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I had the pleasure of watching an interesting program on the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft engine. Alain de Cadenet host of the "Renaissance Man" show on the Velocity channel gave a most respectful and informative telling of the Merlin engine and the aircraft it powered. He usually does programs on vintage racing and special interest automobiles, and rare motorcycles. I highly recommend viewing this series.

(o[]o)

This story is mentioned with some detail in "Packard- A History of the Motorcar and the Company." it seems Ford was offered the contract to build the Merlin stateside, but declined stating it wasn't feasible considering all of the hand built aspects of the assembly. Well guess who was the master of the hand built method of engine assembly!

Packard went on to build over 50,000 engines, and their engineers pioneered a two stage supercharger that allowed the Merlin to have more than adequate power at high altitudes thereby giving the P51 Mustang the ability to escort our B17s safely on bombing runs into the heart of Germany. You can say that Packard had more than a big role in our victory over the axis powers in Europe.

About 4-5 years ago I had the good fortune to have a ride in a P-51 powered by the Packard Engine. It was totally incredible. Packard seems to get little credit these days for what they did. And your right, that plane was highly instrumental in turning the war in Europe.

JW - It was a great show. I also noted Hemmings has an article in the April issue about Packard's war contributions.

Seems to me this thread dovetails with our recent discusssions about how to get folks informed and involved with Packard. I'm not sure how popular the recent movie "Redtails" was with the younger crowd, but there is another connection that might spark interest with the younger crowd.

I recently encouraged a young NAPA clerk to google Packard when I mentioned what I needed the tool for, and sensed some interest from him.
MG

Alain de Cadenet took a good portion of the program talking about Packard's involvement with the engine and the performance it gave P-51 Mustang. He also went for a ride in a Mustang. There is some rare footage of a Curtiss P-40 fitted with a Merlin in place of the customary Allison. Great stuff!

Some time back I took a stab at describing Packard's involvement with the Merlin. The article: "The Car that Won the Air War Over Europe" was published in the PAC's Cormorant News Bulletin and I believe is still available on this website.

(o[]o)

There is considerable coverage of Packard's Merlin activities in Robert J. Neal's book "Master Motor Builders". I believe the book is still available, see the "Packard Bookshelf" under the Main Menu for more info on that publication.

I never did understand why the P-51 Mustang was nicknamed "The Cadillac of the Sky" when it had a Packard motor.

Speaking of Alain de Cadenet, a few years ago he did an introduction on the Spitfire airplane as it did a VERY low pass over him. You can see it here - warning! rough language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmR-A-yJknw

Packard building the Merlin under license from Rolls Royce has an interesting story behind it. Going back to the 1920's the Curtiss D-12 was the aviation engine to beat both here in the US, England, France and Italy. It had a near monopoly on high performance aircraft engines until the radial air-cooled Pratt& Whitney Wasp appeared in 1925. After the D-12 had won the Schneider Cup races in 1923, the British aircraft engine builders, Napier and Rolls both took a look at the D-12

"To make sure that there would be no mistake as to what
the Air Ministry wanted, a complete D-12 was loaned to Rolls-Royce.
Following the new classical lines of low frontal area and overall compactness,
the design of a new aluminum monoblock V-12 that would
supplant the D-12 took shape quickly. The prototype appeared in
March 1926.." pg97

Rolls came up with the F-X which became the Kestrel, which became the Merlin.
A Rolls Royce 1300hp Merlin was installed on a P-40E and flown in November 1941which improved higher altitude performance with the two-stage supercharger. This became the P40F with 1300 built using Packard Merlins. The USAAF allocated the Packard Merlin to the P-51 program to replace the Allison V-1710 and the P-40 went back to Allisons. The US Government was also paying RR a $650 royalty for every Packard Merlin built and the P-40 was on the way out anyway. Equipping the P-51D with the two-drop tanks finally gave it the range needed to escort the 8AF bomber streams over Germany and to freelance on the way back.
Link to PDF "The Curtiss D-12 Aero Engine" Smithsonian Air and Space Museum #7
AIRCRAFT PROPULSION
www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/.../pdf.../SAOF-0001.4.pdf


That Spit pass always gives me a kick. Have you ever seen the CAF Texas Raiders B-17 buzz job with the Texas anti-littering campaign?

Yes, you can't sit at an air show and have a Merlin engine scream overhead without it turning your insides out.

Randy,

Here is the best of both B-17 and Merlin. Sorry I misidentified TR, should be Sentimental Journey. Bring your Packard to Geneseo in July. Three P-51s confirmed so far. Free admission with car, driver and one passenger.

This is a hoot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgd3o--LIyg