Rolls-Royce Merlin :The Engine That Won Britain's Greatest War

Comments · 57

• RO

  @rodsmith3911 · 2 months ago

  My late mother, Gladys Smith, made the black sand cores for the Merlin engine at Richards Iron Foundry in Leicester. Later in the war she  became Forelady over a section which included Italian PoWs, still producing parts for Merlin for Rolls Royce. One of the Italians made a ship in a bottle which he gave to mother in return for a few cigarettes. I'm now in my 80th year and still have the ship in the bottle. The sound of a Merlin engine makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Hearing it still makes me think of Mum and the hard graft that made the engines which helped to win the war. My father was in the RAF during the war, My eldest son also served in the RAF as a linguist and did two tours in Afghanistan among many other places.

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• MA

  @MartinGreen-u7y · 2 months ago

  I live near the Rolls -Royce factory in Bristol and she still fly's over now and again and I'm 64 and those Merlin engine's still gives me goosebumps 👍

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• TH

  @TheLastBritishEngine · 1 month ago

  I grew up near the old factory grounds in Derby, and hearing that distinct Merlin roar overhead always takes me right back to my childhood. Some sounds never get old!

  3

• IN

  @IndustrialHeritage · 1 month ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TetzmiDRNe4&amp;t=114">1:54</a> Fascinating documentary! The Rolls-Royce Merlin is truly one of the greatest engineering achievements in aviation history.

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• WW

  @WWIIRealAccounts · 2 months ago

  At my age, I admire steady improvement over flashy breakthroughs. Could modern industries still sustain such patient engineering across decades?

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• PE

  @pedrofortes6989 · 2 months ago

  An inspiring story about one of the greatest challenges of World War II, recounting how Rolls-Royce played a decisive role for the British. I send congratulations and recognition from Brazil.

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• J.

  @j.edward4379 · 2 months ago

  I first heard or felt the merlin engines in Unlimited Hydroplanes &nbsp;every year in Tri-Cities 😢Washington. I believe they make the most beautiful sound. Whenever I heard that sound. It was like a call to the river wherever you were in the TCs.

  2

• AV

  @AviationLegacyVIV · 1 day ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TetzmiDRNe4&amp;t=159">2:39</a> In its Packard form it also powered the P51D

• HA

  @Hawkerzulu · 2 months ago

  ...great naration and facts...shame about the image synchronization..

  3

• IN

  @IndustrialHeritage24h · 1 month ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TetzmiDRNe4&amp;t=196">3:16</a> Excellent story. The Merlin engine became a true legend of World War II aviation.

  2

• JA

  @jacktattis · 2 months ago

  In its Packard form it also powered the P51D

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• AL

  @aleccullen2696 · 2 months ago

  What an inspiring story of Britain at its supreme best under the worst conditions possible. &nbsp;I was shocked to learn of the committee&apos;s refusal to run with Whittle&apos;s engine at a time when it was desperately needed. &nbsp;It could have been that event that led Churchill to write &quot;While England Slept&quot; and JFK to name his thesis &apos;Why England Slept&apos;. That Britain could win the Battle of Britain in spite of such acts of sheer negligence (if not outright treason) has to be considered an act of divine intervention; a veritable miracle. &nbsp;Would it take another war to rescue Britain from its present moribund state? &nbsp;From what Bertrand Russell said about the incredible production growth during both world wars, one can only wonder why some party leader hasn&apos;t declared an emergency to spark a new effort like that demonstrated here. &nbsp;I don&apos;t believe that such spirit can wane over a few generations. Churchill stirred it into life. &nbsp;That can be done again. &nbsp;An integral part of Britain&apos;s present and ongoing glory is the presence of Rolls Royce engines in skies all over the world.

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