Battle of British engines – which is best?

Citation

(2006), "Battle of British engines – which is best?", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 78 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2006.12778caf.003

Battle of British engines – which is best?

Battle of British engines – which is best?

Keywords: Railway engineering, Jet engines

A new poll to unearth the favourite Best British Engine invention is being carried out by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

The IMechE, a leading voice for the profession, is asking the public and its Members which British made engine has proved the most innovative and inspirational in history.

So far, over 2,000 engineers have voted to reveal their top engines, ranging from aviation, rail, automotive and steam.

A survey carried out by the IMechE before Christmas concluded the following engines were the most popular. Now, another poll is being carried out to see which of them will win the title of Best British Engine. They are:

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  Thomas Newcomen's first practicable steam pumping engine which made mining from greater depths possible and helped launched the industrial revolution. Made in 1712.

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  The Stephensons' Rocket locomotive. It was the first locomotive to have a multi-tube boiler, with 25 copper tubes rather than a single flue or twin flue. The contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway went to the Robert Stephenson Company. Made in 1829.

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  Sir Charles Parsons' multi-stage reaction steam turbine engine. This led to large-scale electricity generation, resulting in the production of cheap and plentiful electricity and transformed marine transport. Made in 1884.

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  Sir Frank Whittle's turbojet engine which transformed air travel. Patented in 1930 and first flew on 15 May 1941 in a Gloster aircraft at Cranwell.

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  Rolls-Royce's Merlin engine. The engine was a private venture by Rolls-Royce and no government funding was provided for the project. It was called the PV-12 (Private Venture) and was first flown in a Hawker Hart biplane in 1935. Merlins, in many different forms, were then fitted to Spitfires, Hurricanes, Wellingtons and Lancasters. Many believe it played a pivotal role in powering the planes that won the Battle of Britain.

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  Napier piston engine. It was one of the most powerful piston aircraft engines in the world, which first went into production in 1940.

IMechE Fellow, William Wong, has already voted for his choice, the Napier and Son piston engine. He says: “This gets my vote because the firm designed and built engines between the wars that powered the land, sea and air records at that time. They also built the most powerful aero engine that went into production at the end of World War Two (the Napier Sabre piston engine), before jet engines took over. The Napier powered Typhoon and Tempest caught up with that could take on the Doodle Bugs. They were able to catch up with them and tilt their wings to cause them to crash”.