Rolls-Royce R
Encyclopedia
The Rolls-Royce R was a British aero engine
designed and built specifically for air racing
purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited
. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931. Developed from the Rolls-Royce Buzzard
, it was a 37-litre
(2,240 cu in
) capacity
, supercharged
V-12
capable of producing just under 2,800 horsepower
(2,090 kW
), and weighed 1,640 pounds
(770 kg
). Factory testing initially revealed mechanical failures that were reduced by the use of redesigned components, greatly improving reliability.
The R was used with great success in the Schneider Trophy
seaplane
competitions held in England in 1929 and 1931. Shortly after the 1931 competition, an R engine using a special fuel blend powered the winning Supermarine S.6B
aircraft to a new airspeed record of over 400 miles per hour (640 km/h). Continuing through the 1930s, both new and used R engines were used to achieve various land
and water speed record
s by such racing personalities as Sir Henry Segrave
, Sir Malcolm Campbell
and his son Donald
, the last record being set in 1939. A final R-powered water speed record attempt by Donald Campbell in 1951 was unsuccessful.
The experience gained by Rolls-Royce and Supermarine designers from the R engine was invaluable in the subsequent development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin
engine and the Spitfire
. A de-rated R engine, known as the Griffon, was tested in 1933, but it was not directly related to the production Rolls-Royce Griffon
of 1939. Three examples of the R engine are on public display in British museums as of 2010.
engine used in the 1927 Supermarine S.5
Schneider Trophy winner had reached the peak of its development, and that for Britain's entrant in the next race to be competitive a new, more powerful engine design was required. The first configuration drawing of the "Racing H" engine, based on the Buzzard
, was sent to R. J. Mitchell
of Supermarine
on 3 July 1928, allowing Mitchell to start design of the new S.6
Schneider Trophy seaplane. Shortly after this the engine's name was changed to R for "Racing". An official British Government contract to proceed with the project was not awarded until February 1929, leaving Rolls-Royce six months to develop the engine before the planned Schneider Trophy competition of that year.
, Arthur Rowledge
and Henry Royce
. The R shared the Buzzard's bore, stroke and capacity, and used the same 60-degree
V-12 layout. A new single-stage, double-sided supercharger
impeller was designed along with revised cylinders
and strengthened connecting rod
s. The wet-liner cylinder block
s, crankcase
and propeller reduction gear
castings were produced from "R.R 50
" aluminium alloy
; and because of the short life expectancy of these engines, forged aluminium was used to replace bronze and steel in many parts.
To make the R as compact as possible, several design modifications were made in comparison to the Buzzard: the propeller reduction gear housing was reshaped, and the camshaft
and rocker
covers were modified to fair into the shape of the aircraft's nose, the air intake was positioned in the vee of the engine (which also helped to avoid the ingress of spray), and beneath the engine the auxiliaries were raised a little to reduce the depth of the fuselage
. The engine's length was minimised by not staggering its cylinder banks fore and aft, which meant that the connecting rods from opposing cylinders had to share a short crankshaft
bearing journal known as the "big end". This was initially achieved by fitting one connecting rod inside the other at the lower end in a blade and fork arrangement; however, after cracking of the connecting rods was found during testing in 1931, the rod design was changed to an articulated type.
The introduction of articulated connecting rods was regarded as a "nuisance" by Arthur Rubbra
, a Rolls-Royce engine designer, as there were inherent problems with the arrangement. The complicated geometry meant that a pair of rods had different effective lengths, giving a longer stroke on the articulated side; consequently the cylinder liners on that side had to be lengthened to prevent the lower piston ring
from running out of the cylinder skirt. Articulated rods were used in the Goshawk
engine, but were not embodied in the later Rolls-Royce Merlin
, for which Arthur Rowledge had designed a revised blade and fork system.
Later production R engines featured sodium-filled
exhaust valve
stems for improved cooling, while additional modifications included a redesigned lower crankcase casting and the introduction of an oil scraper ring
below the piston gudgeon pin; a measure that was carried over to the Merlin engine. A balanced crankshaft was introduced in May 1931, and the compression ratio
on the "sprint" engines prepared for that year was raised from 6:1 to 7:1.
The ignition system
consisted of two rear-mounted, crankshaft-driven magnetos, each supplying one of a pair of spark plugs fitted to each cylinder. This is common practise for aero engines, as it ensures continued operation in the case of a single magneto failure, and has the advantage of more efficient combustion
over a single spark plug application.
posed new challenges for both the Rolls-Royce and Supermarine design teams. Traditional cooling methods using honeycomb-type radiator
s were known to cause high drag in flight; consequently it was decided to use the surface skins of the S.6 wings and floats
as heat exchangers, employing a double-skinned structure through which the coolant could circulate. Engine oil was cooled in a similar manner using channels in the fuselage
and empennage
skins. The S.6 was described at the time as a "flying radiator", and it had been estimated that this coolant system dissipated the equivalent of 1,000 hp (745 kW) of heat
in flight. However, even with this system in use, engine overheating was noted during the race flights, requiring the pilots to reduce the throttle setting to maintain a safe operating temperature
.
A not-so-obvious cooling measure was the deliberate use of a rich fuel mixture
, which accounts for the frequent reports of black smoke seen issuing from the engine exhaust stubs. Although this robbed the engine of some power, it increased reliability and reduced the possibility of detonation
in the cylinders.
were its supercharger
design, ability to run at high revolutions due to its structural strength, and the special blends of fuel used. The double-sided supercharger impeller was a new development for Rolls-Royce: running at a ratio of almost 8:1, it could supply intake air at up to 18 pounds per square inch
(psi) (1.24 bar
) above atmospheric pressure
, a figure known as "boost" and commonly abbreviated as "+x
lb". By comparison the maximum boost of the earlier Rolls-Royce Kestrel
design was +6 lb (0.4 bar), this figure not being achieved until 1934. The high boost pressures initially caused the spark plugs to fail on test, and eventually the Lodge type X170 plug was chosen as it proved to be extremely reliable.
The development of special fuel was attributed to the work of "Rod" Banks
, an engineer who specialised in fuels and engine development. After using neat benzole
for early ground test runs; a mixture of 11% aviation petrol
and 89% benzole, plus 5 cubic centimetre
s (cc) of tetra-ethyl lead
per Imperial gallon (4.5 L) was tried. This blend of fuel was used to win the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, and continued to be used until June 1931. It was discovered that adding 10% methanol
to this mixture resulted in a 20 hp (15 kW) increase, with the further advantage of reduced fuel weight – particularly important for aircraft use – due to its lowered specific gravity
. For the 1931 airspeed record attempt acetone
was added to prevent intermittent misfiring, the composition of this final blend was 30% benzole, 60% methanol, and 10% acetone, plus 4.2 cc of tetra-ethyl lead per gallon.
On an early test run the R engine produced 1,400 hp (1,040 kW) and was noted to idle
happily at 450 revolutions per minute
(rpm). With increased boost ratings and fuel developed by Banks, the R engine ultimately developed 2,530 hp (1,890 kW) at 3,200 rpm; well over double the maximum power output of the Buzzard
. The engine was further tested and cleared for limited sprint racing at 2,783 hp (2,075 kW) at 3,400 rpm and +21 lb (1.45 bar) of boost, but this capability was not used due to concerns with the S.6B's airframe
not being able to withstand the power, and the inability of the aircraft to lift the extra fuel required to meet the increased consumption.
factory on 7 April 1929 with R7 running the next day. Many mechanical failures were experienced during bench testing including burnt valves, connecting rod breakages and main bearing
seizures, while considerably more trouble than expected occurred with valve springs; at one time two or three would be found broken after a 10-minute run, but the continual redesigning and testing of components reduced all these problems. Unknown to Royce himself, the engineers had also fitted "Wellworthy" pistons that were better able to withstand the 13 ton
s "pressure" of each firing stroke.
Ground testing of the R involved the use of three Kestrel
engines: one to simulate a headwind or airspeed
, one to provide ventilation of the test area, and another to cool the crankcase
. Superchargers could be tested on a separate rig that was driven by another Kestrel engine. Eight men were required to run a test cell, led by the "Chief Tester" who had the tasks of logging the figures and directing the other operators. One of these chief testers was Victor Halliwell who later lost his life whilst onboard the water speed record contender Miss England II
. The conditions in the test cell were particularly unpleasant; deafness and tinnitus
lasting up to two days were experienced by test personnel even after plugging their ears with cotton wool. Development time was short and the deafening sound of three Kestrels and an R engine running at high power for 24 hours a day took its toll on the local population. The Mayor of Derby stepped in and asked that the people endure the noise for the sake of British prestige; subsequently testing continued for seven months.
In the course of a 25-minute test an early R engine would consume 60 Imperial gallons
(gal) (270 L) of pre-heated castor oil
. The majority of this was spat out of the exhaust ports and smothered the test cell walls, milk being given to staff to minimise the effects of this well-known laxative
. Up to 200 gal (900 L) of the special fuel blend had to be mixed for each test, 80 gal (360 L) of which were used just to warm the engine to operating temperature. The same coarse-pitch
propeller
used for flight trials was fitted throughout these tests.
, flight testing commenced on 4 August 1929 in the new Supermarine S.6 at RAF Calshot
, a seaplane
and flying boat
station on Southampton Water
in Hampshire
. During pre-race scrutineering tests, metal particles were found on two of the engine's 24 spark plugs indicating a piston
failure which would require an engine re-build or replacement. The competition rules did not allow an engine change, but due to the foresight of Ernest Hives, several Rolls-Royce engineers and mechanics that were familiar with the R had travelled down to Southampton
to witness the trials, and with their assistance one cylinder bank was removed, the damaged piston replaced and the cylinder refurbished. This work was completed overnight and allowed the team to continue in the competition.
Engine starting was achieved by a combination of compressed air and a hand-turned magneto
; however, starting problems were encountered during pre-race testing at Calshot due to moisture in the air and water contamination of the fuel. A complicated test procedure was devised to ensure clean fuel for competition flights since more than 0.3% water content made it unusable. As expected, minor engine failures continued to be experienced, and to counter this engines and parts were transported at high speed between Derby and Calshot using an adapted Rolls-Royce Phantom I
motor car. Travelling mostly after dark, this vehicle became known as the Phantom of The Night.
's memoirs, a de-rated version of the R engine, known by the name Griffon at that time, was tested in 1933. This engine, R11, was used for "Moderately Supercharged Buzzard development" (which was not proceeded with until much later), and bore no direct relationship to the volume-produced Griffon
of the 1940s.
The pre-production Griffon I shared the R engine's bore and stroke, but was otherwise a completely new design that first ran in the Experimental Department in November 1939. Although this single engine was never flown, the production version, the Griffon II, first flew in 1941 installed in the Fairey Firefly
. A significant difference between the R and the production Griffon was the re-location of the camshaft
and supercharger drives to the front of the engine to reduce overall length. Another length-reducing measure was the use of a single magneto (the R had two, mounted at the rear), this again was moved to the front of the engine.
Further possible development work on the R engine was discussed in The National Archives' file AVIA 13/122, which contains a proposal from the Royal Aircraft Establishment
dated October and November 1932, to test four engines to destruction. This document states that there were five engines available for test purposes, the fifth to be used for a standard type test at high revolutions.
Although not directly related to the Spitfire
, the Supermarine
engineers gained valuable experience of high-speed flight with the S.5 and S.6 aircraft, their next project being the Rolls-Royce Goshawk
-powered Supermarine Type 224
prototype fighter aircraft. Technological advances used in the R engine, such as sodium-cooled valves and spark plugs able to operate under high boost pressures, were incorporated into the Rolls-Royce Merlin
design. The author Steve Holter sums up the design of the Rolls-Royce R with these words:
s that was first held in 1913. The 1926 race was the first where all the teams fielded pilots from their armed forces, the Air Ministry
financing a British team known as the High Speed Flight
drawn from the Royal Air Force
. Sometimes known simply as The Flight, the team was formed at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
, Felixstowe
, in preparation for the 1927 race in which Supermarine's Mitchell-designed, Napier Lion
-powered Supermarine S.5
s placed first and second. 1927 was the last annual competition, the event then moving onto a biannual schedule to allow more development time between races.
During the 1929 race at Cowes
between Great Britain and Italy, Richard Waghorn flying the Supermarine S.6
with the new Roll-Royce R engine retained the Schneider Trophy for Great Britain with an average speed of 328.63 mph (147 m/s), and also gained the 50 km and 100 km (31 mi and 62 mi) world speed records. The records were subsequently beaten when Richard Atcherley
later registered higher speeds when he completed his laps of the circuit. The Italian team placed second and fourth using Fiat AS.3
V-12-powered Macchi M.52
aircraft. Another racing seaplane, the Fiat C.29
powered by the AS.5
engine attended the contest but did not compete.
More comparable to the R engine was the Fiat AS.6
engine developed for the 1931 contest; effectively a coupled, double AS.5 that suffered from technical problems. With the assistance of Rod Banks, the AS.6 powered the Macchi M.C.72
to a new speed record for piston-powered seaplanes in 1934 of 440.6 mph (709.2 km/h), a record that still stands as of 2009.
In 1931 the British Government withdrew financial support, but a private donation of £100,000 from Lucy, Lady Houston
allowed Supermarine to compete on 13 September using the R-powered Supermarine S.6B
. For this race the engine's rating was increased by 400 hp to 2300 hp. The Italian and French entrants however, failed to ready their aircraft and crews in time for the competition, and the remaining British team set both a new world speed record at 379 mph (610 km/h) and, unopposed, won the trophy outright with a third consecutive victory. "The Flight" was wound up within weeks of the 1931 win as there were to be no more Schneider Trophy contests. The original Trophy is on display in the London Science Museum
along with the S.6B that secured it, as well as the R engine that powered this aircraft for the subsequent airspeed record flight.
were often used to power wheeled vehicles to ever-higher speeds, chosen because of their high power-to-weight ratio
s: the Liberty engine
, Napier Lion
and the Sunbeam Matabele
were among the engine types used in the 1920s. The Rolls-Royce R was the latest development in high-powered aero engine design at the time, and was chosen by several makers of land speed record-contending cars; the engine was also chosen for powerboats
attempting the water speed record. One car and two boats successfully used the combined power of two R engines.
Supermarine S.6
Immediately after the 1929 Schneider Trophy contest Squadron Leader
Augustus Orlebar
, commanding officer of the High Speed Flight, set a new airspeed record of 355.8 mph (572.6 km/h) using Supermarine S.6
, N247.
Supermarine S.6B
On 29 September 1931, barely two weeks after the British team had secured the Schneider Trophy outright, Flight Lieutenant
George Stainforth
broke the world airspeed record in a Rolls-Royce R-powered Supermarine S.6B
, serial S1595, reaching an average speed of 407.5 mph (655.67 km/h). It had been intended to also use the identical sister aircraft, S1596, for the attempt but Stainforth had capsized it on 16 September whilst testing a propeller.
Sir Malcolm Campbell
, and later his son Donald
, used R engines from 1931 to 1951. At Sir Malcolm's knighthood
ceremony in February 1931, King George V
expressed great interest in the R and asked many questions about its fuel consumption and performance.
In 1932, Campbell stated that he "... was fortunate in procuring a special R.R. Schneider Trophy engine" for his land speed record car to replace its Napier Lion
. Lent to him by Rolls-Royce, this engine was either R25 or R31. By February 1933 the car, named Blue Bird had been rebuilt to accommodate the larger engine and was running at Daytona
.
In late 1933 Campbell bought engine R37 from Rolls-Royce; and had also been lent R17 and R19 by Lord Wakefield
, and R39 by Rolls-Royce. He then lent R17 to George Eyston
. Once he had achieved the 300 mi/h record on 3 September 1935 at the Bonneville Speedway
, Campbell retired from further land speed endeavours.
Lord Wakefield arranged for a replica of the Rolls-Royce R to be exhibited at the 1933 Motor Show
, held at Olympia, London
. A press report from the event provides an insight into the public perception of the engine:
Blue Bird is now on display at the Daytona International Speedway
.
Thunderbolt
During the mid-1930s, George Eyston set many speed records with his Speed of the Wind
car, powered by an unsupercharged Rolls-Royce Kestrel
. In 1937 he built a massive new car, Thunderbolt
, powered by two R engines to attempt the absolute land speed record. At first Eyston experienced clutch
failure due to the combined power of the engines. Nevertheless he took the record in November 1937, reaching 312 mph (502 km/h), and in 1938 when Thunderbolt reached 357.5 mph (575 km/h). When first built at Bean Industries
in Tipton
, the nearside engine fitted to Thunderbolt was R27 which had powered S1595 when it set the air speed record in 1931. The other was R25, used by the same aircraft to win the Schneider Trophy two weeks earlier. Eyston had also borrowed R17 from Sir Malcolm Campbell and, with the continuing support that Rolls-Royce extended to both Campbell and Eyston, he also had the option of using R39.
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Miss England II and III
Two R engines, R17 and R19, were built for Sir Henry Segrave
's twin-engined water speed record boat Miss England II
, this craft being ready for trials on Windermere
by June 1930. On Friday 13
June, Segrave was fatally injured and a Rolls-Royce technical advisor, Victor Halliwell, was killed when Miss England II capsized at high speed after possibly hitting a log. Shortly before his death Segrave learnt that he had set a new water speed record of just under 100 mph (160 km/h). On 18 July 1932, Kaye Don
set a new world water speed record of 119.81 mph (192.8 km/h) on Loch Lomond
in a new boat, Miss England III
, which also used engines R17 and R19.
Blue Bird K3
In late 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell decided to challenge the water speed record. At that point he had two Napier Lion
s and one Rolls-Royce R engine, R37 at his disposal, and it was decided to install the R engine in Blue Bird K3
. During trials on Loch Lomond
in June 1937 the engine was "slightly damaged ... because of trouble with the circulating water system". In August 1937 Blue Bird K3 was taken to Lake Maggiore
in Italy where "the modified [circulation] system worked perfectly with a second engine", R39.
Blue Bird K4 and the work of Leo Villa
R39 was again used in 1939 in Blue Bird K4. In 1947 Campbell unsuccessfully converted K4 to jet power using a de Havilland Goblin engine. After Campbell's death from natural causes in 1948, Donald Campbell bought K4 for a nominal sum as well as the 1935 record car when his father's effects were auctioned. He also purchased R37 back from a car dealer and reinstalled it in K4. Attempts on the record were made in 1949, and again in 1951 when R37 was "damaged beyond any immediate repair" by overheating. Another attempt was made later in the year using R39, but K4 suffered a structural failure and sank in Coniston Water
. It was recovered and broken up on the shore.
The care and maintenance of the Campbell's R engines was entrusted to Leo Villa
, a Cockney
born to a Swiss father, who was described as "the man behind the Campbells" and a central figure who "fitted the first nut to the first bolt". Villa learnt his trade of "aircraft mechanic" in the Royal Flying Corps
; his first job was fitting Beardmore 160 hp
engines to airframes. After World War I he worked for a motor racing company and participated as co-driver and mechanic in several races.
Villa was first employed by Malcolm Campbell in 1922, and continued in the service of Donald Campbell until 1967, when Campbell was killed during a record attempt on Coniston Water. He was the chief caretaker of their R engines until the last R-powered record attempt in 1951, after which his responsibilities centred on Campbell's jet engines. Villa's many responsibilities included installing and removing the engines, repairing and tuning them, and operating the compressed air and magneto for starting them. During the World War II years, he was responsible for the upkeep of Blue Bird K4 and the spare R engines, but unknown to him they had been sold along with K3. Villa eventually took the three R engines to Thomson & Taylor
at Brooklands
for long-term storage.
His relationship with Malcolm Campbell was strained at times: Campbell, with no engineering background, would often question Villa's intimate knowledge of the R engine, but his relations with Donald Campbell were much better, as they were of a similar age. At Lake Garda
in 1951 Villa noted the willingness of "Don" to help with engineering tasks, and the difficulties of working on the R engine:
Air speed record
Land speed record
Water speed record
1929 Development engines
1929 Schneider Trophy engines
1930 Development engine
1930 Wakefield order for Miss England II
1931 Schneider Trophy engines
1931 Development/factory spare engines
Aircraft
Cars
Boats
The Royal Air Force Museum London at Hendon has a Rolls-Royce R on display (museum number 65E1139) that came to the museum in November 1965 from RAF Cranwell
. According to the museum's records, before that it was with George Eyston as one of Thunderbolt's
record engines. Its data plate states that it is R25 under Air Ministry
contract number A106961 which makes it the second 1931 race engine delivered to RAF Calshot
.
R27
The London Science Museum
has an R engine on display which is catalogued as a stand-alone item, inventory number 1948-310. This is R27, the second sprint engine prepared for the successful air speed record attempt, and later used in Thunderbolt. The Science Museum also has S.6B, S1595, (winner of the 1931 race and the final air speed record aircraft) on display.
R37
The Filching Manor Motor Museum has R37 which is destined to be fitted in its restoration of the Blue Bird K3 water speed record boat.
These three engines are the only ones listed by the British Aircraft Preservation Council/Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. The Solent Sky
museum's S.6A, N248, (a competing aircraft in the 1929 race as an S.6, and stand-by for the 1931 race, modified as an S.6A) does not contain an R engine.
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
designed and built specifically for air racing
Air racing
- History :The first ever air race was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908. The participants piloted the only 4 airships in the U.S. around a course located at Forest Park...
purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931. Developed from the Rolls-Royce Buzzard
Rolls-Royce Buzzard
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
, it was a 37-litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
(2,240 cu in
Cubic inch
The cubic inch is a unit of measurement for volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its 3 sides being one inch long....
) capacity
Engine displacement
Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches...
, supercharged
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
V-12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
capable of producing just under 2,800 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
(2,090 kW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
), and weighed 1,640 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(770 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
). Factory testing initially revealed mechanical failures that were reduced by the use of redesigned components, greatly improving reliability.
The R was used with great success in the Schneider Trophy
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
competitions held in England in 1929 and 1931. Shortly after the 1931 competition, an R engine using a special fuel blend powered the winning Supermarine S.6B
Supermarine S.6B
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
aircraft to a new airspeed record of over 400 miles per hour (640 km/h). Continuing through the 1930s, both new and used R engines were used to achieve various land
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
and water speed record
Water speed record
The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978....
s by such racing personalities as Sir Henry Segrave
Henry Segrave
-External links:* * * * *...
, Sir Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
and his son Donald
Donald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
, the last record being set in 1939. A final R-powered water speed record attempt by Donald Campbell in 1951 was unsuccessful.
The experience gained by Rolls-Royce and Supermarine designers from the R engine was invaluable in the subsequent development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
engine and the Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. A de-rated R engine, known as the Griffon, was tested in 1933, but it was not directly related to the production Rolls-Royce Griffon
Rolls-Royce Griffon
The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited...
of 1939. Three examples of the R engine are on public display in British museums as of 2010.
Origin
Rolls-Royce realised that the Napier LionNapier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
engine used in the 1927 Supermarine S.5
Supermarine S.5
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
Schneider Trophy winner had reached the peak of its development, and that for Britain's entrant in the next race to be competitive a new, more powerful engine design was required. The first configuration drawing of the "Racing H" engine, based on the Buzzard
Rolls-Royce Buzzard
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
, was sent to R. J. Mitchell
R. J. Mitchell
Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire.-Early years:...
of Supermarine
Supermarine
Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that became famous for producing a range of sea planes and the Supermarine Spitfire fighter. The name now belongs to an English motorboat manufacturer.-History:...
on 3 July 1928, allowing Mitchell to start design of the new S.6
Supermarine S.6
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
Schneider Trophy seaplane. Shortly after this the engine's name was changed to R for "Racing". An official British Government contract to proceed with the project was not awarded until February 1929, leaving Rolls-Royce six months to develop the engine before the planned Schneider Trophy competition of that year.
Description
The R was a physically imposing engine designed by a team led by Ernest Hives and including Cyril LoveseyCyril Lovesey
Alfred Cyril Lovesey CBE, AFRAeS, was an English engineer who was a key figure in the development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine.-Early life:...
, Arthur Rowledge
Arthur Rowledge
Arthur John Rowledge MBE, FRS was an English engineer who designed the Napier Lion aero engine and was a key figure in the development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin.-Career:...
and Henry Royce
Henry Royce
Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, OBE was a pioneering car manufacturer, who with Charles Stewart Rolls founded the Rolls-Royce company.-Early life:...
. The R shared the Buzzard's bore, stroke and capacity, and used the same 60-degree
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
V-12 layout. A new single-stage, double-sided supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
impeller was designed along with revised cylinders
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
and strengthened connecting rod
Connecting rod
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion....
s. The wet-liner cylinder block
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
s, crankcase
Crankcase
In an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type, the crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the cylinder, which in a multicylinder engine are usually integrated into one or several cylinder blocks...
and propeller reduction gear
Propeller Speed Reduction Unit
A Propeller Speed Reduction Unit is a gearbox or a belt and pulley device used to reduce the output revolutions per minute from the higher input rpm of the powerplant...
castings were produced from "R.R 50
Hiduminium
The Hiduminium or R.R. alloys are a series of high-strength, high-temperature aluminium alloys, developed for aircraft use by Rolls-Royce before World War II. They were manufactured and later developed by High Duty Alloys Ltd....
" aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
; and because of the short life expectancy of these engines, forged aluminium was used to replace bronze and steel in many parts.
To make the R as compact as possible, several design modifications were made in comparison to the Buzzard: the propeller reduction gear housing was reshaped, and the camshaft
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
and rocker
Rocker arm
Generally referred to within the internal combustion engine of automotive, marine, motorcycle and reciprocating aviation engines, the rocker arm is a reciprocating lever that conveys radial movement from the cam lobe into linear movement at the poppet valve to open it...
covers were modified to fair into the shape of the aircraft's nose, the air intake was positioned in the vee of the engine (which also helped to avoid the ingress of spray), and beneath the engine the auxiliaries were raised a little to reduce the depth of the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
. The engine's length was minimised by not staggering its cylinder banks fore and aft, which meant that the connecting rods from opposing cylinders had to share a short crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
bearing journal known as the "big end". This was initially achieved by fitting one connecting rod inside the other at the lower end in a blade and fork arrangement; however, after cracking of the connecting rods was found during testing in 1931, the rod design was changed to an articulated type.
The introduction of articulated connecting rods was regarded as a "nuisance" by Arthur Rubbra
Arthur Rubbra
Arthur Alexander Cecil Rubbra CBE was an English engineer who designed many of Rolls-Royce's successful aero engines.-Early life:...
, a Rolls-Royce engine designer, as there were inherent problems with the arrangement. The complicated geometry meant that a pair of rods had different effective lengths, giving a longer stroke on the articulated side; consequently the cylinder liners on that side had to be lengthened to prevent the lower piston ring
Piston ring
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.The three main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are:...
from running out of the cylinder skirt. Articulated rods were used in the Goshawk
Rolls-Royce Goshawk
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
engine, but were not embodied in the later Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
, for which Arthur Rowledge had designed a revised blade and fork system.
Later production R engines featured sodium-filled
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
exhaust valve
Poppet valve
A poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
stems for improved cooling, while additional modifications included a redesigned lower crankcase casting and the introduction of an oil scraper ring
Piston ring
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.The three main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are:...
below the piston gudgeon pin; a measure that was carried over to the Merlin engine. A balanced crankshaft was introduced in May 1931, and the compression ratio
Compression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
on the "sprint" engines prepared for that year was raised from 6:1 to 7:1.
The ignition system
Ignition system
An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. Ignition systems are well known in the field of internal combustion engines such as those used in petrol engines used to power the majority of motor vehicles, but they are also used in many other applications such as in oil-fired and...
consisted of two rear-mounted, crankshaft-driven magnetos, each supplying one of a pair of spark plugs fitted to each cylinder. This is common practise for aero engines, as it ensures continued operation in the case of a single magneto failure, and has the advantage of more efficient combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
over a single spark plug application.
Cooling
Cooling this large engine whilst minimising aerodynamic dragDrag (physics)
In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
posed new challenges for both the Rolls-Royce and Supermarine design teams. Traditional cooling methods using honeycomb-type radiator
Radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...
s were known to cause high drag in flight; consequently it was decided to use the surface skins of the S.6 wings and floats
Floats (nautical)
Floats are airtight hollow structures, similar to pressure vessels, whose air-filled interior makes them buoyant in water. They are most often used to make up the multipart hulls of trimarans, small open catamarans, and floatplanes . Their main purpose is to supply buoyancy, not storage space...
as heat exchangers, employing a double-skinned structure through which the coolant could circulate. Engine oil was cooled in a similar manner using channels in the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
and empennage
Empennage
The empennage , also known as the tail or tail assembly, of most aircraft gives stability to the aircraft, in a similar way to the feathers on an arrow...
skins. The S.6 was described at the time as a "flying radiator", and it had been estimated that this coolant system dissipated the equivalent of 1,000 hp (745 kW) of heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
in flight. However, even with this system in use, engine overheating was noted during the race flights, requiring the pilots to reduce the throttle setting to maintain a safe operating temperature
Operating temperature
An operating temperature is the temperature at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the device function and application context, and ranges from the minimum operating temperature to the...
.
A not-so-obvious cooling measure was the deliberate use of a rich fuel mixture
Air-fuel ratio
Air–fuel ratio is the mass ratio of air to fuel present in an internal combustion engine. If exactly enough air is provided to completely burn all of the fuel, the ratio is known as the stoichiometric mixture, often abbreviated to stoich...
, which accounts for the frequent reports of black smoke seen issuing from the engine exhaust stubs. Although this robbed the engine of some power, it increased reliability and reduced the possibility of detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
in the cylinders.
Supercharger and fuel
The keys to the R engine's high power-to-weight ratioPower-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...
were its supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
design, ability to run at high revolutions due to its structural strength, and the special blends of fuel used. The double-sided supercharger impeller was a new development for Rolls-Royce: running at a ratio of almost 8:1, it could supply intake air at up to 18 pounds per square inch
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
(psi) (1.24 bar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
) above atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
, a figure known as "boost" and commonly abbreviated as "+x
Variable (mathematics)
In mathematics, a variable is a value that may change within the scope of a given problem or set of operations. In contrast, a constant is a value that remains unchanged, though often unknown or undetermined. The concepts of constants and variables are fundamental to many areas of mathematics and...
lb". By comparison the maximum boost of the earlier Rolls-Royce Kestrel
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Erfurth, Helmut. Junkers Ju 87 . Bonn, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-186-5....
design was +6 lb (0.4 bar), this figure not being achieved until 1934. The high boost pressures initially caused the spark plugs to fail on test, and eventually the Lodge type X170 plug was chosen as it proved to be extremely reliable.
The development of special fuel was attributed to the work of "Rod" Banks
Francis Rodwell Banks
Air Commodore Francis Rodwell "Rod" Banks, RAF , CB., OBE., Commander of Legion of Honour , Commander of the Legion of Merit , Military Order of St. Stanislaus , Hon. CGIA., Hon. FRAeS, Hon...
, an engineer who specialised in fuels and engine development. After using neat benzole
Benzole
In the United Kingdom, the word benzole means a coal-tar product, consisting mainly of benzene and toluene. It was formerly mixed with petrol and sold as a motor fuel under trade names including "National Benzole Mixture" and "Regent Benzole Mixture"....
for early ground test runs; a mixture of 11% aviation petrol
Avgas
Avgas is an aviation fuel used to power piston-engine aircraft. Avgas is distinguished from mogas , which is the everyday gasoline used in cars and some non-commercial light aircraft...
and 89% benzole, plus 5 cubic centimetre
Cubic centimetre
A cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
s (cc) of tetra-ethyl lead
Tetra-ethyl lead
Tetraethyllead , abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula 4Pb. An inexpensive additive, its addition to gasoline from the 1920's allowed octane ratings and thus engine compression to be boosted significantly, increasing power and fuel economy...
per Imperial gallon (4.5 L) was tried. This blend of fuel was used to win the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, and continued to be used until June 1931. It was discovered that adding 10% methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
to this mixture resulted in a 20 hp (15 kW) increase, with the further advantage of reduced fuel weight – particularly important for aircraft use – due to its lowered specific gravity
Relative density
Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity usually means relative density with respect to water...
. For the 1931 airspeed record attempt acetone
Acetone
Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...
was added to prevent intermittent misfiring, the composition of this final blend was 30% benzole, 60% methanol, and 10% acetone, plus 4.2 cc of tetra-ethyl lead per gallon.
On an early test run the R engine produced 1,400 hp (1,040 kW) and was noted to idle
Idle speed
Idle speed is the rotational speed the engine runs on when the engine is uncoupled to the drivetrain and the throttle pedal isn't depressed of a combustion engine...
happily at 450 revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
(rpm). With increased boost ratings and fuel developed by Banks, the R engine ultimately developed 2,530 hp (1,890 kW) at 3,200 rpm; well over double the maximum power output of the Buzzard
Rolls-Royce Buzzard
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
. The engine was further tested and cleared for limited sprint racing at 2,783 hp (2,075 kW) at 3,400 rpm and +21 lb (1.45 bar) of boost, but this capability was not used due to concerns with the S.6B's airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...
not being able to withstand the power, and the inability of the aircraft to lift the extra fuel required to meet the increased consumption.
Ground testing
The first run of engine R1 took place at Rolls-Royce's DerbyOsmaston, Derby
Osmaston is a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is situated about 4 km south of the city centre, it is written in the Domesday Book as Osmundestune. In 1307 the manor of Osmaston was granted to Robert Holland. It was the location of Osmaston Hall the residence of the Wilmots Baronets...
factory on 7 April 1929 with R7 running the next day. Many mechanical failures were experienced during bench testing including burnt valves, connecting rod breakages and main bearing
Main bearing
In a piston engine, the main bearings are the bearings on which the crankshaft rotates, usually plain or journal bearings.All engines have a minimum of two main bearings, one at each end of the crankshaft, and they may have as many as one more than the number of crank pins...
seizures, while considerably more trouble than expected occurred with valve springs; at one time two or three would be found broken after a 10-minute run, but the continual redesigning and testing of components reduced all these problems. Unknown to Royce himself, the engineers had also fitted "Wellworthy" pistons that were better able to withstand the 13 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s "pressure" of each firing stroke.
Ground testing of the R involved the use of three Kestrel
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Erfurth, Helmut. Junkers Ju 87 . Bonn, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-186-5....
engines: one to simulate a headwind or airspeed
Airspeed
Airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are: indicated airspeed , calibrated airspeed , true airspeed , equivalent airspeed and density airspeed....
, one to provide ventilation of the test area, and another to cool the crankcase
Crankcase
In an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type, the crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the cylinder, which in a multicylinder engine are usually integrated into one or several cylinder blocks...
. Superchargers could be tested on a separate rig that was driven by another Kestrel engine. Eight men were required to run a test cell, led by the "Chief Tester" who had the tasks of logging the figures and directing the other operators. One of these chief testers was Victor Halliwell who later lost his life whilst onboard the water speed record contender Miss England II
Miss England II
Miss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
. The conditions in the test cell were particularly unpleasant; deafness and tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
lasting up to two days were experienced by test personnel even after plugging their ears with cotton wool. Development time was short and the deafening sound of three Kestrels and an R engine running at high power for 24 hours a day took its toll on the local population. The Mayor of Derby stepped in and asked that the people endure the noise for the sake of British prestige; subsequently testing continued for seven months.
In the course of a 25-minute test an early R engine would consume 60 Imperial gallons
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
(gal) (270 L) of pre-heated castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
. The majority of this was spat out of the exhaust ports and smothered the test cell walls, milk being given to staff to minimise the effects of this well-known laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
. Up to 200 gal (900 L) of the special fuel blend had to be mixed for each test, 80 gal (360 L) of which were used just to warm the engine to operating temperature. The same coarse-pitch
Blade pitch
Blade pitch or simply pitch refers to turning the angle of attack of the blades of a propeller or helicopter rotor into or out of the wind to control the production or absorption of power. Wind turbines use this to adjust the rotation speed and the generated power...
propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
used for flight trials was fitted throughout these tests.
Flight testing
Overseen by Cyril LoveseyCyril Lovesey
Alfred Cyril Lovesey CBE, AFRAeS, was an English engineer who was a key figure in the development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine.-Early life:...
, flight testing commenced on 4 August 1929 in the new Supermarine S.6 at RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly an RAF marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at...
, a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
and flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
station on Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. During pre-race scrutineering tests, metal particles were found on two of the engine's 24 spark plugs indicating a piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
failure which would require an engine re-build or replacement. The competition rules did not allow an engine change, but due to the foresight of Ernest Hives, several Rolls-Royce engineers and mechanics that were familiar with the R had travelled down to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
to witness the trials, and with their assistance one cylinder bank was removed, the damaged piston replaced and the cylinder refurbished. This work was completed overnight and allowed the team to continue in the competition.
Engine starting was achieved by a combination of compressed air and a hand-turned magneto
Magneto (electrical)
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce alternating current.Magnetos adapted to produce pulses of high voltage are used in the ignition systems of some gasoline-powered internal combustion engines to provide power to the spark plugs...
; however, starting problems were encountered during pre-race testing at Calshot due to moisture in the air and water contamination of the fuel. A complicated test procedure was devised to ensure clean fuel for competition flights since more than 0.3% water content made it unusable. As expected, minor engine failures continued to be experienced, and to counter this engines and parts were transported at high speed between Derby and Calshot using an adapted Rolls-Royce Phantom I
Rolls-Royce Phantom I
The Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost.-Description:The Phantom I is the second model in the Rolls-Royce 40/50 hp line. It was originally and even now correctly referred to as New Phantom...
motor car. Travelling mostly after dark, this vehicle became known as the Phantom of The Night.
Relationship to the Griffon and Merlin
According to Arthur RubbraArthur Rubbra
Arthur Alexander Cecil Rubbra CBE was an English engineer who designed many of Rolls-Royce's successful aero engines.-Early life:...
's memoirs, a de-rated version of the R engine, known by the name Griffon at that time, was tested in 1933. This engine, R11, was used for "Moderately Supercharged Buzzard development" (which was not proceeded with until much later), and bore no direct relationship to the volume-produced Griffon
Rolls-Royce Griffon
The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited...
of the 1940s.
The pre-production Griffon I shared the R engine's bore and stroke, but was otherwise a completely new design that first ran in the Experimental Department in November 1939. Although this single engine was never flown, the production version, the Griffon II, first flew in 1941 installed in the Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
. A significant difference between the R and the production Griffon was the re-location of the camshaft
Camshaft
A camshaft is a shaft to which a cam is fastened or of which a cam forms an integral part.-History:An early cam was built into Hellenistic water-driven automata from the 3rd century BC. The camshaft was later described in Iraq by Al-Jazari in 1206. He employed it as part of his automata,...
and supercharger drives to the front of the engine to reduce overall length. Another length-reducing measure was the use of a single magneto (the R had two, mounted at the rear), this again was moved to the front of the engine.
Further possible development work on the R engine was discussed in The National Archives' file AVIA 13/122, which contains a proposal from the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
dated October and November 1932, to test four engines to destruction. This document states that there were five engines available for test purposes, the fifth to be used for a standard type test at high revolutions.
Although not directly related to the Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
, the Supermarine
Supermarine
Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that became famous for producing a range of sea planes and the Supermarine Spitfire fighter. The name now belongs to an English motorboat manufacturer.-History:...
engineers gained valuable experience of high-speed flight with the S.5 and S.6 aircraft, their next project being the Rolls-Royce Goshawk
Rolls-Royce Goshawk
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
-powered Supermarine Type 224
Supermarine Type 224
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, E.B. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3.*Buttler, T. British Secret Projects: fighters and bombers 1935-1955. Midland, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-179-2...
prototype fighter aircraft. Technological advances used in the R engine, such as sodium-cooled valves and spark plugs able to operate under high boost pressures, were incorporated into the Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
design. The author Steve Holter sums up the design of the Rolls-Royce R with these words:
Schneider Trophy use
The Schneider Trophy was a prestigious annual prize competition for seaplaneSeaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s that was first held in 1913. The 1926 race was the first where all the teams fielded pilots from their armed forces, the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
financing a British team known as the High Speed Flight
High Speed Flight RAF
The RAF High Speed Flight, sometimes known as 'The Flight' , was a small flight of the Royal Air Force formed for the purpose of competing in the Schneider Trophy contest for racing seaplanes during the 1920s....
drawn from the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Sometimes known simply as The Flight, the team was formed at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base, to design, test and evaluate seaplanes,...
, Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
, in preparation for the 1927 race in which Supermarine's Mitchell-designed, Napier Lion
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
-powered Supermarine S.5
Supermarine S.5
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
s placed first and second. 1927 was the last annual competition, the event then moving onto a biannual schedule to allow more development time between races.
During the 1929 race at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
between Great Britain and Italy, Richard Waghorn flying the Supermarine S.6
Supermarine S.6
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
with the new Roll-Royce R engine retained the Schneider Trophy for Great Britain with an average speed of 328.63 mph (147 m/s), and also gained the 50 km and 100 km (31 mi and 62 mi) world speed records. The records were subsequently beaten when Richard Atcherley
Richard Atcherley
Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley KBE, CB, AFC & Bar was a senior commander in the RAF who also served as chief of Air Staff for the Royal Pakistan Air Force.-Early life:...
later registered higher speeds when he completed his laps of the circuit. The Italian team placed second and fourth using Fiat AS.3
Fiat AS.3
-See also:-Bibliography:*Eves, Edward The Schneider Trophy Story. Shrewsbury. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-84037-257-5....
V-12-powered Macchi M.52
Macchi M.52
|-M.52bis or M.52R:-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo. World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft. London: Willow Books, 1984. ISBN 0-00-218148-7....
aircraft. Another racing seaplane, the Fiat C.29
Fiat C.29
-See also:-Bibliography:*Eves, Edward The Schneider Trophy Story. Shrewsbury. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-84037-257-5....
powered by the AS.5
Fiat AS.5
-See also:-Bibliography:*Eves, Edward The Schneider Trophy Story. Shrewsbury. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-84037-257-5.*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
engine attended the contest but did not compete.
More comparable to the R engine was the Fiat AS.6
Fiat AS.6
-See also:-Bibliography:*Eves, Edward The Schneider Trophy Story. Shrewsbury. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-84037-257-5.*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
engine developed for the 1931 contest; effectively a coupled, double AS.5 that suffered from technical problems. With the assistance of Rod Banks, the AS.6 powered the Macchi M.C.72
Macchi M.C.72
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Cowin, Hugh W. The Risk Takers, A Unique Pictorial Record 1908-1972: Racing & Record-setting Aircraft . London: Osprey Aviation, 1999. ISBN 1-85532-904-2....
to a new speed record for piston-powered seaplanes in 1934 of 440.6 mph (709.2 km/h), a record that still stands as of 2009.
In 1931 the British Government withdrew financial support, but a private donation of £100,000 from Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston, DBE , born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor, philanthropist, adventuress and patriot.-Early life:...
allowed Supermarine to compete on 13 September using the R-powered Supermarine S.6B
Supermarine S.6B
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
. For this race the engine's rating was increased by 400 hp to 2300 hp. The Italian and French entrants however, failed to ready their aircraft and crews in time for the competition, and the remaining British team set both a new world speed record at 379 mph (610 km/h) and, unopposed, won the trophy outright with a third consecutive victory. "The Flight" was wound up within weeks of the 1931 win as there were to be no more Schneider Trophy contests. The original Trophy is on display in the London Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
along with the S.6B that secured it, as well as the R engine that powered this aircraft for the subsequent airspeed record flight.
World speed record use
New airspeed records were set after the 1929 and 1931 Schneider Trophy contests, both achieved using the R engine. In the two decades before World War II, the quest to break the land speed record was hotly contested, particularly so in the early 1930s. Aero enginesAircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
were often used to power wheeled vehicles to ever-higher speeds, chosen because of their high power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...
s: the Liberty engine
Liberty L-12
The Liberty L-12 was a 27 litre water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine of 400 horsepower designed both for a high power-to-weight ratio and for ease of mass production.-History:...
, Napier Lion
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
and the Sunbeam Matabele
Sunbeam Matabele
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
were among the engine types used in the 1920s. The Rolls-Royce R was the latest development in high-powered aero engine design at the time, and was chosen by several makers of land speed record-contending cars; the engine was also chosen for powerboats
Powerboating
Power boating describes activities performed in a motorized boat. Generally, a power boat has a high power-to-weight ratio and a hull design that allows for easy planing, which allows for higher speed and improved handling. Also, the shape of the actual boat is usually very streamlined, which...
attempting the water speed record. One car and two boats successfully used the combined power of two R engines.
Airspeed record
Immediately after the 1929 Schneider Trophy contest Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Augustus Orlebar
Augustus Orlebar
Air Vice Marshal Augustus Henry Orlebar CBE AFC & Bar was a British Army and Royal Air Force officer who served in both world wars....
, commanding officer of the High Speed Flight, set a new airspeed record of 355.8 mph (572.6 km/h) using Supermarine S.6
Supermarine S.6
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
, N247.
Supermarine S.6B
On 29 September 1931, barely two weeks after the British team had secured the Schneider Trophy outright, Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
George Stainforth
George Stainforth
Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth AFC RAF was a British Royal Air Force pilot and the first man in the world to exceed 400 miles per hour.-Early life:...
broke the world airspeed record in a Rolls-Royce R-powered Supermarine S.6B
Supermarine S.6B
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
, serial S1595, reaching an average speed of 407.5 mph (655.67 km/h). It had been intended to also use the identical sister aircraft, S1596, for the attempt but Stainforth had capsized it on 16 September whilst testing a propeller.
Land speed record
Campbell-Railton Blue BirdSir Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
, and later his son Donald
Donald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
, used R engines from 1931 to 1951. At Sir Malcolm's knighthood
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
ceremony in February 1931, King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
expressed great interest in the R and asked many questions about its fuel consumption and performance.
In 1932, Campbell stated that he "... was fortunate in procuring a special R.R. Schneider Trophy engine" for his land speed record car to replace its Napier Lion
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
. Lent to him by Rolls-Royce, this engine was either R25 or R31. By February 1933 the car, named Blue Bird had been rebuilt to accommodate the larger engine and was running at Daytona
Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set...
.
In late 1933 Campbell bought engine R37 from Rolls-Royce; and had also been lent R17 and R19 by Lord Wakefield
Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield
Charles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Baron Wakefield , was a British businessman.-Early life:Wakefield was born in Liverpool, in 1859, the son of John Wakefield, and his wife Margaret, née Cheers, and was educated at the Liverpool Institute.-Business career:Wakefield patented the Wakefield lubricator for...
, and R39 by Rolls-Royce. He then lent R17 to George Eyston
George Eyston
- References :*...
. Once he had achieved the 300 mi/h record on 3 September 1935 at the Bonneville Speedway
Bonneville Speedway
Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records....
, Campbell retired from further land speed endeavours.
Lord Wakefield arranged for a replica of the Rolls-Royce R to be exhibited at the 1933 Motor Show
British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show is an automobile show held biennially in the United Kingdom. It is recognised as an international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles. The 2008 was the last event with no news of a return of the British International Motor Show...
, held at Olympia, London
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
. A press report from the event provides an insight into the public perception of the engine:
Blue Bird is now on display at the Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
.
Thunderbolt
During the mid-1930s, George Eyston set many speed records with his Speed of the Wind
Speed of the Wind
Speed of the Wind was a record-breaking car of the 1930s, built for and driven by Captain George Eyston.The car was designed by Eyston and E A D Eldridge, then built by the father of Tom Delaney It was powered by an unsupercharged version of the V-12 Rolls-Royce Kestrel aero engine...
car, powered by an unsupercharged Rolls-Royce Kestrel
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Erfurth, Helmut. Junkers Ju 87 . Bonn, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-186-5....
. In 1937 he built a massive new car, Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt (car)
Thunderbold is a British Land Speed Record holder of the 1930s, driven by Captain George E.T. Eyston- Records held :Between 1937 and 1939, the competition for the Land Speed Record was between two Englishmen: Captain Eyston and John Cobb. Thunderbolt's first record was set at on 19 November 1937...
, powered by two R engines to attempt the absolute land speed record. At first Eyston experienced clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
failure due to the combined power of the engines. Nevertheless he took the record in November 1937, reaching 312 mph (502 km/h), and in 1938 when Thunderbolt reached 357.5 mph (575 km/h). When first built at Bean Industries
Bean cars
Bean Cars were made in factories in Dudley, Worcestershire, and Coseley, Staffordshire, England, between 1919 and 1929.-Origins:The company traced its origins beck to two auto-industry component suppliers, A Harper and Sons and Bean Ltd., both based in England's Black Country...
in Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
, the nearside engine fitted to Thunderbolt was R27 which had powered S1595 when it set the air speed record in 1931. The other was R25, used by the same aircraft to win the Schneider Trophy two weeks earlier. Eyston had also borrowed R17 from Sir Malcolm Campbell and, with the continuing support that Rolls-Royce extended to both Campbell and Eyston, he also had the option of using R39.
Water speed record
Miss England II and III
Two R engines, R17 and R19, were built for Sir Henry Segrave
Henry Segrave
-External links:* * * * *...
's twin-engined water speed record boat Miss England II
Miss England II
Miss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
, this craft being ready for trials on Windermere
Windermere
Windermere is the largest natural lake of England. It is also a name used in a number of places, including:-Australia:* Lake Windermere , a reservoir, Australian Capital Territory * Lake Windermere...
by June 1930. On Friday 13
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year...
June, Segrave was fatally injured and a Rolls-Royce technical advisor, Victor Halliwell, was killed when Miss England II capsized at high speed after possibly hitting a log. Shortly before his death Segrave learnt that he had set a new water speed record of just under 100 mph (160 km/h). On 18 July 1932, Kaye Don
Kaye Don
Kaye Don was a world record breaking car and speedboat racer who became a motorcycle dealer on his retirement from road racing and set up Ambassador Motorcycles.-Biography:...
set a new world water speed record of 119.81 mph (192.8 km/h) on Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
in a new boat, Miss England III
Miss England III
Miss England III was the name of the last of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
, which also used engines R17 and R19.
Blue Bird K3
In late 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell decided to challenge the water speed record. At that point he had two Napier Lion
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
s and one Rolls-Royce R engine, R37 at his disposal, and it was decided to install the R engine in Blue Bird K3
Blue Bird K3
Blue Bird K3 was a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record...
. During trials on Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
in June 1937 the engine was "slightly damaged ... because of trouble with the circulating water system". In August 1937 Blue Bird K3 was taken to Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
in Italy where "the modified [circulation] system worked perfectly with a second engine", R39.
Blue Bird K4 and the work of Leo Villa
R39 was again used in 1939 in Blue Bird K4. In 1947 Campbell unsuccessfully converted K4 to jet power using a de Havilland Goblin engine. After Campbell's death from natural causes in 1948, Donald Campbell bought K4 for a nominal sum as well as the 1935 record car when his father's effects were auctioned. He also purchased R37 back from a car dealer and reinstalled it in K4. Attempts on the record were made in 1949, and again in 1951 when R37 was "damaged beyond any immediate repair" by overheating. Another attempt was made later in the year using R39, but K4 suffered a structural failure and sank in Coniston Water
Coniston Water
Coniston Water in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. It is five miles long, half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet , and covers an area of . The lake has an elevation of 143 feet above sea level...
. It was recovered and broken up on the shore.
The care and maintenance of the Campbell's R engines was entrusted to Leo Villa
Leo Villa
Period 3D photographs taken by Leo Villa on a Stereo Realist camera given to him by Donald Campbell.- References :...
, a Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
born to a Swiss father, who was described as "the man behind the Campbells" and a central figure who "fitted the first nut to the first bolt". Villa learnt his trade of "aircraft mechanic" in the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
; his first job was fitting Beardmore 160 hp
Beardmore 160 hp
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1993. ISBN 1-85170-347-0...
engines to airframes. After World War I he worked for a motor racing company and participated as co-driver and mechanic in several races.
Villa was first employed by Malcolm Campbell in 1922, and continued in the service of Donald Campbell until 1967, when Campbell was killed during a record attempt on Coniston Water. He was the chief caretaker of their R engines until the last R-powered record attempt in 1951, after which his responsibilities centred on Campbell's jet engines. Villa's many responsibilities included installing and removing the engines, repairing and tuning them, and operating the compressed air and magneto for starting them. During the World War II years, he was responsible for the upkeep of Blue Bird K4 and the spare R engines, but unknown to him they had been sold along with K3. Villa eventually took the three R engines to Thomson & Taylor
Thomson & Taylor
Thomson & Taylor were a motor-racing engineering and car-building firm, based within the Brooklands race track. They were active between the wars and built several of the famous land speed record breaking cars of the day....
at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
for long-term storage.
His relationship with Malcolm Campbell was strained at times: Campbell, with no engineering background, would often question Villa's intimate knowledge of the R engine, but his relations with Donald Campbell were much better, as they were of a similar age. At Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...
in 1951 Villa noted the willingness of "Don" to help with engineering tasks, and the difficulties of working on the R engine:
World speed record summary
Note:Air speed record
- Supermarine S.6Supermarine S.6|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
: 8 September 1929 – 355.8 mph (572.6 km/h) - Supermarine S.6BSupermarine S.6B|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
: 29 September 1931 – 407.5 mph (656 km/h)
Land speed record
- Blue Bird: 3 September 1935 – 301 mph (484 km/h)
- ThunderboltThunderbolt (car)Thunderbold is a British Land Speed Record holder of the 1930s, driven by Captain George E.T. Eyston- Records held :Between 1937 and 1939, the competition for the Land Speed Record was between two Englishmen: Captain Eyston and John Cobb. Thunderbolt's first record was set at on 19 November 1937...
: 16 September 1938 – 357.5 mph (575 km/h)
Water speed record
- Miss England IIMiss England IIMiss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
: 9 July 1931 – 110.28 mph (177.48 km/h) - Miss England IIIMiss England IIIMiss England III was the name of the last of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
: 18 July 1932 – 119.81 mph (192.82 km/h) - Blue Bird K3Blue Bird K3Blue Bird K3 was a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record...
: 17 August 1938 – 130.91 mph (210.67 km/h) - Blue Bird K4: 19 August 1939 – 141.74 mph (228.11 km/h)
Production summary
Nineteen R engines were produced at Derby between 1929 and 1931, all given odd serial numbers. This was a Rolls-Royce convention when the propeller rotated anticlockwise when viewed from the front, but an exception was made for R17, the sole clockwise-rotation R engine. There is some confusion as to whether 19 or 20 R engines were produced. In his notes Leo Villa refers to an R18 engine, but according to Holter this may have been R17 converted to clockwise rotation at the request of Malcolm Campbell rather than an additional example. There was no R13 as Rolls-Royce never used the number 13 in any of their designations. A summary production list is given below:1929 Development engines
- R1, R3 and R5
1929 Schneider Trophy engines
- R7, R9 and R15
1930 Development engine
- R11
1930 Wakefield order for Miss England II
- R17 and R19
1931 Schneider Trophy engines
- R21, R23, R25, R27, R29 and R31
1931 Development/factory spare engines
- R33, R35, R37 and R39
Individual history table
| Engine | Date | Notes | Display location |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 7 April 1929 | Development engine. First test using neat benzole Benzole In the United Kingdom, the word benzole means a coal-tar product, consisting mainly of benzene and toluene. It was formerly mixed with petrol and sold as a motor fuel under trade names including "National Benzole Mixture" and "Regent Benzole Mixture".... fuel. No power figures taken. |
|
| 1 May 1929 | 1400 hp observed after 13 hours running. | ||
| 7 May 1929 | 1500 hp at 2,750 rpm, briefly run at 1686 hp at 3,000 rpm. Engine stripped, forked connecting rod Connecting rod In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion.... s found cracked. Redesigned rods fitted and crankcase Crankcase In an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type, the crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the cylinder, which in a multicylinder engine are usually integrated into one or several cylinder blocks... machined. The crankcase modifications decreased over-oiling by 75%, a new scraper ring was suggested to cure the remainder. Fuel/air distribution problem due to new manifold design – return to the original Buzzard manifold suggested. |
||
| R3 | 15 May 1929 | Development engine. Completed 15-minute acceptance test. 1500 hp at 2,750 rpm. | |
| 26 February 1931 | Back in development test house. Spot reading of 2300 hp at 3,200 rpm noted. | ||
| 21 April 1931 | First test with articulated connecting rods. | ||
| 23 April 1931 | 1900 hp at 3,200 rpm for 17 minutes – longest time at this power with new rods. | ||
| 24 April 1931 | Failed after 17 minutes when the main bearings collapsed | ||
| 25 April 1931 | 2210 hp at 3,200 rpm. Attempted 1-hour Air Ministry Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964... acceptance test but oil pressure was lost after 22 minutes. |
||
| 1 May 1931 | Failed after 2.5 minutes when the main bearing and connecting rods failed | ||
| 14 May 1931 | Failed after 17.33 minutes when supercharger slipper bushes seized | ||
| 15 May 1931 | Two runs of 29.5 minutes and 18.5 minutes, both terminated by broken exhaust valves | ||
| 29 May 1931 | Ran for 25 minutes fitted with sodium Sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride... -filled valves. Heads failed |
||
| 14 July 1931 | Running with sodium Sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride... -filled valves. |
||
| 28 July 1931 | Further attempt at the 1-hour test, crankshaft failure after 34 minutes. Rebuilt but experienced a second crankshaft failure after 58 minutes, power output of 2360 hp at 3,200 rpm noted just prior to failure. | ||
| R5 | 18 June 1929 | Development engine. Completed 15-minute acceptance test. 1500 hp at 2,750 rpm. | |
| 7 August 1929 | Completed first 1-hour full-throttle test. 1568 hp at 3,000 rpm. | ||
| 25 February 1931 | Back in development for 1931 race. Probably this engine that blew up at 2000 hp after dynamometer Dynamometer A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for measuring force, moment of force , or power. For example, the power produced by an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover can be calculated by simultaneously measuring torque and rotational speed .A dynamometer can also be used to determine... coupling failure. |
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| R7 | 6 July 1929 | Passed 15-minute acceptance test. 1552 hp. Issued to Calshot RAF Calshot RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly an RAF marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at... for test flying with minimum use of full throttle. |
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| Mid-September 1929 | Post race, installed in S.6, N248, for speed record attempt. | ||
| R9 | 4 August 1929 | Installed in S.6, N247, for sea trials and attempted first flight – aircraft refused to takeoff due to handling problems. All modifications to date were incorporated in this engine. | |
| 10 August 1929 | First flight, in S.6, N247. | ||
| 22 August 1929 | Returned to Derby Derby Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407... having run 4 hr 33 min on the ground and 2 hr 52 min in the air. Overhauled and refitted to N247 for the race. |
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| June 1931 | Rebuilt to 1931 specification. 2165 hp at 3,200 rpm. Cleared at Calshot for limited full-throttle use. | ||
| 12 August 1931 | Back at Derby with new design crankshaft. 2350 hp at 3,200 rpm for full hour. | ||
| R11 | 25 August 1929 | Flown in S.6 N248.Development engine in 1930. | |
| 1930 | Redesignated "R-MS-11" for Buzzard Rolls-Royce Buzzard |-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.... MS (moderately supercharged) development. |
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| R15 | 7 September 1929 | Probably in S.6, N248, for the race. | |
| 26 June 1931 | Flown in S.6A N248,. | ||
| 22 August 1931 | Flown in S.6B S1595,. | ||
| R17 | April 1930 | Direct-drive engine for Sir Henry Segrave Henry Segrave -External links:* * * * *... 's water speed record Water speed record The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978.... boat Miss England II Miss England II Miss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :... , sponsored by Lord Wakefield Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield Charles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Baron Wakefield , was a British businessman.-Early life:Wakefield was born in Liverpool, in 1859, the son of John Wakefield, and his wife Margaret, née Cheers, and was educated at the Liverpool Institute.-Business career:Wakefield patented the Wakefield lubricator for... . 2053 hp at 3,000 rpm. Water-cooled exhaust manifold Exhaust manifold In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word manifold comes from the Old English word manigfeald and refers to the folding together of multiple inputs and outputs.In contrast, an inlet manifold is the part of an engine... s. This was the only R engine originally made as an anticlockwise unit – hence it had a different crankshaft, camshaft and ancillaries. Contrary to Rolls-Royce convention it was given an odd engine number. |
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| 1935 | Lent by Lord Wakefield to Sir Malcolm Campbell Malcolm Campbell Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird... as a spare for land speed record Land speed record The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération... attempt. |
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| Lent by Sir Malcolm Campbell to George Eyston George Eyston - References :*... as a spare for land speed record attempt. |
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| R19 | April 1930 | Direct-drive engine for Sir Henry Segrave's water speed record boat Miss England II, sponsored by Lord Wakefield. 2053 hp at 3,000 rpm. |
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| 1935 | Lent by Lord Wakefield to Sir Malcolm Campbell as a spare for a land speed record attempt. | ||
| 30 June 1937 | Timed at 85 mi/h in Blue Bird K3 Blue Bird K3 Blue Bird K3 was a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record... with Sir Malcolm Campbell. |
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| R21 | 6 July 1931 | First new 1931 engine, passed final inspection. 2292 hp. Installed in S.6B, S1595, for first flight 29th July. | |
| R23 | 30 July 1931 | Delivered to Supermarine. Fitted in S.6B S1596, for first flight 12th August. | |
| R25 | 9 September 1931 | Fitted in S6B S1596,. | Royal Air Force Museum London. |
| 13 September 1931 | Fitted to the S.6B, S1596 for first Air Speed Record runs flown by Flt Lt George Stainforth George Stainforth Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth AFC RAF was a British Royal Air Force pilot and the first man in the world to exceed 400 miles per hour.-Early life:... . |
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| To George Eyston for Thunderbolt Thunderbolt (car) Thunderbold is a British Land Speed Record holder of the 1930s, driven by Captain George E.T. Eyston- Records held :Between 1937 and 1939, the competition for the Land Speed Record was between two Englishmen: Captain Eyston and John Cobb. Thunderbolt's first record was set at on 19 November 1937... land speed record car. Later to RAF Cranwell RAF Cranwell RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington... . |
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| R27 | 8 September 1931 | Flown in S.6B S1596, | London Science Museum Science Museum (London) The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction.... . |
| 29 September 1931 | Fitted in S.6B S1595 (the Trophy-winning aircraft), and gained the air speed record Air speed record An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , which also ratifies any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions... at 407.5 mi/h. |
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| To George Eyston for the Thunderbolt land speed record car. | |||
| R29 | 3 September 1931 | Third 1931 race engine delivered. | |
| 13 September 1931 | Installed in S.6B, S1595, for the Schneider Trophy Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931... Contest. Aircraft flown by Flt Lt John Boothman John Boothman Air Chief Marshal Sir John Nelson Boothman KCB KBE DFC AFC RAF was a senior Royal Air Force officer during World War II who went on to high command in the post-War years.- RAF career :... won the Trophy |
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| R31 | 13 Sept 1931 | Last of batch of 6 made for 1931 contest. Installed in S.6A N248 as reserve aircraft for the Schneider Trophy Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931... Contest |
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| R33 | 1933 | Development engine for the last two land speed record (LSR) engines. Installed in Campbell-Railton Blue Bird during construction at Brooklands Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields... . |
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| R35 | Development engine for the last two LSR engines. Thought to have been used as a mock-up model for display only. | ||
| R37 | Late-1933 | Bought from Rolls-Royce for £5,800 by Sir Malcolm Campbell for use in the Campbell-Railton Blue Bird car. | Filching Manor Motor Museum |
| July/August 1937 | Fitted into Blue Bird K3 by Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight.-History:The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. Saunders... on initial build, later overheated and damaged due to cooling scoop problems. |
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| 17 August 1949 | In Blue Bird K4 with Donald Campbell Donald Campbell Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s... . This replaced the Goblin jet engine installed unsuccessfully by Sir Malcolm Campbell. |
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| R39 | 1935 | "Factory spare" lent by Rolls-Royce to Sir Malcolm Campbell as a back-up (he already owned R37) for the 1935 land speed record attempt. | |
| Option given to George Eyston to use this engine as a spare for the Thunderbolt car. | |||
| July/August 1937 | Replaced R37 in Blue Bird K3 by Sir Malcolm Campbell. | ||
| 1 September 1937 | Takes water speed record in K3 at 126.32 mi/h. | ||
| 17 August 1938 | In Blue Bird K4 raises water speed record again to 130.91 mph (210.67 km/h) with Sir Malcolm Campbell. | ||
| 19 August 1939 | In Blue Bird K4, new record of 141.74 mph (228.11 km/h) by Sir Malcolm Campbell on Coniston Water. | ||
| 10 June 1951 | In Blue Bird K4 with Donald Campbell, after R37 was damaged by overheating. | ||
| 10 September 1951 | Sank at Coniston Water Coniston Water Coniston Water in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. It is five miles long, half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet , and covers an area of . The lake has an elevation of 143 feet above sea level... in Blue Bird K4 during water speed record attempt by Donald Campbell, salvaged, hull broken up and burnt on the shore. Suspected structural failure of the boat's engine mounts after driveshaft breakage at 170 mph (270 km/h). |
Applications
- Supermarine S.6Supermarine S.6|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
- Supermarine S.6ASupermarine S.6|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
- Supermarine S.6BSupermarine S.6B|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
Cars
- Campbell-Railton Blue Bird
- ThunderboltThunderbolt (car)Thunderbold is a British Land Speed Record holder of the 1930s, driven by Captain George E.T. Eyston- Records held :Between 1937 and 1939, the competition for the Land Speed Record was between two Englishmen: Captain Eyston and John Cobb. Thunderbolt's first record was set at on 19 November 1937...
Boats
- Blue Bird K3Blue Bird K3Blue Bird K3 was a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record...
- Blue Bird K4
- Miss England IIMiss England IIMiss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
- Miss England IIIMiss England IIIMiss England III was the name of the last of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
Engines on display
R25The Royal Air Force Museum London at Hendon has a Rolls-Royce R on display (museum number 65E1139) that came to the museum in November 1965 from RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
. According to the museum's records, before that it was with George Eyston as one of Thunderbolt's
Thunderbolt (car)
Thunderbold is a British Land Speed Record holder of the 1930s, driven by Captain George E.T. Eyston- Records held :Between 1937 and 1939, the competition for the Land Speed Record was between two Englishmen: Captain Eyston and John Cobb. Thunderbolt's first record was set at on 19 November 1937...
record engines. Its data plate states that it is R25 under Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
contract number A106961 which makes it the second 1931 race engine delivered to RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly an RAF marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at...
.
R27
The London Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
has an R engine on display which is catalogued as a stand-alone item, inventory number 1948-310. This is R27, the second sprint engine prepared for the successful air speed record attempt, and later used in Thunderbolt. The Science Museum also has S.6B, S1595, (winner of the 1931 race and the final air speed record aircraft) on display.
R37
The Filching Manor Motor Museum has R37 which is destined to be fitted in its restoration of the Blue Bird K3 water speed record boat.
These three engines are the only ones listed by the British Aircraft Preservation Council/Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. The Solent Sky
Solent Sky
Solent Sky is an aviation museum in Southampton, Hampshire, previously known as Southampton Hall of Aviation.It depicts the history of aviation in Southampton, the Solent area and Hampshire. There is special focus on the Supermarine aircraft company, based in Southampton, and its most famous...
museum's S.6A, N248, (a competing aircraft in the 1929 race as an S.6, and stand-by for the 1931 race, modified as an S.6A) does not contain an R engine.