by Graham Hoyland | Dec 15, 2019 | Books
A Supermarine Spitfire flew over Mount Everest on 26 May, 1945. A Supermarine Spitfire at high altitude Then on 16 June another Merlin-powered aircraft, a de Havilland Mosquito belonging to RAF 684 Squadron, based at Alipore airfield, Calcutta, made an “accidental”...
by Graham Hoyland | Dec 15, 2019 | Books
A sectioned Rolls-Royce Merlin engine When I was writing my book about the Rolls-Royce Merlin I discovered some amazing facts. There has never been another engine more thoroughly, continuously, aggressively and successfully developed than the Merlin. How much does a...
by Graham Hoyland | Dec 15, 2019 | Books
The Merlin engine was used in over forty aircraft during World War Two but it is mostly associated with the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Avro Lancaster bomber and the de Havilland Mosquito. Then there were the Mustang, Battle, Halifax, Wellington, Lincoln,...
by Graham Hoyland | Dec 15, 2019 | Books
The Merlin was a petrol engine, which in a car or an aeroplane has to have many cylinders to make it run smoothly and powerfully. A single cylinder is OK for a small bike, and you can hear how rough and vibratory they are! In my book I take you through the whole...
by Graham Hoyland | Dec 2, 2019 | Books
1. The Second World War was the first war won in the air, and the Avro Lancaster was Britain’s premier bomber. Avro developed the Lancaster to meet the UK’s wartime need for a larger bomber that could go further and carry a larger payload. It was a reply to the...
by Graham Hoyland | Dec 2, 2019 | Books, Walking Through Spring
The Antikythera mechanism is the oldest analogue computer in the world, made around 80 B.C. by the Ancient Greeks who knew why we have seasons such as Spring. It was found in a Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera (literally “opposite Kythera”-...