Ah Merlins…!!

Merlin run up

😉

This may sound a silly question, but why do Merlins sound so different according to the airframe that they are hung on. The P-51 is much louder and has more of a snarl than a Spitfire, the Mk5 Spit is the quietest and most smooth sounding, especially the Shuttleworth example, the Hurricane is generally quieter than a Spit and I remember watching the last ill-fated flight of the Firefly and thinking how loud it was compared to a Spitfire and as for Griffins, they never sound to be running in sync at all, or is it me.
Incidentally, were there ever plans for a Packard Griffin, now that would have made the P-51 interesting.

Packard did not have plans for the Griffon (Note spelling!), although they did produce a larger V12 engine, the V2500 or 4M 2500 for MTBs during WW2, which closely resembled the Merlin and Griffon. 2500 must be around 40 litres capacity, it produced 1200 bhp in boats, I don`t recall seeing any examples of the aero version ever used.

Rolls-Royce started a Griffon Mustang project, possibly after WW2, I`m sure someone else on here knows all the details! It was intended as a flying test-bed, and had a modified Griffon mounted behind the pilot as is the case with the Bell P39. I don`t think it ever flew. There are photos of it, but I can`t find any at the moment.

Incidentally, Griffons have, I believe, an uneven firing order. It was originally designed in MkI form with a scaled up Merlin crankshaft, but due to severe vibration problems was redesigned with a crank which has the throws spaced differently, and they were limited on the use of balance weights due to the torsional loads they imposed, at least compared to the Merlin.

Peter

Peter the answer is different exhaust stubbs.And different props…I think…

This may sound a silly question, but why do Merlins sound so different according to the airframe that they are hung on. The P-51 is much louder and has more of a snarl than a Spitfire, the Mk5 Spit is the quietest and most smooth sounding, especially the Shuttleworth example, the Hurricane is generally quieter than a Spit and I remember watching the last ill-fated flight of the Firefly and thinking how loud it was compared to a Spitfire and as for Griffins, they never sound to be running in sync at all, or is it me.
Incidentally, were there ever plans for a Packard Griffin, now that would have made the P-51 interesting.

Quite simply Glorious!!

Thank God we’ve got people like Peter keeping these alive for us. Thanks Peter!

Roy.

Nice find Peter!

A perfect illustration of how crap a Tornado really sounds when compared to two Merlins and a Griffon 🙂

Ooh… I want one to hook it up behind my old Land Rover… Then it would not be a trailer but a pusher 🙂

Tillerman.

Very nice Peter.