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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1508.PDF
AUGUST 2ND, 1945 FLIGHT 123 with a will until the figure of over- hauled engines rose from a few hun- • dred in 1939 to over 18,000 during 1944- « " You will realise that with such a number of engines operating under wartime conditions all over the world, the demand for spare parts would be stupendous; as indeed it was. Here, again, this call had to be met with- out hindrance to new production. Naturally the demand advanced as the war proceeded, and whereas one million pounds' worth sufficed in 1939, in 1944 eleven times this figure of one million pounds hardly filled requirements. "Just before the war it became apparent that, in order to ensure the satisfactory functioning of our en- gines, it was necessary for us to V devote our own engineering skill to their installation. In the past this matter, so vital to us, had been left to the aircraft constructor, who was already overburdened with the solu- tion of countless other problems in connection with aircraft construc- tion, performance and equipment. Whether an engine fails owing to the defective design of a bearing, or is destroyed owing to loss of coolant consequent upon a defective ' plumb- ing ' system, the result to the unfortunate flying man is the same. We decided, therefore, that we must .accept the responsibility for every- thing affecting the functioning of the engine right back to the points where the complete power plant is attached to the aircraft. By taking over the con- trol of the design, development and production of com- plete power plants we have been able to test out the complete unit both on the test bench and also in the air. The result has been not only an increase in reliability but also improvement in the efficiency of the various com- ponents, including the engine itself. Power Plant Growth '' Our enterprise in tackling the complete power plant and developing it into a quickly detachable interchange- able unit has won the admiration of our American friends, and has been publicly acdaimed by them as one of the outstanding achievements of British aviation during the A war. "Here again the measure of our success can be gauged by the enormous expansion of business. In 1939 we pro- duced a little over 100 complete power plants. In 1944 the output was nearly 14,000. Our own capacity was inade- quate to handle the huge demand, and we had, therefore, in the main to rely on sub-contractors, all of whom had to be educated in this new technique. The power "plants for all Merlin-engined aircraft of the famous Avro Lancaster type and its descendants have been built to Rolls-Royce designs. ' Most of the foregoing remarks apply to our world- famous Merlin engine. There is, however, another member of the Rolls-Royce family which has already 'won its spurs' in this war and is destined to rival its older brother . in renown. I refer to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine. This engine, 23 per cent, bigger than the Merlin, supplied in a , • power plant designed and built by Rolls-Royce, is already being used in large numbers by the Fleet Air Arm in the Fairey Firefly. Now that the war has moved to the Far East, with its wide ocean spaces, the largely increased use of this first-class combination of engine and aircraft is cer- tain to ensue. ' "The Griffon engine has also been used operationally in Inter Marks of the Supermarine Spitfire with highly suc- The Rolls-Royce 40 mm. cannon whichwere on test within twelve months of being designed. cessful results. The majority of the front - line aircraft have been, throughout the war, powered by Rolls-Royce engines." Capt. Smith then recalled that the ubiquitous Merlin had found other fields to conquer, such as in motor torpedo boats and tanks. The Mer- lin, derated and converted for the latter use, became known as the Meteor and was rated at 600 h.p. It replaced the 350 h.p. Liberty engine, and the extra power had its effect on parts of the tank, which were rede- signed by Rolls-Royce engineers. One of the fruits of. their collabora- tion was the Cromwell tank. The Rolls-Royce school of instruc- tion at Derby, Capt. Smith said, had trained nearly 17,000 people in the use of R-R. products. These in- cluded pilot officers, flight engineers and ground personnel of the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm, and representa- tives of the air forces of most of our Allies. In last week's issue we referred to Capt. Smith's remarks on the sub- ject of private enterprise. We feel that they deserve to be read by a wide circle and are, therefore, pub- lishing them in full. On this subject he said".— '' In passing, I think it is desirable to touch on a subject which has be- come one of acute political contro- versy at the present time. I refer to nationalisation cf industry and more particularly of those branches concerned with the produc- tion of armament. Without entering into the political arena to battle either on the side of nationalisation or private enterprise, let us for a moment examine the facts and see what advantage would have accrued to the nation if Rolls- Royce had been a national factory under full Government control in the years between the two wars. "In the early 1920's, right up to 1927, Rolls-Royce were practically without Government support so far as new designs of aircraft engines were concerned. Our aircraft engine department eked out a precarious existence on the proceeds of contracts for overhaul and supply of spares relating to obsolete types of engines produced for the first World War. "In 1925, at our own risk and on our own initiative, we designed and later produced the prototypes of a 500 h.p. engine known as the Kestrel. This type of engine, which was later ordered in large quantities by the Government, provided us with the basic design information and tech- nique which has been incorporated in all the engines we have produced since. Private Venture '' In 1932 we decided that a larger engine than the Kestrel would certainly be required. Again at our own risk and on our own initiative, we designed and produced prototypes of an engine we called the P.V.12. The P.V.12 is better known to you as the Rolls-Royce Merlin, the engine which provided the power for all our protecting fighters throughout the Battle of Britain. "In the light of the above indisputable facts, I leave it to you to decide what you think would have been the outcome of the Battle of Britain, and, in consequence, the fate of our nation, if Rolls-Royce had been nationalised and there had in consequence been no Merlin engine. "Let me give you a further example of the results of private enterprise as practised by Rolls-Royce. Some years before the war we observed that the guns used in aircraft were mostly made to foreign designs. Our view was that
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