Engine fitters at Pocklington prepare to fit a brand new Rolls-Royce Merlin XX to a waiting Halifax, JulyAugust 1942.
The Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was arguably the most important engine of WW2. It had an ability to produce war-winning designs of almost anything it powered, including two of the most famous and beloved aircraft from the war; the P-51 Mustang and Spitfire. Not only this, but it was also used in tanks as the Meteor, which, for the first time, provided the British with a tank engine capable of delivering large amounts of power reliably.
Work started on what would become the Merlin in the early 1930s, after Rolls-Royce realised their successful 21 L 700 hp Kestrel V12 wouldn’t always be enough. Their next design, named the PV-12, would have a 27 L displacement and produce 1,100 hp. It was first fired up in 1933, and would first fly in a Hawker Hart in 1935. At the same time, the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane had been designed to accommodate the PV-12, and
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