FPW Model 32P811 Rolls-Royce Merlin XX

The Rolls-Royce Merlin was a British aircraft engine of the interwar and WWII periods manufactured by Rolls-Royce Limited. It was first tested in flight in October 1933. The engine - in the Merlin 61 version - weighed 744 kilograms with a displacement of 27 liters. It is estimated that approximately 150,000 units of this aircraft engine were produced. It is also quite widely recognized as one of the best aircraft engines of the Second World War.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin was a V12 12-cylinder engine. It was initially created as a grassroots initiative by Rolls-Royce, but quickly gained the attention of the British Air Force. The first copies of this engine were highly failure-prone, but due to the implementation of a very effective quality control system, later versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine became highly reliable. The engine was constantly improved and in subsequent versions it achieved higher and higher maximum powers, for example: Merlin II had 1030 HP, Merlin X - 1130 HP, Merlin XX - 1480 HP, and one of the last versions (Merlin 130/131) as much as 2060 HP! It is worth adding that the license production of these Merlin engines was also carried out in the United States at Packard plants. The Rolls-Royce Merlin engine served as a power unit for many British aircraft during the Second World War. It powered such planes as, for example: Boulton Paul Defiant, Fairey Battle, but most of all - Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. It was also used in American aviation as an engine for the P-51 Mustangs