft and was generally well liked by its crews. Nevertheless, due to mounting losses over Germany, the bomber was restricted to less hazardous targets from September 1943.

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Shortages of Merlin engines led to the production of the Halifax BIII powered by more-powerful Bristol Hercules air-cooled radial engines. These entered service in 1943 and were an improvement over Merlin-engined Halifaxes, but they were still markedly inferior to the RAF’s principal four-engined bomber, the Lancaster. In service with RAF Bomber Command, the Halifax flew 82,773 operations, dropped 224,207 tons of bombs (more than a quarter of the total dropped on Germany by the RAF) with a loss of 1,833 aircraft. At the peak of its service some 34 squadrons operated the aircraft in Europe and four more in the Middle East. The Halifax was also operated by nine squadrons of the RAF’s Coastal Command for anti-submarine, meteorological, and shipping patrols. RAF Transport Command used the aircraft as casualty, freight, and personnel transports. Two ‘special duty’ squadrons also used the Halifax for dropping special agents and supplies into enemy territory. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Free French Air Force, and Polish forces. In all, 6,176 Halifax were built and the type remained in service after the war, most noticeably during the Berlin Airlift, where they proved indispensible. Right: Halifax BII srs I (Special) W1057, ZA-X, of No10 Squadron RAF, with a faired-over nose. During April–May 1942, this aircraft took part in a number of raids on the German battleship Tirpitz in Fættenfjord near Trondheim, Norway.

Handley Page Halifax BII srs I Engine: Type: Crew: Max Speed: Length: Empty weight: Wingspan: Max weight: Range: Armament:

4 x 1,390hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XXs Heavy bomber Eight 202mph (325km/h) 70ft (21.36m) 35,979lb (16,320kg) 99ft 0in (30.12m) 55,000lb (24,950kg) 2,780 miles (4,475km) Guns: 10 x 0.303in machine guns. Bombs: Up to 14,500lb (6,600kg)

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HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX

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HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX

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Above: Looking upward and rearward from the navigator’s position: wireless operator at lower right; pilot at upper right; flight engineer in his usual inflight position at upper left behind the pilot. Far left: A Halifax BII being bombed-up by the groundcrew. The maximum bomb load was 14,500lb (6,600kg), carried in a bomb bay in the fuselage with six separate bomb compartments, and three bomb compartments in each wing inboard section. This division of bomb bays limited the maximum size of bomb that could be carried to 2,000lb (910kg), one of the aircraft’s limiting factors compared to the Lancaster. Left: A rare colour image of mechanics at work on the Merlin XX engines of a Handley Page Halifax BII of No 35 Squadron at Linton-on-Ouse in 1942.

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De Havilland Mosquito I f the Spitfire was the perfect marriage for a single Merlin, then the Mosquito was the perfect match for two. Conceived as a bomber, the ‘Wooden Wonder’ became a game-changing multi-role aircraft, owing to its versatility, rugged construction and blistering performance. When the Mosquito first entered service with the RAF it was not greeted with much enthusiasm, its non-metal construction being viewed as a retrograde step by many. However, its aircrew soon discovered that the Mosquito was not only extremely fast and nimble, but also had an enormous capacity to absorb punishment and remain airworthy. The aircraft quickly endeared itself to all those that operated it and it was not long

Mosquito prototype, W4050.

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before the Mosquito began to earn an envious reputation as one of the war’s most potent fighting machines. It all began in the autumn of 1938 when de Havilland embarked on a private venture intended for use as a fast unarmed bomber or reconnaissance aircraft. Controversially, the streamlined twin-engined aircraft would be built extensively out of wooden ply. The cantilver wing, mounted in a mid-position,

was to be a one-piece assembly that would carry its powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in underslung nacelles, into which the undercarriage also retracted. The two-man crew would sit side-by-side in a cockpit that offered good visibility all round. The first contract was placed on 1 March 1940 for 50 DH98 bombers (including prototypes) and the name Mosquito was approved. Construction of the prototype at Hatfield was constantly interrupted while

Below: Mosquito BIVs from No 105 Squadron, the first unit to fly the bomber variant in 1942. Apart from the famous Oslo raid No 105 Squadron undertook daylight low-level and shallow dive attacks mainly on industrial targets in occupied Netherlands, plus northern and western Germany. Mosquito BIV DZ353 (foreground) later served with Nos 139 and 627 Squadrons before it failed to return from a raid on a railway yard at Rennes, France on 8 June 1948. Both crewmembers, Flt Lt Bill Steere and FO Gale were killed. Behind it, DZ367 was also lost when it failed to return from a raid over Berlin on 30 January 1943, the aircraft crashing near Altengrabow, killing both Sqn Ldr Donald Darling and FO W. Wright.

Mosquito BIV DZ637 P3-C of No 692 Squadron, RAF Grave

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DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO the ‘Battle of Britain’ was being fought overhead, but this did not prevent W4050 making its maiden flight on 25 November 1940, with Geoffrey de Havilland Jr at the controls. Meanwhile, the Air Ministry had lost some confidence in the concept of the high-speed bomber, so the contract was altered to include 30 fighters. The first Mosquito sortie was made on 20 September 1941, when a single aircraft made a reconnaissance flight over France. By late 1942, the Mosquito was becoming operational in ever increasing numbers, serving with distinction as a fighter, bomber, U-boat hunter and night fighter, as well as in reconnaissance roles and as a pathfinder on large-scale bombing attacks. There were three basic branches on the Mosquito tree: bombers, fighters and photoreconnaissance types. Each had many variants, such as radar-equipped night fighters and bombers modified to carry 2-ton blockbusters.

n, RAF Gravely, spring 1944.

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The bombers and photo variants were unarmed, while most of the fighters carried four 0.303in machine guns in the nose and four 20mm cannons under the cockpit floor, their receivers and ammunition-feed mechanisms extending back into the bomb bay. From mid-1942 to mid-1943, Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or lowaltitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and Germanoccupied Europe. It was behind some of the most stunning raids of the war – among them the precision operation to attack the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and another to breach the walls of a prison in Amiens to allow the escape of condemned resistance fighters. From late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command’s heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as ‘nuisance’ bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs – 4,000lb (1,812 kg)

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‘cookies’– in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept. As a night fighter from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on Britain, notably those of Operation ‘Steinbock’ in 1944. Starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a night fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Command’s heavy bombers during 1944 and 1945. No fewer than 27 different versions of the Mosquito went into service during the war years, but they all had one thing in common: they were all powered by the Merlin, from the early Mk21 to late Mk114 variants, including Packard-built versions. When the Mosquito production lines around the world (it was licence built in Canada and Australia) finally came to a halt, 7,781 examples had been built. De Havilland’s faith in the ‘Wooden Wonder’ had been more than vindicated.

Mosquito NFII W4087 RS-B of No 157 Squadron, circa 1942.

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Above: Seen from the cockpit, a formation of Mosquitos speed their way towards a target. The Mosquito could fly almost unchallenged over Europe, day or night, and deliver attacks from rooftop height. It was behind some of the most stunning raids of the war – among them the precision operation to attack the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Left: Mosquito bomber cockpit with its engine instruments and throttles and supercharger controls to the left-side of the pilot.

De Havilland DH98 Mosquito FII Engine:

2 × 1,480hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 21s or 12-cylinder Merlin 23s Type: Long-range bomber/ fighter/attack Crew: Two Max Speed: 366mph (589km/h) Length: 41ft 2in (13.57m) Height: 17ft 5in (5.3m) Wingspan: 54ft 2in (16.52m) Empty weight: 13,356lb (6,058kg) Max T/O weight: 18,649lb (8,549kg) Range: 900 miles (1,400km) Armament: 4 × 20mm Hispano MkV cannons, 4 x 0.303in Browning machine guns Left: The proven in-line Rolls-Royce Merlin engine allowed for a streamlined nacelle and provided the Mosquito with a speed unmatched by any other fighter when it entered service.

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Avro Lancaster A part from the Spitfire, there is no other aircraft more closely associated with the Merlin than the truly iconic Avro Lancaster. And yet the story could have been so different. The aircraft that was to become the ‘shining sword’ of Bomber Command, evolved out of one of its biggest failures... Much was expected of Avro’s new twinengined Manchester bomber when it first appeared. Built to Air Ministry Specification B.13/36, it was powered by two of Rolls-Royce’s complex Vulture 24-cylinder engines, but far from becoming a success, it quickly became an operational disappointment. However, even before the Manchester’s first flight, Avro had been growing uneasy about its new bomber and was already working on a four-engined derivative known as the Type 683. At the end of 1940, Manchester serial BT308 was taken from the production line and fitted with four Merlin Xs. The aircraft, initially known as the Manchester III, made its maiden flight in January 1941. Apart from a new wing centre section to accommodate the additional powerplants, it was similar to the old bomber, but was progressively modified until there was little of the original Manchester structure left. Flight trials started at Boscombe Down in June 1941 and were so successful that the Air Staff had little hesitation in ordering the bomber into immediate production. The Lancaster, as it was now known, was of all-metal construction. The oval monocoque fuselage structure was built in five separatelyassembled main sections. The cockpit was located over the bomb bay roof. The aircraft commander sat under a Perspex canopy with a sheet of armour plate behind his back. Beside him was the flight engineer’s folding seat and

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behind that the navigator’s station with a table facing to the port side. The wireless operator sat facing forward between the navigator and the wing spar. In the extreme nose was a transparent bubble having an optically-flat panel for the bomb sight. The bomb aimer also acted as the front gunner. The mid-upper turret was continuously manned, as was the rear ‘tailend charlie’ turret. Even as the Lancaster factories were tooling up for production the first prototype was arriving at RAF Woodford for operational trials with No 44 Squadron, which gained the distinction of being the first to employ the new bomber operationally when it undertook a mine-laying operation in the Heligoland Bight on 3 March 1942. Not all early versions of the Lancaster were driven by the Merlin. The Lancaster II was powered by Bristol Hercules radial engines and was developed in parallel to guarantee continuity of supply in case of an interruption in Merlin production. However, the availability of Packard-built Merlins eased these concerns. Packard-Merlin Lancasters were designated MkIII and produced concurrently with the MkI. It was also decided that Lancasters would be built in Canada by the Crown-owned Victory Aircraft Ltd. Based on the MkIII, these aircraft were designated the MkX and equipped RAF units as well as those of the Royal Canadian Air Force based in the UK. Not surprisingly, more Merlins were made for the four-engined Avro Lancaster heavy bomber than for any other aircraft. The arrival in Bomber Command of the Lancaster coincided with the appointment of a new commander-in-chief, Arthur Harris. With its capacity to carry ever-increasing bomb loads, Harris regarded the bomber as the key element in his drive to forge a formidable war-winning

weapon. Lancasters participated in the first of Harris’ spectacular thousand-bomber raids, on the night of 30-31 May 1942 when Cologne was the target. From then on they were in the thick of the action. Particularly noteworthy were Operation ‘Chastise’, the imaginative raid on the Ruhr Valley dams in May 1943, and Operation ‘Gomorrah’, the devastating roundthe-clock fire bombing raids on Hamburg two months later. Lancasters also carried the ‘Tallboys’ which, in September 1944, the dambusting No 617 Squadron used to finish off the German battleship Tirpitz off Tromsø, Norway. In March 1945, ‘617’ dropped the 22,000lb ‘Grand Slam’ for the first time, demolishing the Bielefeld Viaduct. But Harris’ greatest victory hopes rested on his campaign against Berlin. Between 18 November 1943 and 31 March 1944 up to 800 bombers, at least half of them Lancasters, could be despatched on any given night to raid the German capital and other major cities. A total of 7,377 Lancasters was built in Britain between 1941 and 1946 and they flew 156,192 operational sorties over Germany and occupied Europe, nearly four times as many as the rival Halifax, but 3,836 were lost. After the war Lancasters continued to serve with the RAF and examples were exported to countries like Argentina, Egypt and France. Some were converted for maritime patrol duties for the RCAF and the French Navy and remained in service until the 1960s. Below: From the time of its introduction into Bomber Command service in 1942, Lancasters equipped progressively more units until there were 56 front-line squadrons at the end of the war in Europe. Lancasters dropped 608,612 tonnes of bombs, almost two-thirds of the RAF total of 955,044 tonnes.

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Above: Lancaster BI R5689 VN-N of No 50 Squadron in flight on 28 August 1942 being flown by Sqn Ldr Hughie Everitt DSO DFC. On 19 September that year, Sgt E.J. Morley RAAF took R5689 off from Swinderby on a ‘Gardening’ sortie, only to crash at Thurlby, Lincolnshire, when both port engines failed as the crew prepared to land. Sgt James Gibbons RCAF, the tail gunner, was killed in the crash. Left: Lancasters nearing completion on the production line. A total of 7,377 Lancasters was built in Britain between 1941 and 1946. Lancasters were also built in Canada and the peak rate of production was reached in August 1944 when 293 aircraft were assembled.

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Right: Each bank of cylinders in the Rolls-Royce Merlin liquid-cooled V12 engine had valves operated by a single central camshaft.

Lancaster I Engine:

4 x 1,390hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XXs, Merlin 22s or (from 1944) 1,610hp Merlin 24s Type: Heavy bomber Crew: Seven Max speed: 275mph (440km/h) at 15,000ft (4,615m) Length: 69ft 6in (21.4m) Height: 19ft 6in (6.0m) Wingspan: 102ft (31.9m) Max T/O weight: 63,000lb (28,577kg) Range: 1,730 miles (2,768km) with 12,500lb (5,682kg) bomb load Armament: Guns: 8 x 0.303in (7.7mm) Browning machine guns in three power-operated turrets Bombs: Up to 18,000lb (8,182kg)

Lancaster III Engine:

4 x 1,390hp Packard (Rolls-Royce) Merlin 28s or Merlin 38s Type: Heavy bomber Crew: Seven Max speed: 287mph (452km/h) at 15,000ft (4,615m) Length: 68ft 11in (21.2m) Height: 19ft 6in (6.0m) Wingspan: 102ft (31.9m) Max T/O weight: 65,000lb (29,545kg) 1,160 miles (1,856km) Range: with 14,000lb (6,364kg) bomb load Armament: Guns: 8 x 0.303in (7.7mm) Browning machine guns in three power-operated turrets. Bombs: Up to 2,000lb (10,000kg)

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The Dambusters Imaginatively conceived, brilliantly planned and courageously executed, the raid on the Ruhr Valley dams in May 1943 was an attempt to shorten the war by depriving Germany’s key industrial plants of vital water supplies and hydro-electric power. The raid was code-named Operation ‘Chastise’. Because of their location and construction, the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams could only be breached by special weapons. Accordingly, Dr Barnes Wallis, designer of the Vickers Wellington bomber, conceived a special weapon codenamed ‘Upkeep’. This bouncing bomb would skip over the surface of the water and sink to the base of the dam structure where it would explode. To ensure the weapons had the necessary spin the Lancasters of the specially-formed No 617 Squadron were modified with equipment to impart the appropriate motion. Twin searchlights were installed to shine downwards so that their beams intersected 60ft below the aircraft to ensure the correct drop height. On the evening of 16 May 1943, 19 Lancasters took off from Scampton, Lincolnshire, in three waves of nine, five and five, with Guy Gibson leading the first. The Möhne and Eder dams were both breached but the attack on the Sorpe was unsuccessful. After dropping his bomb Gibson accompanied the other aircraft on their attack runs to draw anti-aircraft fire.

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Above: The Lancaster’s bomb bay could hold a variety of loads depending on the operation to be carried out. It was designed to carry 1,000lb bombs but the size of weapons grew rapidly: 4,000lb, 8,000lb and, by September 1943, 12,000lb bombs were available. But even the 12,000lb ‘Tallboy’ deep penetration weapons were dwarfed by the huge 22,000lb ‘Grand Slam’. Bomb bays had to be lengthened and the doors removed to accommodate them. Below: A Lancaster dramatically silhouetted against flares, smoke and explosions during the attack on Hamburg, Germany, on the night of 30-31 January 1943.

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The Vulture Strikes PA995/BQ:V The Vulture Strikes was the third Lancaster of No 550 Squadron to complete 100 raids, reaching the century on 5/6 March 1945 with Flg Off G. Bladder and crew, Bladder finishing his own tour on this night. Such a record was no insurance for continued longevity, for this bomber failed to return from its next operation with another crew on 7/8 March to Dessau. Taking off from RAF North Killingholme, the aircraft was shot down over Germany by a Ju88. Three of the crew, Flg Off Jones RCAF, Flg Off Buckmaster and WO2 Harvey RCAF, were killed. The rest became POWs, though one of them, Sgt M. B. Smith, escaped and returned to his unit on 11 April.

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AVRO LANCASTER

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Below: Tail-end Charlie. Many rear gunners insisted on having the centre section of perspex removed from the turret to give a completely unobstructed view. The Lancaster had three Frazer-Nash power operated turrets, of which those in the nose and mid-upper position mounted a pair of 0.303in rifle-calibre belt-fed Browning machine guns with 1,000 rounds per gun. The tail turret mounted four guns with 2,500 rounds per gun.

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Avro Lincoln

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development of the Lancaster with uprated Merlin engines, the Lincoln arrived too late to see action in World War 2. It became the centre of a diplomatic storm when one was shot down by Soviet MiG fighters over Germany. The last piston-engined bomber to serve with the RAF, the Lincoln conformed to Specification B.14/43 and was virtually a scaled-up version of the Lancaster. Indeed, the first version of the Lincoln was originally known as the Lancaster IV. Developed by Roy Chadwick, the first prototype took to the air from Ringway, Manchester on 9 June 1944 and production began shortly thereafter with the aircraft entering service with No 57 Squadron at East Kirkby in July 1945. Normally powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 engines with annular radiators, the Lincoln was armed with twin 12.7mm Browning machine-guns in a Boulton-Paul Type F nose turret; two 20mm Hispano

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Mk 4 or Mk 5 cannon in a Bristol B-17 Mk II dorsal turret; twin 12.7mm machine-guns in a Boulton Paul Type D rear turret and up to 6,350kg of bombs. The Lincoln enjoyed a higher operational ceiling and greater radius of action than the Lancaster and was capable of carrying a 14,000lb bomb load (exceptionally 1 x 22,000lb weapon). Intended for use in the Pacific theatre of war, the Lincoln appeared just too late to go into operational service, but instead became the RAF’s standard post-war heavy bomber. Avro built 168 production aircraft, supplemented by 79 from Metropolitan-Vickers and 281 from Armstrong Whitworth. Several versions of the bomber were produced during the production runs: Lincoln B1 with Merlin 85 engines; B2 with Merlin 68As; Lincoln B3 intended to be the ASR version but became the Shackleton; Lincoln BIV with Merlin 85; Lincoln B15 built in Canada; and Lincoln B30, Australian version with Merlin 85 or 102 engines.

The Lincoln saw service in Kenya against the Mau-Mau in the mid-1950s and in the Far East during the Malayan Emergency when it delivered some 500,000lb of ordnance against insurgents. However, the Lincoln was mainly based in the UK as the mainstay of the bomber force until succeeded by the first of the V-bombers in 1955. The Lincoln also served with the Fuerza Aerea Argentina from 1947: 30 aircraft were acquired (together with 15 Lancasters), giving Argentina the most powerful bombing force in South America. The Lincoln has the dubious claim to fame of being the only RAF aircraft ever acknowledged to have been shot down by Soviet aircraft. On 12 March 1953 two routine NATO liaison sorties were scheduled for the Lincolns of the Central Gunnery School, overflying Europe. The two unarmed Lincolns took off some two hours apart to perform their tasks during a period when the Russians were being

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AVRO LINCOLN

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Lincoln I Engine:

Above: The strength of the Merlin is put to the test by this Lincoln pilot as he makes a dramatic low flypast with three engines feathered.

described as ‘particularly aggressive’ towards the West, having shot down an American fighter and attacked other Allied military and civilian aircraft over the previous few days. With the occupying powers having designated air corridors in the skies above Germany, the Soviets were extremely sensitive to alleged departures from these corridors. The first Lincoln was overflying the British zone when it was ‘buzzed’ by two Soviet fighters conducting

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mock attacks. The second ill-fated Lincoln RF531 was attacked without warning by two Soviet fighters as it entered the Hamburg to Berlin air corridor. It broke up in mid air with the bulk of its fuselage landing near Boizenburg in the Soviet Zone with the remainder in the British Zone. The crew all died, some in the aircraft and others allegedly being fired on by their attackers as they parachuted to earth, although one parachute failed to open. It is widely accepted that the downed Lincoln may have strayed into Soviet controlled airspace, but the severe nature of the response heightened tensions during the Cold War.

4 x 1,750hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 85s Type: Heavy bomber Crew: Seven Max speed: 319mph (513km/h) at 18,800ft (5,730m) Length: 78ft 3in (23.86m) Height: 17ft 3in (5.27m) Wingspan: 120ft (36.58m) Max. T/O weight: 82,000lb (37,195kg) Range: 2,930 miles (4,714km) Armament: Guns: 2 x 0.5in (12.7mm) Browning machine guns in three poweroperated turrets. Bombs: Up to 14,000lb (6,400kg) Below: Lincoln B2, RF562, SN-N of 230 OCU, circa 1950.

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The appa

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MULTI-ENGINE

De Havilland Hornet T he fastest twin propeller-driven aircraft ever to see RAF service, de Havilland’s Hornet took up where the Mosquito left off. Although its geneology was unquestionable, the age of the piston fighter was coming to an end. Designed as a high-speed, long-range fighter, the de Havilland DH103 Hornet was initially conceived as a private venture for use

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in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese by both the RAF and the RN. Major design and development work took place during 1943-44 and construction was of mixed balsa/plywood, similar to the Mosquito. However, the Hornet differed in incorporating stressed Alclad lowerwing skins bonded to the wooden upper wing structure. The elegant Hornet used ‘slimline’ Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplants with engine

ancillaries repositioned to minimise frontal area and drag, and had propellers that rotated in opposite directions in order to eliminate torque. The Hornet’s wings were also a synthesis of aerodynamic knowledge that had been gathered since the Mosquito’s design process, being much thinner in cross-section, with a laminar flow profile. The unpressurised cockpit was mounted well forward in the fuselage

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DE HAVILLAND HORNET

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De Havilland Hornet F1 Engine:

Top: Sleek and powerful the Hornet was fitted with the most advanced Merlins ever produced for a military fighter. Above: Hornet F1, PX232, YT-R, of No 64 Squadron.

and was housed under an aft-sliding, perspex blister canopy. Armament comprised 4 x 20mm Hispano cannon with a total of 760 rounds and the aircraft could also carry 2 x 1000lb

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bombs or up to 8 x 60lb rocket projectiles. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 28 July 1944 with Geoffrey de Havilland at the controls. The aircraft entered RAF service with No 64 Squadron at RAF Horsham St Faith in February 1946 and eventually equipped seven squadrons. Although its pilots loved it, the coming age of the jet fighter quickly rendered the Hornet obsolete.

2 × 2,070hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 130/131s 12-cylinder Type: Long-range fighter/attack Crew: One Max Speed: 475mph (764km/h) Length: 35ft 6in (10.82m) Height: 14ft 2in (4.32m) Wingspan: 45ft (13.72m) Empty weight: 11,292lb (5,122kg) Max T/O weight: 15,820lb (7,176kg) Range: 1,480 miles (2,383km) Armament: Guns: 4 × 20mm Hispano MkV cannons. Bombs: 2 x 1,000lb (454kg) under wing

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MULTI-ENGINE

Short Sturgeon T he last military aircraft to be designed with Rolls-Royce Merlins, the Short Sturgeon began life as a sleek torpedo bomber, but ingloriously saw service as a mutated target tug that lived up to its rather unflattering name. The Short S38 Sturgeon was born through a World War 2 British naval requirement under Specification S.6/43 for a twin-engined

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reconnaissance aircraft which could also operate as a torpedo bomber. Shorts received an order for three prototypes in late 1943, but it was not until 7 June 1946 that the first prototype Sturgeon made its maiden flight, powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Merlin 140 V12 engines of 2,080hp, each fitted with contra-rotating Rotol propellers. The Merlins provided the airframe with a maximum speed

of 366mph, a cruise speed of 312mph and a service ceiling of 35,200ft. Though it showed much promise, the Sturgeon was not an aircraft of its time. The end of World War 2 had made its original role redundant and the impending arrival of jet fighters meant that its future did not lie on the front-line. However it was re-invented in the less than glamorous role of target tug.

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SHORT STURGEON

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Short Sturgeon TT3 Engine: Above: FAA Sturgeon TT2 TS486/591 of 728 NAS. In the event the Sturgeon was particularly wellnamed as in its mutated state it bore a striking resemblance to the fish.

Its nose was lengthened and deepened to accommodate a manned camera position and winch system and the crew reduced to a pilot and all-purpose ‘observer’ acting as navigator and wireless/camera/target operator.

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The Sturgeon eventually entered Fleet Air Arm service in 1951 and was operated out of Hal Far, Malta, for most of its life until being withdrawn in 1959. In addition to its primary role of towing targets for ground-to-air and air-to-air firing practice, it was used for photographic marking and radar calibration. A total of 28 Short Sturgeons was built and there are no known survivors.

2 × 2,080hp Rolls-Royce 12-cylinder Merlin 140s Type: Target tug Crew: Two Max Speed: 366mph (590km/h) Length: 44ft 0in (13.7m) Height: 13ft 2in (4.39m) Wingspan: 59ft 11in (18.26m) Empty weight: 16,967lb (7,696kg) Max T/O weight: 21,700lb (9,840kg)

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TRANSPORT

Avro Lancastrian T he clue is in the name. The first airliner to be powered by the ubiquitous Merlin was a ‘civilianised’ version of the legendary Lancaster bomber. The Lancastrian evolved as a transport conversion of the Lancaster, but without armour or armament and with the gun turrets replaced by streamlined metal fairings, including a new nose section. The first conversion was made in Canada by Victory Aircraft Ltd for Trans-Canada

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Air Lines in 1943 and eight were eventually operated by this company on behalf of the Canadian government on transatlantic mail and passenger services between Montreal and Prestwick. The Canadian Lancastrians (converted Lancaster Xs) were fitted with Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and accommodated 10 passengers. Range was increased by two 400gal (1,818L) long-range fuel tanks fitted as standard in the bomb bay.

The Lancastrian was fast, had a long range, and was capable of carrying a heavy load, but space inside was very limited owing to the wing spar passing through the fuselage Below: The first scheduled service to be operated from Heathrow Airport was by Lancastrian G-AGWG Star Light of British South African Airways (BSAA). This aircraft was written off on 12 November 1947 when it crashed on landing in Bermuda.

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LANCASTRIAN and its giant 33ft (10.05m) long bomb bay. Consequently, it was not suited to carry large numbers of passengers, but was suitable for mail and a small number of VIPs. Nevertheless, with the war reaching its conclusion in Europe, the modification of abundant military aircraft into desperately needed civil transports was a priority for the UK. Production of the Lancastrian was undertaken by Avro and deliveries were made to the RAF, BOAC and British South American Airways Corporation. The four main variants of the aircraft were: the Lancastrian C1, a nineseat version of which 23 were produced for the RAF, although all but two were subsequently

operated by BOAC; Lancastrian C2, which was similar to the C1 and 38 were produced for the RAF; Lancastrian 3, initially for BSAAC, accommodating 13 passengers (18 eventually delivered, most for BOAC); and the C4 for the RAF, eight of which were delivered. BOAC used the Lancastrian for flights between England and Australia from 31 May 1945. Lancastrians also played an important part in the Berlin Airlift to transport petrol; 15 aircraft made over 5,000 trips. In 1946 a Lancastrian operated by BSAA made history when it became the first aircraft to make a scheduled flight from the then-newly opened London Heathrow Airport.

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Avro Lancastrian C1 Engine:

2 × 1,250hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 12s Type: Transport Crew: Five Passengers: 9/10 Max Speed: 310mph (499km/h) Length: 76ft 10in (23.4m) Height: 19ft 6in (5.9m) Wingspan: 102ft 0in (31.1m) Empty weight: 30,423lb (13,800kg) Max T/O weight: 64,991lb (29,480kg) Range: 4,150 miles (6,677km)

Interior layout of BOAC Lancastrian circa 1946

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Avro York M anufactured by Avro and incorporating the wings, tail, undercarriage and Merlin engines of the Lancaster bomber, the York was to prove a reliable military and civilian transport in war and peace. Following his work on heavy bombers, in 1941 Avro designer Roy Chadwick began to sketch out a long-range transport aircraft based on the Lancaster. The resulting design became the Avro Type 685 York, and the prototype

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first flew on 5 July 1942. Essentially, the York married the flying surfaces of the Lancaster to a new square-section fuselage. Production of the York proved difficult to speed up due to shortages of key materials and Avro’s high priority commitment to the manufacturing and refinement of the Lancaster. Thus, by the end of 1943, only four prototypes and three production aircraft had been built; however manufacture was scheduled to rise to three aircraft per month throughout 1944. Early

Above: Take away the fuselage, and the Lancaster lineage of the York is apparent, complete with Merlin powerplants. RAF Yorks played a vital role during the Berlin airlift.

production Yorks were principally used as a VIP transport; notably, the third prototype, LV633, was luxuriously fitted out and became the personal transport of Winston Churchill. Avro Yorks were used extensively both by the RAF and by a number of British and Commonwealth airlines and charter companies

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AVRO YORK

during the 1940s and 1950s. The RAF saw the type become its major long-range transport, operating routes with Transport Command to the Middle and Far East. During the Berlin Airlift, RAF Yorks from seven different squadrons flew over 58,000 sorties to provide the city with vital supplies between 1948 and 1949. In total, in excess of 1,000,000 tons was carried by the York fleet. Meanwhile, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Yorks flew the UK to

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Cairo (via Morocco) route from early 1944, and then took over the Shorts Empire Class flying boat services from Cairo to Durban in late 1946. Yorks were also operated by BSAA during its early operations from Heathrow. In a typical passenger configuration, the York could accommodate a 21-seat three-abreast arrangement split between the fore and aft cabins; the main entrance door along with cloakrooms and lavatory were set between the two cabins, a kitchen and baggage hold

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was located at the rear of the cabin. From a pilot’s perspective, the York typically proved to be reasonably pleasant to fly, but for the passengers it was a noisy aircraft with little in the way of soundproofing to protect them from the pounding of four Merlins. On 7 October 1952, BOAC withdrew its Yorks from passenger services, retaining the type for freight operations until November 1957. Thereafter, Yorks were operated by several UK independent airlines, including Dan Air.

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Above: One of the last operators of the York was Dan-Air. G-ANTK was built at Yeadon and was rolled out in January 1946. It entered RAF service with No 242 Squadron as MW232, before moving to No 511 Squadron at Lyneham. In 1948/49 it was used on the Berlin Airlift operation and had the distinction of carrying the 100,000th ton of supplies into the city. After a time in storage it was bought by Dan-Air in 1954 and registered G-ANTK. It was based firstly at Blackbushe and then at Gatwick, and was used mainly on long-range freight charters to Africa and the Far East. It was finally retired at Lasham in April 1964.

Avro York Engine:

4 × 1,280hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 24s Type: Military/civil transport Crew: Five Passengers: 56 Max Speed: 298mph (479km/h) Length: 78ft 6in (23.9m) Height: 16ft 6in (5m) Wingspan: 102ft 0in (31.1m) Empty weight: 40,000lb (18,150kg) Max T/O weight: 65,000lb (29,480kg) Range: 3,000 miles (4,800km) Above left and left: The unpressurised interior cabin of the civilian York, looking forward and aft. Although spacious and light by standards of the day, noise levels in the cabin were high owing to the close proximity of the Merlins. Below: Yorks were a regular sight at the nascent Heathrow, with examples operated by BOAC and BSAA, the latter seen here represented by G-AHEW Star Leader.

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AVRO TUDOR 81

Avro Tudor T he genealogy of the Avro Tudor could be traced back to the Lancaster and, as such, the Rolls-Royce Merlin was its powerplant of choice. Sadly controversy was to dog the career of Britain’s first purposedesigned pressurised airliner. The original Type 688 Tudor was conceived in 1943 to Specification 29/43 as a commercial conversion of the Lancaster for use by BOAC over the North Atlantic. As then envisaged, the Tudor was to be a modification of the Lancaster IV (later the Lincoln) with a new pressurised fuselage to carry a load of 1,705kg over 6,400km. Pressurisation of airliners was something new at that time, so careful calculations were made to ensure the optimum pressure differential between the cabin and the outside air at 25,000ft. Two prototypes were ordered in March 1944 and production contracts for BOAC (14 aircraft, plus six later) were quickly issued. While development of the original Tudor continued, a larger-capacity version with considerably lengthened fuselage was planned, intended for use on the BOAC Empire routes. Therefore, when the Tudor I made its maiden flight on 14 June 1945, Avro had good reason to feel optimistic that Britain’s first pressurised airliner would be a success. Sadly it was not to be. A number of handling issues took some time to resolve, the range was not as good as had been hoped, and the cabin heating system proved to be unreliable. BOAC was also constantly changing its requirements, so much so that when the first BOAC Tudor I G-AGRF

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Elizabeth of England was officially christened by HRH Princess Elizabeth on 21 January 1947, it was destined never to enter scheduled service with the carrier, which shortly afterwards cancelled its Tudor order. A saviour came in the shape of BSAA, which believed the aircraft could be operated profitably and approached Avro to produce a version for them with no Flight Engineer’s position and a slightly reduced seat pitch to allow a greater passenger load. Four of the original Tudor I airframes were converted to this specification for BSAA and designated Tudor IV. They were fitted with 32 seats and the first of them (Star Panther) flew on 9 April 1947. By this time, the larger capacity Tudor II was flying and following modifications requested by BSAA, this became the Tudor V. But controversy was never far from the Tudor. The prototype was destroyed on 23 August 1947 in a fatal crash on take off from Woodford which killed designer Roy Chadwick; air accident investigators later discovered that the crash was due to incorrect assembly of the aileron control circuit. Things got even worse. On the night of 29-30 January 1948, Tudor IV G-AHNP Star Tiger, with 31 people on board, disappeared without trace between Santa Maria in the Azores and Bermuda. Disaster struck again on 17 January 1949, when another Tudor IV, G-AGRE Star Ariel, also disappeared, this time between Bermuda and Kingston, Jamaica, with the loss of 20 people. The Tudor IVs were immediately grounded. Pressurisation problems were

Avro Tudor I Engine:

4 × 1,770hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 100s Type: Airliner Crew: Five Passengers: 24 Max Speed: 320mph (512km/h) Length: 79ft 6in (24.23m) Height: 22ft 0in (6.71m) Wingspan: 120ft 0in (36.58m) Max T/O weight: 76,000lb (34,500kg) Range: 3,630 miles (5,840km) suspected to be the cause of the two accidents, and the remaining aircraft were flown as unpressurised freighters under the designations Tudor Freighter IV and IVB. The ban remained until 1954 when a Tudor belonging to Aviation Traders received an unrestricted C of A following extensive modification to the aircraft, which included fitting Rolls-Royce Merlin 623 engines. Virtually all surviving Tudors were similarly modified. Five Tudors were later further modified by fitting large freight doors and known as Super Traders, they remained in service until 1959. Below: BSAA’s first Tudor IV G-AHNJ Star Panther, made its maiden flight on 9 April 1947 and the variant received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 18 July 1947. With its portly appearance and tail wheel configuration, the Tudor looked outdated compared to its rivals.

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81

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84

TRANSPORT

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AVRO TUDOR

85

Above: Apart from its Merlin engines, there are few visual clues to link the Tudor with its Lancaster heritage. Rejected by BOAC, the airliner was modified to BSAA requirements and became known as the Tudor IV, represented by G-AHNN Star Leopard. Left: Avro Tudors on the production line with the installation of its four Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplants well shown. Right: The rather basic cockpit of the Tudor. BSAA’s new flagships received mixed reviews from pilots. Some greeted it with enthusiasm, such as Capt Geoffrey Womersley, who described it as ‘the best civil airliner flying’. However, BSAA’s chief pilot and manager of operations, Gordon Store, was unimpressed: ‘The Tudor was built like a battleship. It was noisy, I had no confidence in its engines and its systems were hopeless.’

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86

TRANSPORT

Canadair North Star C anadair christened it the North Star; Canadian Pacific Airlines simply referred to it as the Canadair 4; BOAC dubbed it the Argonaut. But no matter what it was called, this DC-4 development had one constant… its Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. When Canadair was created out of Canadian Vickers Ltd in November 1944, it inherited a development contract to produce a new variant of the Douglas C-54/DC-4 transport for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA). The most obvious change was the use of Rolls-Royce Merlins instead of the standard Pratt & Whitney radial engines, a change designed to achieve a higher cruising speed of 325mph, compared to the 227mph of the standard DC-4. The Merlin 622 retained the standard bore of 5.4in and stroke of 6.0in. Its maximum power of 1,760bhp was achieved at 3,000rpm and about 60in of manifold pressure. Its two-stage, two-speed

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supercharger enabled the C-4 to climb to a service ceiling of 36,000ft, though the cabin maximum pressure differential limited the cruise altitude with civil passengers, to about 20,000ft. But, the North Star was more than just a re-engined aircraft, it was actually more of a hybrid between the DC-6 (nose, landing gear and shortened fuselage), DC-4 (empennage, rear fuselage, flaps and wing tips) and C-54 (middle fuselage sections, wing centre- and outer-wing panels). TCA received its fleet of 20 DC-4M-2 North Stars during 1947 and 1948 and operated them on routes within Canada and to the USA until 1961. Meanwhile, BOAC had ordered 22 DC-4M-4s and named them the ‘Argonaut class’, each aircraft having a classical name beginning with ‘A’. The Argonauts were delivered between March and November 1949; they flew to South America, Africa, the Middle East and the Far

East from London Heathrow Airport until 1960. The perennial complaint of the Merlin as a ‘civil’ engine was its high noise levels and to counter this a quieter ‘cross-over’ exhaust system for the DC-4M was developed, the modifications being supplied in a kit allowing installation on the aircraft by the operator. The modified exhaust conferred an increase in horsepower over the unmodified system of 38hp, resulting in a 5kts improvement in true air speed. More notably, sound levels were reduced by between 5 and 8 decibels. Sound levels were not a concern for the RCAF, which ordered an unpressurised version of the North Star and used them on a variety of transport duties. North Stars were also employed by No 412 Squadron RCAF on various VIP transport duties. The North Star provided valuable and reliable long range transport services for the RCAF, including during the

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CANADAIR NORTH STAR

87

Canadair North Star Engine:

4 × 1,760hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 622s Type: Military/civil transport Crew: Seven Passengers: 52/62 Max Speed: 307mph (568km/h) Length: 94ft 9in (28.89m) Height: 27ft 6in (8.38m) Wingspan: 117ft 6in (35.81m) Empty weight: 43,500lb (19,731kg) Max T/O weight: 73,000lb (33,112kg) Range: 3,860 miles (6,212km) Korean War when they were employed ferrying supplies to Korea across the Pacific Ocean. Inevitably after being withdrawn from service with TCA and BOAC, DC-4Ms found their way into service with second-line carriers, such as British Midland Airways. Cargo conversions of available airframes also lengthened the service life of Argonauts and North Stars. The last DC-4M completed its final flight on 19 June 1975.

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Above The front office of the North Star with radio equipment to the left. Below: Looking every bit the hybrid that it is, BOAC Argonaut G-ALHM waits for its next load of passengers at the new international airport at Heathrow. This aircraft was finally broken up for scrap at Redhill in 1966.

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ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN

Minor types T

he Rolls-Royce Merlin was the most ubiquitous aircraft engine during World War 2, fitted to a wide range of types operating in a great variety of roles and environment. But not all the aircraft it powered were as high-profile and as successful as the Spitfire, Mustang and Lancaster. Over the following pages we take a look at some of the lesser ‘Merlin’ types, including aircraft that did not reach production and others that were retrofitted with the engine. The aircraft have been listed alphabetically under manufacturer.

AVRO ATHENA T2 The Athena was designed to meet the requirements of Air Ministry Specification T.7/45 for a three-seat advanced trainer powered by a turboprop engine for the RAF. The Athena was an all-metal low-winged monoplane, with a side-by-side cockpit. The Air Ministry rethought its requirements in 1947 and replaced the original specification with T.14/47, which specified the use of a Rolls-Royce Merlin 35 piston engine, large stocks of which were held in store. The Merlin-powered Athena T2 first flew on 1 August 1948 and was evaluated against the similar Boulton Paul Balliol. A small production run of 15 Athenas was ordered for the RAF, but the Balliol was preferred and no further Athenas were ordered. The remaining aircraft were used for armament training at the RAF Flying College at RAF Manby.

BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER II The pugnacious Beaufighter was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort bomber. The British equivalent of the Ju88, it was the ‘go to’ multi-role aircraft used as a night fighter, maritime strike and torpedo bomber. However, the sheer volume of production involved, led to the anticipation of a shortage of its Bristol Hercules engines, jeopardising the aircraft’s manufacturing rate. Therefore, a Rolls-Royce Merlinpowered variant was produced, utilising a complete engine/nacelle unit (later incorporated into the Lancaster) and this first flew in June 1940. On 22 March 1941, the first production Beaufighter II, R2270, conducted its maiden flight and squadron deliveries commenced in late April 1941. However it was found that the Merlins left the Beaufighter underpowered and resulted in a high accident rate. Despite this, 447 MkIIs were built, entering service from April 1941.

BOULTON PAUL BALLIOL T2 As a rival to the Avro Athena, the Boulton Paul Balliol stemmed from the same Air Ministry Specification T.7/45 for a turboprop-powered trainer. Designed by John Dudley North, the first prototype flew on 30 May 1947, but following the revised Specification T.14/47, the Rolls-Royce Merlin powered Balliol T2 first flew on 10 July 1948 and soon thereafter an order was placed for a substantial number of aircraft. A few pre-production machines were delivered to the RAF’s Central Flying School in 1950, at which time the Air Ministry changed its mind again and decided instead to introduce a jet-powered advanced trainer, the de Havilland Vampire T11. Thus, the RAF College, Cranwell and No 7 Flying Training School at RAF Cottesmore were the sole training units to be re-equipped with the Balliol until succeeded by the Vampire in 1956. Meanwhile, a Sea Balliol T21 with folding wings and arrestor hook for deck landings was developed for the Royal Navy and saw service with 781 NAS at Lee-on-Solent and, until 1963, with 1843 NAS RNVR at Abbotsinch. Twelve examples were exported to Ceylon.

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CASA 2.111B/D The CASA 2.111 was a medium bomber derived from the Heinkel He111 and produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). Following the end of the war, access to the German-built Junkers engines became an issue and CASA found an alternative with the Rolls-Royce Merlin 500. In April 1956, 173 Merlin engines were ordered and installed on the aircraft in a nacelle of a type originally developed by Rolls-Royce for the Beaufighter II and later used on the Avro Lancaster. The new Merlin-powered bombers and reconnaissance bombers became the 2.111B and 2.111D respectively. Many were later to star in the film ‘Battle of Britain’.

CIERVA AIR HORSE It is a little known fact that the Rolls-Royce Merlin once powered the world’s largest helicopter. The W.11 Air Horse was developed by the Cierva Autogiro Company during the mid-1940s and was the largest helicopter in the world at the time of its debut at the Farnborough airshow in 1949. The Air Horse was unique for using three rotors mounted on outriggers, all turning in the same direction. A Rolls-Royce Merlin housed in the fuselage drove the three 47ft-diameter (14m) three-blade rotors. The project was abandoned after the crash of the sole example to fly.

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FIAT G.59

CURTISS P-40F/P-40L The P-40 Kittyhawk was widely used by British Commonwealth forces in the Mediterranean theatre during World War 2 and the P-40F variant fulfilled a long-standing wish to fit the type with a Merlin engine. However, it arrived in combat relatively late and, ironically, few of this type made it to Commonwealth units. It was however the variant with which the USAAF faced the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica in the Mediterranean. The Packard Merlin engine improved performance, but the single-stage, two-speed supercharger still limited the effective ceiling to about 20,000ft. Many P-40Fs were lightened in the field by US squadrons to make them ‘hot’ by removing some armour and wing guns. The P-40L was an official light version nicknamed ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ after the famous stripper. It was the variant used by the successful 324th, 325th and 57th Fighter Groups, and also by the Tuskegee Airmen’s 99th FS in Italy for a short time.

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In 1946, Fiat restarted production of its G.55 Centauro single-engined fighter of World War 2, using the large stock of partly complete airframes and components remaining in its factories. Following orders from Italy and Argentina, available stocks of the Italian licence-built version of the Daimler-Benz DB605 engine were running short. As there was still a demand for the aircraft, it was decided to convert the type to use the more readily available Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, with the first conversion flying in early 1948. The conversion was successful and the AMI decided to convert its G.55s to Merlin power, these re-entering service at the Lecce flying school in 1950 as the G.59-1A and G.59-1B (single- and two-seat versions). Syria placed an order for 30 similar aircraft, which by this time were completely from new production as the stocks of G.55 components had been exhausted. The final versions were the G.59-4A single-seater and G.59-4B two-seater, which were fitted with bubble canopies for improved visibility.

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HAWKER HENLEY The Hawker Henley was designed in response to Air Ministry Specification P.4/34 of February 1934 for a light-bomber and close-support aircraft, with high performance and a low bomb load. The resulting aircraft was very similar in appearance to the Hurricane, sharing most of the wing and the tail plane with that aircraft. The main difference between the two types was the cockpit, designed to carry a two man crew – pilot and observer/ air gunner. Work on the Henley progressed slowly. The prototype took two years to complete, finally taking to the air on 10 March 1937. However, by then the light-bomber project had been shelved, but rather than cancel the Henley it was decided to use the aircraft as a target tug and an order was placed for 200 TTIIIs. In service it was discovered that the Merlin engine could not cope with high speed target towing and after a brief career the Henley was retired in May 1942.

HAWKER HOTSPUR The Hawker Hotspur was a turret fighter similar to the Boulton Paul Defiant. Although it reached the prototype stage, Hawker’s factories were all fully committed to other aircraft (such as the Hurricane), and the Hotspur never entered production. The Merlin-powered aircraft was designed in response to specification F.9/35, which called for a replacement for the two-seat Hawker Demon fighter. The Hotspur was a modified version of the Hawker Henley with the cockpit area redesigned to allow the aircraft to carry a Boulton Paul turret. Work on the prototype began in 1937, and it made its maiden flight on 14 June 1938. Shortly thereafter, the project was cancelled.

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94 ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN

HISPANO AVIACION HA-1112 BUCHON During and after World War 2, Spain developed and produced licence-built versions of the Messerschmitt Bf109G fighter. The definitive version was the HA-1112-M1L Buchon powered by a 1,600hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45, giving the aircraft a top speed of 419mph. It first flew on 29 March 1954 and was distinguished by a chin intake compared to its Bf109 predecessor. Armament consisted of a pair of 20mm Hispano Suiza cannons and eight 80mm rockets. The Buchon remained in service until 1965 and was used by the Spanish Air Force in Morocco and over the Sahara for the specific purpose of controlling Spanish colonial territories where a higher level of technology was unnecessary. In total 239 were built including a handful of two-seat trainers.

MILES M20 Following the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF was faced with a potential shortage of fighters. To meet the Luftwaffe threat, the Air Ministry commissioned Miles to design a simple easy-to-build fighter to specification F.19/40. This became the Miles M20/2. Nine weeks and two days later the first prototype flew. In line with a design philosophy emphasising simplicity, speed and re-using available components, the engine was a Rolls-Royce Merlin XX ‘power egg’ identical to those used on Lancasters and Beaufighters. To further reduce production time the M20 employed many parts from the earlier Miles Master trainer, lacked hydraulics, and had spatted fixed landing gear. In the event, the M20 proved unnecessary and the design was not pursued.

IAE 30 NANCU The IAe 30 Nancu was an Argentine twin piston-engined fighter designed by the Instituto Aerotécnico (AeroTechnical Institute) in the late 1940s. Named after an indigenous eagle of Patagonia, the Nancu was powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 604 engines, each developing 1,800hp at 3,000rpm and driving four-bladed propellers. The IAe 30 prototype took to the air for the first time on 17 July 1948, but was badly damaged in a landing accident in early 1949 and the project was abandoned.

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MINOR TYPES 95

SUPERMARINE TYPE 322 Not all of Supermarine’s aircraft were sleek and fast as evidenced by its design for a carrier-borne torpedo dive-bomber. Not surprisingly nicknamed ‘Dumbo’, the Type 322 was intended as a replacement for the Fairey Albacore, and was a high-wing monoplane powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 engine. Unusually it featured a variable-incidence wing and, since it was intended for carrier use, the wing also folded – a remarkable technical achievement. Originally due for completion in early 1941, the project was delayed owing to the high priority then in force for the production of Spitfires. The first prototype (R1810) flew on 6 February 1943, followed by the second, R1815, the latter powered by a Merlin 32. By this time, however, the Fairey Barracuda had entered service and the two Type 322s were demoted to experimental use.

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VICKERS TYPE 432 During 1942 the Air Ministry became concerned that the German Luftwaffe might commence operations over Britain at altitudes beyond the capabilities of existing RAF fighters. To counter this threat a new specification, F.16/40, was issued calling for a specialised high-altitude interceptor. Vickers tendered for the contract, proposing an adaptation of its existing Type 414 project, which eventually evolved into the Type 432. It was the first Vickers aircraft of wholly stressed-skin construction, with an all-metal monocoque fuselage and a small self-contained pressure cabin for the pilot, whose head projected through a small, double-glazed dome. The Type 432 prototype, DZ217, flew for the first time in December 1942, some seven weeks after that of its rival, the Westland Welkin. Initial trials proved the Type 432 to be difficult to handle on the ground, although it possessed an excellent performance once in the air. The Welkin won the competition and the sole Type 432 was retained by Vickers to become a testbed.

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96 ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN

VICKERS WELLINGTON The Merlin might not be readily associated with the Wellington, but the powerplant did equip two distinct variants of the type. The twin-engined Wellington was the most important British bomber of the initial war period. Designed to meet the requirements of Air Ministry specification B.9/32, the prototype first flew in June 1936 and deliveries of the Wellington I to RAF bomber squadrons began in 1939. The Rolls-Royce Merlin X-powered MkII was first proposed in January 1938 as part of a long term plan to use more powerful engines in the bomber. The first Wellington II prototype flew on 3 March 1939 and its new engines generated 1,145hp each, an increase of 100hp over the Pegasus engine. However, they were much heavier, so although the MkII was faster and had a higher service ceiling, its bomb load and maximum range were both reduced. In the end, the Wellington II was the only full-production variant powered by Merlins as demand for the engine was high and its advantages on the Wellington were deemed as minimal. But that was not entirely the end of the Merlin’s association with the bomber. The later MkVI was a high altitude version of the Wellington and was visually distinctive. The front of the aircraft was remodelled to include a pressurised cabin, somewhat resembling a single cigar tube, in line with the top of the fuselage, with a bubble canopy for the pilot. Sixty four Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 powered MkVIs were produced intended for use with pathfinder squadrons to mark targets for the main bomber force, but by the time they were ready for service the Mosquito had appeared and was better suited to the role.

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VICKERS WINDSOR In 1941, the British Air Ministry issued a requirement for a high-altitude bomber with a pressurised crew compartment. Vickers submitted its Type 447 proposal and received a contract for three prototypes plus two B1 pre-production aircraft in 1942. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin 65s, the first prototype of the Windsor, as it was now called, flew in October 1943. Notable features included: a pressurised crew compartment; geodetic construction; four mainwheel oleo struts to spread the load across the elliptical planform high aspect ratio wings; and guns mounted in barbettes at the rear of each outboard nacelle, which were to be remotely operated by a gunner in a pressurised turret. Owing to development delays, the Windsor was found to be not sufficiently in advance of the Lancaster IV in range or general performance to justify the Ministry’s plans to employ it actively in the war against Japan. Further development and production were cancelled.

WESTLAND WELKIN First conceived in 1940, the Welkin was developed in response to a perceived threat from very high altitude German aircraft, most notably the Junkers Ju86P. Westland had just finished development work on the Whirlwind and its proposal followed the same basic configuration, but with a number of significant differences. The most visible feature was the enormous high aspect ratio wing, with a span on the production aircraft of 70ft (21m). The compact but troublesome Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines of the Whirlwind were also replaced by the more powerful two-stage Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk76/77. However, perhaps the most technologically challenging element of the design was a bullet-proof pressurised cabin, attached to the wing front spar. The armament – four Hispano 20mm cannon – was the same as the Whirlwind’s, but the Welkin carried the guns in a tray in its belly, which facilitated loading. In that position, muzzle flash was also less likely to dazzle the pilot. The Air Ministry accepted the Welkin design and issued a new specification (F.7/41) for the prototype. This took to the air on 1 November 1942, but by then a specially lightened Spitfire MkV had shot down a Junkers Ju86P at 42,000ft, reducing the need for a specialised fighter. After only 67 production aircraft had been completed, the Welkin was cancelled.

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