P-51 Mustang ~ pure Merlin Sound no announcer
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- čas přidán 1. 09. 2018
- North American P-51D Mustang starting its engine, taxi to the takeoff, takeing off and doing a great display flight. Awesome loud engine sounds in 4K UHD without any announcer or commentator.
Plane: NA P51D Mustang "Lousiana Kid" Registration: N2368T
Pilot: Wilhelm Heinz
Location: Albstadt-Degerfeld, 08/26/2018
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Height: 13 ft 4½ in (4.08 m:tail wheel on ground, vertical propeller blade.)
Wing area: 235 sq ft (21.83 m²)
Airfoil: NAA/NACA 45-100 / NAA/NACA 45-100
Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,465 kg)
Loaded weight: 9,200 lb (4,175 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
Maximum fuel capacity: 419 US gal (349 imp gal; 1,590 l)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
Drag area: 3.80 sqft (0.35 m²)
Aspect ratio: 5.83
Powerplant: 1 × Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled V-12, with a 2 stage intercooled supercharger, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm; 1,720 hp (1,280 kW) at WEP
Propellers: constant-speed, variable-pitch Hamilton Standard, propeller
Propeller diameter: 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Performance
Maximum speed: ~440 mph (383 kn, 708 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Cruise speed: 362 mph (315 kn, 583 km/h)
Stall speed: 100 mph (87 kn, 160 km/h)
Range: 1,650 mi (1,434 nautical miles (2,656 kilometres)) with external tanks
Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,800 m)
Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16.3 m/s)
Wing loading: 39 lb/sqft (192 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 14.6
Recommended Mach limit 0.8
Armament
Guns: 6 × 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns with 1,840 total rounds (380 rounds for each on the inboard pair and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pair)
Rockets: 6 or 10 × 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 H.V.A.R rockets (P-51D-25, P-51K-10 on)[nb 9]
Bombs: 1,000 pounds (450 kg) total on two wing hardpoints
Each hardpoint: 1 × 100 pounds (45 kg) bomb, 1 × 250 pounds (110 kg) bomb or 1 × 500 pounds (230 kg) bomb - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Video with Right shutter Speed :
czcams.com/video/Y1Jm-xUb9w0/video.html
Is the air intake below the pilot for the engine ?
@@jonpark6650 It is, that's the air scoop, just slightly behind and underneath where the pilot is seated. inside the center of the scoop is the aftercooler and coolant radiator
@@jonpark6650 oil cooler
@@Warbirds An American Spitfire??
In Riverside California. I lived on a street by the name of Benecia, it was close to the Riverside airport. The P51 that flew out from there in was flying around one day. All the kids in the neighborhood were all playing in the street. I was 13 and this was late 1962 early 1963. He must have seen us, and we were waving at him and he gave us a little show, as he was not that high up in the sky. He climbed up aways and made a dive right at us. Similar to what you are seeing here. It was great to see and hear this P51 do that. He was in the Riverside area for a few years in the early 1960's. Still in my memory after all these years...
Last month I moved from Eastvale , Calif. one of 2 mustangs fly from Chino Airport every weekend 👏
@Louie P same
Such a relief not having an announcer's voice ruining the sound...
i can only imagine how thrilled the US troops on the ground were when they heard those mustangs flying above.
@Jim Bartz Often after escort duties they were turned loose to strafe targets of opportunity on their route back to their airfields.
They probably heard more P47s, Typhoons and Spitfires.
Just hope the hell they aimed correctly.
@@SvenTviking That is true. But nonetheless.
With the mustang the sound was often heard to late by the enemy
Merlin - probably the greatest sound in aviation history
It's up there for sure.
@@josephastier7421 nope, that would be the Griffon.
The spitfire. Nothing more to be said.
The American version of the Merlin. That engine is a Packard - built in the USA
A Packard copy of the Merlin.
That’s probably the most lovely sounding engine I’ve ever heard
...said no Luftwaffe pilot, ever.
Well said, Hermano Pancho. 💛🙏🏼
Yes besides my Harley they sound like hot rods
@@johnpogany2444 that’s not true . That’s the smoothest sounding hot rod I’ve ever heard . It’s got a pure purr not a banging pur. It’s like the difference between having sex with a stripper vs a salsa dancer ….
@@dlbutler Or Japanese and Italian pilots as well!
"No announcer" I've been to air shows where if I had an axe I would have chopped the microphone cord.
Me too... since these winged beauties speak for themselves.
They absolutely do speak for themselves. They sing a beautiful tune. Pure mechanical symphony.
I was at the Duxford Fighter meet many years ago where 13 Spitfires were going to do a display of the largest flight of Spits since god-knows-when.
The crowd waited in anticipation as the horde flew nearer and nearer.
As we could discern the music of 13 Merlins approaching, the F*****g clown in the Control Tower put "Land of Hope and Glory" over the PA system!!!
It is a Great tune, in the right place. But NOT there.
@@fredericksaxton3991 It's not just air shows, our local July 4th fireworks display used to play the "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the "1812 Overture" and maybe some others over the PA over and over again throughout the whole show. Thankfully they stopped doing it these last few years.
@@fredericksaxton3991 Crowd announcer, not the Control Tower.
Simply the most beautiful, mesmerizing aircraft engine sound of ALL time!
B Padget ... agree completely!!!
It is a beautiful engine to look at aswell .
I'd love to have one on a stand , just so I could look at it and hear it run once in a while.
Kinda makes me think of that six cylinder aircraft engine, they ran at Indy in the fiftys.
Had a grawl to it that the v8 couldn't make.
And like the Merlin alot of torque!
Yep, I agree...a mesmerizing sound actually. HAS to be a blast to fly I imagine...
Next to the Spitfire
@@soidog659 well the mercedes db 605 sounds just as good imo.
I live in southeast England and lucky enough to regularly hear this sound as I'm on the flight path of two Spitfires that fly out of Biggin Hill and head south to Beachy Head and back. One flew over yesterday as I walked outside. :)
I'm in Pevensey Bay just east of Beachy Head. One of those from Biggin flies over me every day. Never tire of it !
@@andym9571 That'll be the same ones! I'm in Crowborough.
You jammy sod!
@@marklynch3149 I'm convinced one lunch time last year one of the Spitfires dipped it's wing to me as I stopped looked around and started watching it. I was wearing a white t-shirt so easy to spot, then the right wing dipped sharply for a second then leveled out and continued on its way!I like to think the pilot was saying hello! :)
@@richardfrancis5683 That must have been such an honour... I live near Newcastle so I have no hope of a spitfire flying over my area
This must be the definitive "airplane sound" used in movies, music, etc... 🛫
Great video! 👍
Thx mate
nope because there are many types of engines and sounds you are not gonna put this sound to a b 17 by making you an example
P51's are timeless. They never look outdated. Just so damn cool!👍🇺🇸
@@ezioricco4923 different than a german 109 for sure.
@@michael-dm2bv of course, and different from a b17 sound because its 4 massive engines
The sound of freedom I can listen to it all day.
The sound of Nazis dying is very soothing.
@@jimbosc P-51s were used in the Pacific theatre toward the end of the war escorting B-29s. they would regularly strafe beaches and empty their 50 cal ammo on civilians. Not judging but it happened this way. I've interviewed several Japanese civilian WWII survivors.
@@Carrera6rennsport PISS OFF- The most infamous incident during this period was the Nanking Massacre of 1937-38, when, according to the findings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the Japanese Army massacred as many as 260,000 civilians and prisoners of war, though some have placed the figure as high as 350,000.[67] The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders has the death figure of 300,000 inscribed on its entrance.[68]
no one is condoning the atrocities of Japanese military towards civilians. nor I would think, anyone would condone US military actions against a foreign enemies civilians. fair?
@@Carrera6rennsport no not fair the Japanese killed millions your talking false equivalencies
Got a love that Merlin engine nothing else sounds like it . And in one of the most iconic planes to ever fly , the mustang Awesome !!!!!!
The Merlin Mustangs used ONLY the Packard built V1650/3 or 7 Built in AMERICA !!!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Well of course Wilbur a bit silly to put a Merlin in Them
Excellent cam work!! What a noise ! Merlin heaven !! My hairs on my arms are standing
Thanks Jeff
One of the greatest sounds on earth!!!! Pure, raw power!!!!
Mustang + Merlin was a match made in heaven! Beautiful plane with an amazing engine.
Thanks, liking and subscribing
hux2000 NO that match was made in AMERICA by North American Aviation and PACKARD motors !!!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I suggest you google “Mustang X” , have a good day
Please don’t forget that the Merlin engine was designed in Britain by Rolls Royce!
@@specdel BUTT........ Packard in America was contracted with by RR to build the Merlin FOR THE BRITS, as an off shore shadow factory away from the war zone, only reason the Mustang got the merlin because it was American made !!!
I just can’t get enough of this!!! These P-51’s flew with my father’s B-17’s in WWII after the P-47’s were replaced in combat over France. I wish I had lived then, I would surely have flown a P-51. Thank you for this wonderful video!
P47 >P51
Love that Merlin and I dig the mustang being a South Louisiana Kid myself.
Hehe great 👍
Larry Landry me too cuz
Opelousas myself
Love the Louisiana Kid I’m from Alexandria
Mandeville here..
Best sound ever. Can’t beat it.
Thanks
Add the 50's going and I'd agree.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.
true
And one of the best sounding V12’s ever
THE most beautiful aircraft ever built.
@@michaeltroster9059 not really but ok to u
@@cidertom5140 And its ALL American made !!!!
Great camera work. And captured that goose-bumpy growl perfectly. A shame my father passed before the CZcams age; he'd have loved this and the many warbird videos online now. He was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Spitfire pilot - well, Seafire pilot, actually; that was the naval version of the Spit. All powered by Merlins, of course. He saw action aboard HMS Indefatigable, a carrier of the British Pacific Fleet which supported the American fleet in the defeat of Japan in 1945.
🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧 May your father R.I.P. and God bless him for his service. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Respect.
Damn good cameraman! Having done air shows for television, I know how difficult this is to shoot.
This is the best recorded audio of any aircraft that I've heard. I would like to know how they setup the gear to record it so clearly. Two other things that are great - 1/ no crowd noise and 2/ no appearance of Soaring Tractor in the comments section.
Thanks Charlie. Setup is Sony AX53 and Rode Videomic Pro with Deadcat
3 / No annoying announcer and 4 / No lame music.
@@Warbirds That's it? Outstanding results. I have the "AX53 replacement" Sony FDR-AX700. Intentionally I didn't want to pay $$$ for the XLR handle because I've already got Tascam gear that gives me more access to monitoring and adjusting.
Just got a Comica CVM-VM10 which is surprisingly nice when I can't lav up a subject.
@@charlieross-BRM some tweaks i have done lately is ND Filter and 30fps repatch
And equally important no crappy background music track
Such a beautiful aircraft and that Merlin purrs like a kitten. Some of the best flight video I've seen; almost perfect tracking.
Your Welcome
As a kid in the mid '70s, I was enthralled for some reason by the P-51. I was a big WWII buff at an early age and constantly drew pictures of them. Hundreds probably, and models hung from the ceiling as well. The most beautiful aircraft design ever in my opinion, still.
I done the same! And my older brother was a model builder as well!
For sheer beauty nothing beats the good old girl called Spitfire.
Man, the mustang is my all time favorite aircraft. Such grace for such a menacing machine.
One of the first props to go right below supersonic, I love this thing!
Don’t forget that it became legendary with the pilots that flew them. Without them it is just a giant piece of metal.
@@daze8410 There were reports in WW II of pilots reaching Mach 0.80 at 20,000 feet or TAS of around 525-550 mph. In several instances , some even claimed to have gone 600-650 mph when diving after 109s.
@@TheIrishrogue68 There are even pilots who claimed that they got past mach 1 in a dive. Some of them destroyed the props of their aircraft while trying. However there are no records of this because they didnt had telemetry on board. So its only the claims of some pilots.
no
Best sounding engine in the history of Mankind
I'd say it would be a close contest with an F8 Bearcat. The R2800 in that installation (arrangement of the exhaust pipes) made such a sweet purring sound, unlike the typical muttering of other round motors.
One of two of the most beautiful planes ever built.
Simply THE most beautiful ever built !!! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 No Wilbur not even close.
Can you only imagine hearing 20-30 flying overhead in the midst of battle - a real boost to your confidence on the ground.
Thanks, liking and subscribing
How about several 100's !!!!!!
Nothing like a P-51 with D-Day Invasion stripes.
you just can't beat the sound of a Merlin..What a great Mustang
LesterWicked especially those PACKARD Merlins, Made in America !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Packard lower P/Displacement Lower S/P AND lower P/W ratios
No annoying announcer that won’t shut up and no ridiculous music. This is an AIR show. Let the aircraft do the talking and make the music.
AMEN!
This sound and visual is one of the best recordings (especially with head phones on , in order not to annoy my beautiful wife in the morning 🤣🤣🤣)
Very well done
Thank you
Stuart in Ireland
It's wonderful how two nations shared technology to produce this war winner.
Not without great cost to the UK....
As an Aussie, I naturally favoured the Spitfire as my favourite WW2 fighter, since many of my countrymen fought and died in it. But the Spit was never designed to operate as the long-range fighter so desperately needed before D-Day.
When I read up on the development of the Merlin Mustang I was inspired by the men of the UK and USA who worked as a Transatlantic team to get the most successful allied fighter in the European Theatre into the air. If there is a more successful example of a war winning weapon jointly developed by two democratic nations, I'd like to see it! 😁 The P51 is first in my estimation now.
@@asd67lkj Well the UK jumped into a war they were NOT prepared for, either militarily or financially and the calvary in the form of Lend Lease from American arrived and saved the Brits @$$'s from the Germans. Lucky for the UK for America to come save you !!!
gorgeous plane, gorgeous engine, great aviating and great camera work. thank you.
Still the most beautiful airframe in the history of aviation. Thank you for no music to ruin it.
dewfall and ALL American made !!!! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 It might have been built in America, but its success was down to its use of the British Merlin engine - and without the requirements of the British Purchasing Commission it wouldn't have been built at all.
@@olymartin It was not the "requirements" of the British purchasing comm, they wanted the Curtis P40 and Dutch Kindelberger "SOLD"the Brits his fighter he and Lee Atwood had been working on after refusing to build the P40. the Brits were desperate for fighters and took what was offered, Also the preliminary design and research had already been done why the first plane was delivered 112days after the contract was signed !!!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Not so Spitfire Wilbur
P51 Mustang, and the A10 Warthawg. My personal favorite birds. God Bless🇺🇸
The beauty and the Beast !!!
Nothing like the sound of that engine. A beautiful bird and some sweet flying!
The P51 D Mustang is the best looking aircraft in the sky by far. YES even better than the Spitfire in my opinion. If I had crateloads of money, I would own one in a heartbeat and I am so envious of those who do. You luck so and so's.
im still working on it
Nope. Spitfire is nicer. More elegant.
@@jasonlauritsen5587 Agreed
James sounds like an expert, I wonder?
@@williamrbuchanan4153 whose James?
No regret spending extra money on my headphone, superb recording amazing sound of the plane, pounding my chest
Just that incredible sound says it all!!! Wonderful!
THE most distinctive sound in aviation, bar none!!!!
Thx
That is the most AMAZING sound! Goosbunps!!!
I could listen to this powerful sound all day long. Such a magnificent flying machine.
We live near an airfield where trips in a Spitfire are available - we regularly hear that gloriously characteristic engine noise flying overhead. I love it every time I hear it.
Where, pray tell, is that airfield? Would be incredible to fly in a Spitfire. Loved them for at least 65 years.
Pure badass! To my eyes, the P-51 is the most beautiful plane ever built, just slightly ahead of the B-29. The Merlin's roar is breathtaking! Things you will never hear Wilhelm Heinz say: "I don't want to go to work today."
Its living your Dream
"Cadillac of the Sky!!!" - Christian Bale - Empire of the Sun
true
Love that scene and movie.
Still the greatest nonsequitor of any pointless Hollywood movie… but great moment!
If you were the enemy, seeing a P51 Mustang on your tail must have felt like seeing the Grim Reaper.
6 X 50cals yes your having a bad day.
Especially if its tracer rounds start screaming past
The sound alone is nothing short of mesmerizing and that paint job is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!!
A beautiful Old plane .Great Video
Great video. Almost perfect sound with no wind. Great Doppler effect...love it!
Thanks mate
So awesome! Thanks for sharing Rainer, thumbs up!
What a beautiful and incredibly distinctive sound!
I clicked on this just so I could hear that beautiful sound.😍
Best prop plane ever built, nice video, thanks
One of the best sounding Stangs around. Great invasion livery too. Super cool 51 if ever there was one. Living the dream. Must be nice. Thank you for a superb flight. Made my month.
Thanks Craig
@@Warbirds You are very welcome.
simply beautiful, thanks for posting this amazing demonstration.
Thanks watching
Excellent!! Thank you for no announcer/no music! I had a plastic Mustang when I was a kid. It was the epitome of an air plane. Thanks.
If could have anything as a wish for a material possession the Mustang would be it, pure beauty and a symbol of America.
Most Excellent comment!
That is such a beautiful sound to match with a beautiful aircraft
Thanks so much for sharing this. Really made my day. Thanks to all the men & women that reconditioned this BEAUTIFUL P-51. Thank you Lord for giving this pilot the skill to fly so artful. Thankful that someone has the funds to maintain this wonderful aircraft. Great video/ editing work.
Sounds so dang beautiful. Love that Merlin
Wow. So many produced and so few still around. An amazing sight and sound. Glad that I'm still here to enjoy it. I'll be 70 this coming February. Thanks
So amazing, thanks for posting it!!!
Thanks for watching
Thank goodness the Brits decided to throw out that Allison lump and replace it with a Rolls - Royce Merlin ! Great move on their part .
Then they gave it to us... and just like that... bombers didn’t have to worry about germans anymore
Yeah idk what would have happened had the Allison stayed in
north american had already planned ahead and made drawings For merlin p-51 before british one. The british prototype was promising and gave NA a reason to build one.
YOU KNOW WHAT------ I happen to agree😆
It was a much needed change on it and made a already great plane a legendary machine
It was a great combination. The big difference between the 2 engines was the 2 stage intercooled supercharger on the Merlin. Nothing wrong with the Allison. When equipped with the turbocharger as on the P38, it was a very adequate engine.
Very Nice.... Thanks for sharing...Love the sound of Warbirds
I was fortunate enough to see one of these beauties perform at an air show at the Patuxent Naval Air Station in 1999. I was awestruck. It’s a sound you’ll never forget!
I love the sound of the Plane. Awesome to hear the plane and not someone talking through the video.
What a great plane!! Great seeing it course through the air with such grace and power!
I agree but the spitfire was my favorite as a child I think just the name sounded so cool I can still remember the dehavland vampire jets flying over my school in the late 50s a formation of them we were awestruck nearly the whole school looking skyward from Auckland Nz
Goosebumps on top of goose bumps
Absolutely great video!
Simply amazing! It's awesome enough that you can see this beautiful plane fly but Who would have ever thought that the sound of that airplane engine can send chills and unexplainable sensations thru your heart, mind and body.
Mainly due to the Doppler effect together with the wiew of such thing of beauty.
This planes need to fly forever i love the merlin engine 😍
That is a real nice old plane. Thanks.
Beautiful plane and beautiful shots. The pilot knows how to treat her.
Still the most beautifully proportioned aircraft in history. Just my opinion, of course.
Sehr schöne Aufnahmen! Dieser Merlinsound zaubert mir doch jedes Mal ein Grinsen aufs Gesicht...!
Dank Dir herzlich fürs Anschauen und deinen Kommentar
There was a doc who owned one (among others) at the uncontrolled field in southern Indiana where I learned to fly while in college. The P-51 is such a mesmerizing bird…both visually and audibly! I ended up flying the F-16 in USAF and I’m still envious of guys who get to fly this.
Absolutely fabulous
So glad to have found this video! I know that plane inside and out. Worked in it and played with it most of my life when it was in Baton Rouge and Don Weber owned it - wonderful to see her flying again. Prior to going to Europe, I don't think she'd left the ramp in at least eight years.
I also have More Footage of this Plane . Also onboard . Please find it on my Channel
Excellent video & love the sound of that Merlin engine!
Thx
I could watch and listen to the Mustangs and that Merlin engine all day , everyday and never get tired of it!!!! They are such a beautiful aircraft , and that sound is beyond anything else !!!! So Glad I got to watch one in person about 6 or 7 years ago , at a fly in , in Porterville Ca . It was Awesome !!!!
Real super loud when you are flying it tho !
Great video with just the beautiful plane and its awesome engine.
Nice Video 👍👍👍
Danke 🙏
That guy in the cockpit looks really lifelike.
Most beautiful plane ever built !!!!
Yes thanks watching
Best darn video of the beautiful sound of my favorite airplane of all time. Thank you !!
Thanks beeing here
Great sounding/looking plane and ol boy definitely ain’t scared to enjoy it
🇺🇸
Wow! The paint scheme and background clouds go together really well. I just see the still shots as fine art paintings.
Thanks watching
It’s an insult paint over that shit and bring it back to its natural color
This is music to my ears
Fantastic sound giving it plenty
Excellent! Thank-you.
great video outstanding sound!
thanks for sharing.
Thx watching
Most beautiful aircraft ever made, at least in my opinion. And that sound. Spitfires are next. If you couldn't tell. :)
Yep, that’s a good one. Thanks for posting. Best airplane ever made.
Thanks, liking and subscribing
Just a flying work of art.
Sound of victory
The sound of pure heaven.
Yes 🕶
Rob Epley .....and Freedom Rob.
Beautiful Sound...
Wow, you can see these beautiful aircraft were built for nothing but air to air combat. What a sight to behold. And this pilot was performing many tactical maneuvers beautifully to show its power and agility. Well done. 👏👏👏👏👏
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The Merlin RR powerplant made this special. Just like it did the Mossie and the far more agile spitfire which it was made for.
Betwixt the Spit and this, it’s a dead heat for best fighter plane of the war, I reckon. I prefer the Spitfire myself as I’ve always found it’s lines beautiful and perfect. The Mustang, however, just screams power and menace.
@@feliscorax totally depends what you want from a aircraft, the best fighter or the best all rounder.. both have major sacrifices over each other. If you want a multipurpose fighter p51 or the absolute air superiority fighter then spitfire.
Improved Packard motor not RR
@@OPFlyFisher304 still RR engine. RR had by then made the Griffon that was much more powerful.
@@richhughes7450 Packard Merlin Aircraft Engine
The Merlin was considered to be so important to the war effort, negotiations soon
started to establish an alternative production line outside the UK. Rolls-Royce had
checked out a number of North American automobile manufacturers, in order to select
one to build the Merlin in the USA or Canada, and Packard Motor Car Company's
attention to high quality and engineering impressed the parent British company so much,
Packard was selected to build the Merlin. Agreement was reached in September 1940,
and the first Packard-built engine, designated V-1650-1, ran in August 1941.
The first American production of the Merlin was the Packard Merlin 28 (Mark XX).
This engine was a (single stage, two speed supercharger). As the Merlin 28, it was used
for the Lancaster bomber. The USAAF version of this engine was used in the P-40Fs.
The initial Packard modifications were done on this engine by changing the main
bearings from a copper lead alloy to a silver lead combination and featured indium
plating. This had been developed by General Motors' Pontiac Division to prevent
corrosion which was possible with lubricating oils that were used at that time. The
bearing coating also improved break-in and load carrying ability of the surface. British
engineering staff assigned to Packard were astonished at the suggestion but after tear
down inspections on rigidly tested engines were convinced the new design offered a
decided improvement.
The real improvement Packard incorporated into the Merlin was adopting the Wright
supercharger drive quill. This modification was designated the V-1650-3 and became
known as the "high altitude" Merlin destined for the P-51. The (two speed, two stage
supercharger) section of the -3 featured two separate impellers on the same shaft which
were normally driven through a gear train at a speed of 6.391:1. A hydraulic gear change
arrangement of oil operated clutches could be engaged by an electric solenoid to increase
this ratio to 8.095:1 in high speed blower position. The high speed gear ratio of the
impellers was not as great as the ratio used in the Allison but speed of the impeller alone
was not the factor that increased the engine performance at altitude. The double staging
of the compressed fuel/air mixture provided the boost pressure through a diffuser to the
intake manifolds which increased the critical altitude of the power plant.
The ability of the supercharger to maintain a sea level atmosphere in the induction
system to the cylinders allowed the Packard Merlin to develop 1,210 horsepower at
25,800 feet. The two stage impeller created extreme heating of the fuel/air mixture during
the compression process and in order to prevent detonation of the compressed charge, it
was necessary to cool the mixture prior to entry into the cylinders. This cooling was
accomplished by the casting of an intercooler passage into the wheelcase housing
between the first and second stage impellers.
Ethylene glycol coolant was circulated by a pump through this passage to carry off the
excess heat generated by the impellers. Without the intercooler the temperature of the
charge could be as high as 400°F. The intercooler in itself was not adequate to deal with
the high temperature and an additional cooling fin and tube core was placed between the
outlet of the blower and the induction manifold to the cylinders. This radiator was known
as an aftercooler and served as a reservoir for the system. The glycol mixture used for the
supercharger cooling was independent of the main engine cooling system and used a
centrifugal pump driven by the engine to circulate the coolant through an aircraft radiator
system at a rate of 30 gallons per minute.
This combined system reduced the charge temperature to suitable levels. The throttle
valves in the updraft carburetor throat were controlled by an automatic boost control
through the pilot's linkage to maintain the selected manifold pressure during changes in
altitude. These valves were only partially open during ground and low level operation to
prevent overboosting of the engine. As air density decreased with an increase in altitude,
the throttle valves were moved to an open position by boost pressure corresponding to
aircraft altitude. This system provided full power within engine boost limitations up to
the critical altitude of 26,000 feet. This was the improvement Packard brought to the
Merlin.
When the first of the Packard-built Merlins arrived in Britain, the engineers at RollsRoyce stripped it down and were amazed to find the production-line built Packard engine,
far from being as bad as they expected it to be for component tolerances, was actually
better. Up until then, Rolls-Royce Merlins were hand built, every face being finished off
by hand, and this time-consuming process placed great strain on the production capability
of the skilled workforce involved in the manufacture of these engines. The Packard
engine changed many minds, although there were still some at Rolls-Royce who
remained unconvinced of the quality of the American engine, produced as it was by a
largely unskilled and semi-skilled female workforce. In the end, the engine's performance
removed any doubts about its quality and workmanship.
The Packard V-1650 so outperformed the Allison V-1710 it supplanted the Allison in
the North American P-51 Mustang, which then became one of the best fighters of the
war. It was also incorporated into some models of the Curtiss P-40, specifically the P-40F
and P-40L. Packard Merlins powered Canadian-built Hurricane, Lancaster, and Mosquito
aircraft, as well as UK-built Spitfires in the shape of the Mark XVI, otherwise the same
as the Mark IX with its British-built Merlin.
Although it is not commonly known, Packard greatly improved the maintainability of
the engine (by allowing easier use of interchangeable parts, rather than custom finished
ones), and their changes were also incorporated in subsequent British production.
A common misconception is that Packard Merlin engines were used in American PT
boats; the engine used was in fact a modified Liberty V-12 engine, totally unrelated to the
Merlin. The possibility is that these engines were also used by British MTBs and MGBs
Indeed pure power sound... which is music to my ear. Thanks 👍🇬🇾
I dont have my headphones in but the sound is reverberating around me , p51 is an amazing machine