Part Two: All the way with N.A.A. As we’ve seen in Part One of this story, the British – and Rolls-Royce specifically – hold pride of place on the Merlin Mustang’s birth certificate. But the reality is that while Rolls-Royce had built a brilliant engine, their experiments with the Mustang were something of a dead end. The P-51’s future would be made in the USA. … Continue reading The Merlin Mustang (continued)
Part One: The British breakthrough that didn’t There are a lot of ways to end a sentence that begins “If it weren’t for the Rolls-Royce Merlin…” In fact, it would be a fun parlour game next time the avgeeks got together. If it weren’t for the Rolls-Royce Merlin… the Cromwell tank would have been a tin pillbox could be one slightly off-piste option. But I … Continue reading The Merlin Mustang
Germany’s greatest fighter What if the Spitfire – that most iconic British fighter – wasn’t? British, I mean. What if it’s sighed-over elliptical wing (which, as any attentive high school student could tell you, isn’t even an ellipse) owed as much to the Germans it fought against as the English it saved? A masterpiece of aerodynamics Okay, I admit it’s a deliberately hackle-raising question… After all, the … Continue reading ‘As British as Queen Victoria’
A few weeks back, the hugely admirable John Mollison posted a new Old Guys & Their Airplanes clip to accompany his finished illustration of F/L John Wilkinson’s Spitfire Mk.XIV. Perhaps I should have that the other way around… Anyway, John’s post, clip and artwork reminded me that I had a pilot’s review of the XIV in my collection, and it seemed appropriate to share it. Unlike … Continue reading Flying the Fourteen
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