Rolls-Royce Merlin

E4518

V12 engine aircraft piston engine liquid-cooled aircraft engine

The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V12 piston aero engine renowned for powering iconic World War II aircraft such as the Spitfire, Hurricane, and Lancaster.

Aliases (10)

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	V12 engine → aircraft piston engine → liquid-cooled aircraft engine →
alsoKnownAs	PV-12 →
application	civilian transport aircraft postwar →
bore	5.4 inches →
configuration	60-degree V12 →
coolingSystem	liquid-cooled →
countryOfOrigin	United Kingdom →
designer	Rolls-Royce engineering team →
displacement	1649 cubic inches → 27 litres →
enteredService	1937 →
era	World War II →
firstRunDate	1933 →
fuelSystem	carburetted →
fuelType	aviation gasoline →
heritageStatus	iconic British aero engine →
ignitionSystem	dual magneto →
induction	supercharged →
influenced	development of high-performance piston aero engines →
licenseBuiltAs	Packard V-1650 →
lubricationSystem	dry sump →
manufacturer	Rolls-Royce Limited →
notableAircraftPowered	Avro Lancaster → Boulton Paul Defiant → Fairey Battle → Handley Page Halifax → Hawker Hurricane → North American P-51 Mustang → Supermarine Spitfire → Vickers Wellington → de Havilland Mosquito →
notableFeature	high-altitude performance in later variants → two-speed supercharger on later marks →
numberBuilt	over 160000 →
numberOfCylinders	12 →
powerOutputRange	approximately 750 to over 2000 horsepower depending on variant →
primaryUse	bomber aircraft → fighter aircraft →
productionPeriod	1936–1950s →
stroke	6.0 inches →
successor	Rolls-Royce Griffon →
superchargerType	centrifugal supercharger →
typicalPowerOutput	1000 to 1700 horsepower →
usedBy	Royal Air Force → United States Army Air Forces →
usedInConflict	Second World War →
valvesPerCylinder	4 →
valvetrain	single overhead camshaft per bank →

Referenced by (22)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Avro Lancaster ("Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 piston engine") → Avro Lancaster ("Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 piston engine") → Boulton Paul Defiant → Fairey Battle ("Rolls‑Royce Merlin") → Hawker Hurricane →	engineType
Handley Page Halifax → Supermarine Seafire ("Rolls-Royce Merlin engine") → de Havilland Mosquito ("Rolls‑Royce Merlin V12 engine") →	powerplant
PV-12 ("Rolls-Royce Merlin I") → PV-12 ("Rolls-Royce Merlin II") → PV-12 ("Rolls-Royce Merlin III") →	successor
Packard V-1650 →	basedOn
Hawker Hurricane →	engineModel
Merlin 1A ("Merlin engine family") →	family
Packard V-1650 →	licenseManufacturerOf
Boulton Paul Defiant ("Rolls-Royce Merlin XX") →	MkIIEngine
North American P-51 Mustang ("Packard V-1650 Merlin") →	notableEngine
Rolls-Royce Limited ("Rolls-Royce Merlin engine") →	notableProduct
PV-12 →	originalDesignationOf
Rolls-Royce Griffon →	predecessor
Supermarine →	spitfireEngineType
Supermarine Spitfire →	typicalEngine