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My "Gear Head Tuesday" post:
https://56packardman.com/2017/03/28/gear-head-tuesday-packard-and-the-merlin-engine/

Includes a video about Tommy Hitchcock, the aviator who pushed the US to get behind the P-51 Mustang and it also includes Packard's film, "Men Bet Their Lives On It."

As Joe Bob Briggs of the Drive-In Movie Review would say, "check it out!"

Sorry, but Terry Dunn's article contains a glaring error about the Merlin engine. Packard did NOT convert measurements from metric imperial to US Standard units. Packard kept everything British Standard and had to create the tooling to do so.

Fromhttp://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-and-history/merlin-engines-rolls-royce-packard-thread-systems-265742/

"An often asked question is; "did Packard replicate the British thread system when they built Rolls-Royce Merlins under license during World War II?" The answer is yes; all threads that were used on the Merlin were accurately replicated by Packard. This would include BSW (British Standard Whitworth), BSF (British Standard Fine), BSP (British Standard Pipe) and BA (British Association). Having said that, however, Packard Merlins> used U.S. built Bendix injection carburetors; PD-16 for single stage engines and PD-18 for two stage engines, both of which used U.S. Unified threads. British built Merlins employed S.U. carburetors using Whitworth threads. The job facing Packard when they undertook manufacture of the Merlin was daunting to say the least. It's bad enough having to build a complex product like the Merlin but exacerbating the situation was the fact no tool maker in the U.S. made Whitworth taps or dies. Therefore, Packard were forced into making their own. Although this created a significant hurdle to overcome, the effort was well worth it, Packard and Rolls-Royce components were interchangeable."

The British required the Packard-built Merlins to be the same as the ones they produced. This was so a crew changing or working on an engine would not have to be concerned about the source. This was important to have the most efficiency in war time situations. There was no time to guess: 'Is this one of ours or one of theirs?'

JWL

Roger - as I noted on the blog with your comment, I always appreciate factual corrections. I had noticed that error and intended to point it out in the blog post - and then neglected to do it. So thank you for posting it here and at the blog!

If you haven't seen the "Men Bet Their Lives On It" video, you will enjoy it. (It is included at the bottom of the blog post.) There are some good shots of East Grand and how the plant was expanded to produce the Merlin engines. There are nice segments about the Packard Marine V-12s used in the PT boats as well.

I enjoyed the article and thanks for the correction. Knowing all that Packard had to go through to help this effort, its amazing to me that they were alowed to fold by the government/s they helped win the war.

fast forward to modern day times and we are bailing out banks and the big three.....oh yeah I forgot, it wasnt a sissy time back then, free enterprize was alowed to come and go on its own.

"fast forward to modern day times and we are bailing out banks and the big three.....oh yeah I forgot, it wasnt a sissy time back then, free enterprize was alowed to come and go on its own."

Spot-on! One of the real scandals in the closing of Packard is how Ike's Secretary of Defense, ex-GM chief Charles Wilson, got away with yanking most of Packard's and Studebaker's defense contracts Wilson knew EXACTLY what he was doing - and he knew that Nance was gearing Packard for a serious assault on Cadillac. As much as anything else in the storm of events that doomed Packard, I have long believed that this was the proverbial straw ...

Another thing I noted with some amazement was that while Henry Ford declined the Merlin engine building contract in the US, his British Ford subsidiary built almost as many Merlins as Packard in Manchester. That was news to me, but I suppose they didn't have the challenges that Packard had because of the Whitworth tool building requirements.

I still think it is ironic that GM (in its North American Aviation unit) built Mustangs (P-51s) long before Ford did in 1964. And Charley Wilson did put a significant nail in Packard's coffin when they pulled some critical defense contracts at the end of the Korean conflict. The Perfect Storm of all those reasons for Packard's demise could not have been more complicated. No wonder we're still talking about it sixty years later. But remember, 72 years ago men bet their lives on it.

By the way, that image of the P-51D "NEVER Miss" it REMARKABLY similar to a very famous Mustang known as "DETROIT Miss" - please see the image attached.

DETROIT Miss was piloted by Urban (Ben) Drew of Detroit, MI and is the only pilot credited with downing two (2) Messerschmidt, ME-262, jet aircraft, in a single mission.

That took guts to go up against two faster airplanes!

More here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_L._Drew

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Mustang is a badass plane. love that whistle as it flys overhead. i watched a show recently on netflix where they restored one and the merlin motor. they talked about the reason it whistle being the recessed guns on the wings. that and the B17 are my favorite. My Grandfather was on a B17, but never saw action.

i guess i should go watch that Charlie Wilson's War movie, i skipped over it thinking it wasn't something that would hold my attention for long.

I also like how Ford...one of the most recognizably American brands...denied the contract. way to go....and thank you Packard for your sacrifice!