Rolls Royce Merlin 31
Year:
1940
Manufacturer:
As built under licence by Packard in the USA
Number Produced:
Specifications:
Description:
Additional information (and noted photos) kindly provided by John Skene
Of interest, all genuine ‘Merlin’ engines built by Rolls Royce had “Rolls Royce” embossed on the Rocker covers and this particular engine has the plain covers.
As used in the de Havilland Mosquito aircraft the Merlin 31 was a liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity with maximum rotational speed of 3,000 RPM and producing circa 1300 horsepower.
Interestingly, the power output of the Merlin was almost doubled during wartime through design improvement and the increasing use of supercharging (single stage and two stage) without any increase in engine cylinder capacity or RPM.