The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

(2,240 cu in) capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled

aero engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

designed and built by

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

. In keeping with company convention, the Griffon was named after a

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

, in this case the

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...

. Design work on the Griffon started in 1938 at the request of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, for use in new aircraft designs such as the

Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviatio ...

. In 1939 it was also decided that the engine could be adapted for use in the

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

. Development was stopped temporarily to concentrate efforts on the smaller

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

and the 24-cylinder

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

; the engine did not go into production until the early 1940s. The Griffon was the last in the line of V-12 aero engines to be produced by Rolls-Royce with production ceasing in 1955. Griffon engines remain in

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

service today with the

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events comme ...

and power the last remaining airworthy

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

Design and development

Origins

According to

Arthur Rubbra Arthur Alexander Cecil Rubbra CBE (29 October 1903 – 24 November 1982) was an English engineer who designed many of Rolls-Royce's successful aero engines. He was "placed by many alongside Royce, Rowledge and Elliot as one of Rolls-Royce's g ...

'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'', which was never flown, 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. In 1938, the Fleet Air Arm approached Rolls-Royce and asked whether a larger version of the Merlin could be designed. The requirements were that the new engine have good power at low altitude and that it be reliable and easy to service.Flight 1945, p. 309. Work began on the design of the engine soon afterwards. The design process was relatively smooth compared with that of the Merlin, and the first of three prototype Griffon Is first ran in the Experimental Department on 30 November 1939.Morgan and Shacklady 2000, p. 133. Although the Griffon was designed for naval aircraft, on 8 November 1939 N E Rowe of the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

suggested fitting the Griffon in a

. Three weeks later, permission was given to

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of Jet engine, jet-powered figh ...

to explore the possibilities of adapting the Griffon to the Spitfire; in response, Supermarine issued 'Specification 466' on 4 December. This decision led to a change in the disposition of the engine accessories to reduce the frontal area of the engine as much as possible. As a result, the frontal area of the bare Griffon engine was compared with of the Merlin, despite the Griffon's much larger capacity. This redesigned engine first ran on 26 June 1940 and went into production as the Griffon II. In early 1940, with the expected

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

looming, on the orders of

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

Minister of Aircraft Production The Minister of Aircraft Production was, from 1940 to 1945, the British government minister at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II. It was responsible ...

, work on the new engine had been halted temporarily to concentrate on the smaller 27 L () Merlin which had already surpassed the output achieved with the early Griffon.

Design

Compared with earlier Rolls-Royce designs, the Griffon engine featured several improvements, which meant that it was physically only slightly larger than the Merlin, in spite of its 36% larger capacity of 37-

s (2,240 cu in). One significant difference was the incorporation of the

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...

and

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

drives into the propeller reduction gears at the front of the engine, rather than using a separate system of gears driven from the back end of the

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

; this allowed the overall length of the engine to be reduced as well as making the drive train more reliable and efficient.Flight 1945, p. 312. The drive for the supercharger was also taken off the front of the engine, which had required a long shaft to run to its location at the back of the engine.The Aeroplane 1945, pp. 1, 3, 6. The Merlin engine's crankshaft lubrication was via a gallery cut into the engine block to feed each main bearing and then onto a secondary adjacent big end bearing via a gallery in the crankshaft itself. The crankpin was second in line to the main bearing in oil flow and pressure, with oil having to flow through the main bearing first. The Griffon improved on this arrangement being the first Rolls-Royce production aero engine to use a hollow crankshaft as the means of lubricating the main and big end bearings, with oil being fed from each end of the crankshaft giving even flow to all bearings. In another change from convention, one high efficiency B.T.H-manufactured dual magneto was mounted on top of the propeller reduction casing; earlier Rolls-Royce designs using twin magnetos mounted at the rear of the engine. The Griffon 61 series introduced a two-stage supercharger and other design changes: the pressure oil pumps were now housed internally within the sump and an effort was made to remove as many external pipes as possible. In addition, the drive for the supercharger was moved to the crankshaft at the back of the engine, via a short torsion shaft, rather than at the front of the engine, using a long drive shaft as used by earlier Griffon variants. Production of the aero version of the Griffon ended in December 1955, while a marine version, the Sea Griffon, continued to be produced for the RAF's High Speed Launches.

Basic component overview (Griffon 65)

''From Jane's and Flight.'' RR Griffon

;Cylinders :Twelve cylinders consisting of high-carbon steel, floating

wet liner In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was atta ...

sFlight 1945, p. 313. set in two, two-piece cylinder blocks of cast

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

having separate heads and skirts. Cylinder liners

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

plated in the bores for inches from the head. Cylinder blocks mounted with an included 60-degree angle onto inclined upper faces of a two-piece crankcase. Cylinder heads fitted with cast-iron inlet valve guides,

phosphor bronze Phosphor bronze is a member of the family of copper alloys. It is composed of copper that is alloyed with 0.5–11% of tin and 0.01–0.35% phosphorus, and may contain other elements to confer specific properties (e.g. lead at 0.5–3.0% to form ...

exhaust valve guides, and renewable "Silchrome" steel-alloy valve seats. Two diametrically opposed

spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

s protrude into each

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Interna ...

. ;Pistons :Machined from " R.R.59" alloy

forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...

s. Fully floating

gudgeon pin In internal combustion engines, the gudgeon pin (UK, wrist pin or piston pin US) connects the piston to the connecting rod, and provides a bearing for the connecting rod to pivot upon as the piston moves.Nunney, Malcolm James (2007) "The Reciproc ...

s of hardened nickel-chrome steel. Two

compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression *Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a c ...

and one drilled oil-control

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

above the gudgeon pin, and another drilled oil-control ring below. ;Connecting rods :H-section machined nickel-steel forgings, each pair consisting of a plain and a forked rod. The forked rod carries a nickel-steel bearing block which accommodates steel-backed lead-bronze-alloy bearing shells. The "small-end" of each rod houses a floating phosphor bronze

bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

. ;Crankshaft :One-piece, machined from a nitrogen-hardened nickel-chrome

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...

steel forging. Statically and dynamically balanced. Seven main bearings and six throws. Internal oilway, with feed from both ends, used to distribute lubricants to main and big end bearings. "Floating" front end bearing consisting of an internally toothed annulus bolted to crankshaft, meshing with and incorporating a semi-floating ring, internally splined to a short

coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...

shaft. Coupling shaft splined at front end to driving wheel of propeller reduction gear. Clockwise rotation when viewed from rear. ;Crankcase :Two aluminium-alloy castings joined together on the horizontal centreline. The upper portion bears the wheelcase, cylinder blocks and part of the housing for the airscrew reduction gear; and carries the crankshaft main bearings (split mild-steel shells lined with lead–bronze alloy). The lower half forms an oil sump and carries the main pressure oil pump, supercharger change-speed operating pump and two scavenge pumps. It also houses the main coolant pump which is driven through the same gear-train as the oil pumps. ;Wheelcase :Aluminium-alloy casting fitted to rear of crankcase. Carries the supercharger; and houses drives to the supercharger, auxiliary gearbox coupling, engine speed indicator, airscrew constant-speed unit, intercooler pump and fuel pump, as well as the oil and coolant pumps in the lower half crankcase. ;Valve gear :Two inlet and two exhaust

poppet valve A poppet valve (also called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of gas or vapor flow into an engine. It consists of a hole or open-ended chamber, usually round or oval in cross-section, and a plug, usual ...

s of " K.E.965" austenitic nickel-chrome steel per cylinder. Exhaust valves have

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

-cooled stems. "

Brightray Brightray is a nickel-chromium alloy that is noted for its resistance to erosion by gas flow at high temperatures. It was used for hard-facing the exhaust valve heads and seats of petrol engines, particularly aircraft engines from the 1930s onwards. ...

" (nickel-chromium) protective coating to the whole of the combustion face and seat of the exhaust valves, and to the seat only of the inlet valves. Each valve is held closed by a pair of concentric

coil spring A selection of conical coil springs The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself. Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...

s. A single, seven-bearing camshaft, located centrally on the top of each cylinder head operates 24 individual steel rockers; 12 pivoting from a rocker shaft on the inner, intake side of the block to actuate the exhaust valves, the others pivoting from a shaft on the exhaust side of the block to actuate the inlet valves.

Engine capacity, mass flow, and supercharging

Although it is common practice to compare different piston engines and their performance potential by referring to the engine displacement or swept volume, this does not give an accurate reading of an engine's capabilities. According to A C Lovesey, who was in charge of the Merlin's development, "The impression still prevails that the static capacity known as the swept volume is the basis of comparison of the possible power output for different types of engine, but this is not the case because the output of the engine depends solely on the mass of air it can be made to consume efficiently, and in this respect the supercharger plays the most important role." Unlike the Merlin, the Griffon was designed from the outset to use a single-stage supercharger driven by a two-speed, hydraulically operated gearbox; the initial production versions, the Griffon II, III, IV, and VI series, were designed to give their maximum power at low altitudes and were mainly used by the Fleet Air Arm. The Griffon 60, 70, and 80 series featured two-stage supercharging and achieved their maximum power at low to medium altitudes. The Griffon 101, 121, and 130 series engines, collectively designated ''Griffon 3 SML'',Flight 1946, p. 34. used a two-stage, three-speed supercharger, adding a set of "Low Supercharger (L.S)" gears to the already existing Medium and Full Supercharger (M.S and F.S) gears. Another modification was to increase the diameters of both impellers, thus increasing the rated altitudes at which maximum power could be generated in each gear.Flight 1946, pp. 34–35. While the 101 continued to drive a five-blade propeller, the 121 and 130 series were designed to drive contra-rotating propellers. In 1946 a Griffon 101 was fitted to the

Supermarine Spiteful The Supermarine Spiteful was a British Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine to Air Ministry specification F.1/43 during the Second World War as a successor to the Spitfire. It had a new wing design to improve ...

XVI, ''RB518'' (a re-engined production Mk.XIV); this aircraft achieved a maximum speed of 494 mph (795 km/h) with full military equipment.

Pilot transition

Pilots who converted from the Merlin to the Griffon-engined Spitfires soon discovered that, because the Griffon engine's propeller rotated in the opposite direction to that of the Merlin, the fighter swung to the right on takeoff rather than to the left. This tendency was even more marked with the more powerful 60- and 80-series Griffon engines, with their five-bladed propellers. As a result, pilots had to learn to apply left (port) trim on takeoff, instead of the right (starboard) trim they were used to applying. On takeoff, the throttle had to be opened slowly, as the pronounced swing to the right could lead to "crabbing" and severe tyre wear. Some test Spitfire XIVs, 21s, and 24s were fitted with

contra-rotating propellers Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propell ...

, which eliminated the torque effect. Early problems with the complex gearbox that was required for contra-rotating propellers prevented them from ever becoming operational in Spitfires, but they were used on later aircraft, including the

Seafire ''SeaFire'', first published in 1994, was the fourteenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Gardner's novelization of ''Licence to Kill''). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was f ...

FR. Mk 46 and F and FR.47, which were fitted with Griffon 87s driving contra-rotating propellers as standard equipment. The Griffon 57 and 57A series, installed in Universal Power Plant (UPP) installations and driving contra-rotating propellers, was used in the

maritime patrol aircraft.Carvell 2010, p. 57.

Variants

The Griffon was produced in approximately 50 different variants, the Griffon 130 being the last in the series. Details of representative variants are listed below: * Griffon IIB :1,730 hp (1,290 kW) at 750 ft (230 m) and 1,490 hp (1,110 kW) at 14,000 ft (4,270 m); Single-stage two-speed supercharger; impeller diameter 10 in (25.4 cm); gear ratios 7.85:1, 10.68:1.Lumsden 2003, p. 217. Used on Firefly Mk.I and Spitfire XII. * Griffon VI :Increased maximum boost pressure, 1,850 hp (1,380 kW) at 2,000 ft (610 m); impeller diameter 9.75 in (24.7 cm). Used on

Mk.XV and Mk. XVII, Spitfire XII. Griffon58

* Griffon 57 and 57A :1,960 hp (1,460 kW); 2,345 hp (1,749 kW) with water-methanol injection on take-off: used on

. * Griffon 61 :Introduced a two-speed two-stage

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

with aftercooler similar to that on Merlin 61; 2,035 hp (1,520 kW) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m) and 1,820 hp (1,360 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m); used on Spitfire F.Mk.XIV, Mk.21. * Griffon 65 :Similar to Griffon 61 with different propeller reduction gear; Impeller diameters 1st stage: 13.4 in (34 cm), 2nd stage: 11.3 in (29 cm); used on Spitfire F.Mk.XIV. * Griffon 72 :Increased maximum boost pressure to take advantage of 150-

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

fuel; 2,245 hp (1,675 kW) at 9,250 ft (2,820 m). * Griffon 74 :Fuel-injected version of Griffon 72; used on Firefly Mk.IV. * Griffon 83 :Modified to drive

; 2,340 hp (1,745 kW) at 750 ft (230 m) and 2,100 hp (1,565 kW) at 12,250 ft (3,740 m). * Griffon 85 :2,375 hp (1,770 kW); used on Spiteful Mk.XIV. * Griffon 89 :2,350 hp (1,755 kW); used on Spiteful Mk.XV. * Griffon 101 :2,420 hp (1,805 kW); Two-stage, three-speed supercharger using Low Supercharger (L.S), Moderate Supercharger (M.S), or Full Supercharger (F.S); reduction gear ratio 4.45; Rolls-Royce fuel injection system. Used on Spiteful Mk.XVI. *Griffon 130 :2,420 hp (1,805 kW) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m) in L.S gear, 2,250 hp (1,678 kW) at 14,500 ft (4,419 m) M.S and 2,050 hp (1,529 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) F.S; reduction gear ratio 4.44; modified to drive contra-rotating propellers; Rolls-Royce fuel injection system. * Compound Griffon RGC.30.SM.;

turbo-compound A turbo-compound engine is a reciprocating engine that employs a turbine to recover energy from the exhaust gases. Instead of using that energy to drive a turbocharger as found in many high-power aircraft engines, the energy is instead sent to ...

engine - cancelled 1949 * Turbo Griffon RGT.30.SM.; similar to

Napier Nomad The Napier Nomad is a British diesel aircraft engine designed and built by Napier & Son in 1949. They combined a piston engine with a turbine to recover energy from the exhaust and thereby improve fuel economy. Two versions were tested, the co ...

- as above

Applications

25 P 51XR Mustang N6WJ Precious Metal Reno Air Race 2014 photo D Ramey Logan

''Note:'' *

Blackburn B-54 The Blackburn B-54 and B-88 were prototype carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the immediate post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). They shared a conventional monoplane design with a mid-mounted ...

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

CAC CA-15 The CAC CA-15, also known unofficially as the CAC Kangaroo, was an Australian propeller-driven fighter aircraft designed by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) during World War II. Due to protracted development, the project was not comp ...

Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be fabricated entirely from metal. The Barracuda ...

Folland Fo.108 The Folland Fo.108, also known as the Folland 43/37 and by the nickname Folland Frightful (or Frightener), was a large monoplane engine testbed aircraft of the 1940s. Design and development The Fo.108 was Folland's response to Air Ministry Spe ...

Hawker Fury The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service capable of speed higher than 200 mph (321 kmh). It was the fighter cou ...

Hawker Henley The Hawker Henley was a British two-seat target tug derived from the Hawker Hurricane that was operated by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Design and development In 1934 Air Ministry Specification P.4/34 was issued which calle ...

* Hawker Tempest Mk III/IV *

Martin-Baker MB 5 The British Martin-Baker MB 5 was the ultimate development of a series of prototype fighter aircraft built during the Second World War. Neither the MB 5 nor its predecessors ever entered production, despite what test pilots described as excelle ...

Supermarine Seafang The Supermarine Seafang was a British Rolls-Royce Griffon–engined fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine to Air Ministry specification N.5/45. It was based on the Spiteful, which was a development of Supermarine's famous Spitfire aircraft ...

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised version of the Spitfire's stablemate, the Hawker Hurri ...

* Supermarine Seagull *

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

Racing aircraft

Several North American Mustangs raced in the Unlimited Class races at the

Reno Air Races The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. A ...

have been fitted with Griffons. These include ''Red Baron'' (NL7715C), as well as the custom-built P-51XR ''Precious Metal'' (N6WJ) and Mustang/Learjet hybrid ''

Miss Ashley II ''Miss Ashley II'' was a custom-built racing aircraft based on the North American P-51 Mustang. Design and development Built by Bill L. Rogers in 1996, ''Miss Ashley II'' was a P-51R; a hybrid aircraft consisting of the fuselage of a P-51D fu ...

'' (N57LR). In all cases, Griffons with contra-rotating propellers, taken from

patrol bombers were used in these aircraft. The RB51 Red Baron is noteworthy for holding the FAI piston-engine 3-kilometre world speed record from 1979 to 1989 (499.018 mph).

Non-aircraft usage

The 1980 ''

Miss Budweiser The ''Miss Budweiser'' were 22 hydroplanes sponsored by Budweiser beer that raced in the unlimited class under the U-12 banner. They were owned (some were leased backups) by Bernie Little. Anheuser-Busch sponsorship began in 1963, thanks to the ...

'' Unlimited Hydroplane dominated the race circuit with a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine. It was the last of the competitive piston-engined boats, before

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...

powerplants took over. In modern-day

tractor pulling Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farthe ...

, Griffon engines are also in use, a single or double, rated each at 3,500 hp (2,600 kW).

Survivors

The Griffon engine continues to be used in restored Fireflies and later mark Spitfires worldwide. The

is a notable current operator of the Griffon. The sole remaining technically airworthy Avro Shackleton is based at the

Air Force Base Ysterplaat Air Force Base Ysterplaat is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located in Cape Town suburb Ysterplaat, on the southwestern coast of South Africa. The name ''Ysterplaat'' is Afrikaans from the Dutch "Ijzerplaats", meaning "Iron P ...

. However, at least one further airframe is in running condition at the

Gatwick Aviation Museum The Gatwick Aviation Museum is located in the village of Charlwood, in Surrey, United Kingdom on the boundary of Gatwick Airport. History Originally started in 1987 as a private collection by local businessman Peter Vallance, the museum became ...

and another is in running, taxiing condition at

Coventry Airport Coventry Airport is located south-southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England. The airport is operated and licensed by Coventry Airport Limited. Its CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P902) allows flights ...

, intended to be flown in a short time.

Engines on display

Preserved Griffon engines are on public display at the: *

Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum The Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum is an aerospace museum located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada near the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. History The museum was established in 1977 by a group of volunteers. It opened to the public in 1 ...

Birmingham Museum Collection Centre The Museum Collection Centre (MCC) in Nechells, Birmingham, England, is a building that holds 80% of Birmingham Museums Trust's stored collections under one roof. It is one of the UK's largest museum stores. Among the thousands of objects store ...

Bournemouth Aviation Museum The Bournemouth Aviation Museum is an Aerospace museum, aviation museum located next to Bournemouth Airport, Bournemouth International Airport, near the village of Hurn in Christchurch, Dorset, Christchurch. It houses a number of aircraft, Aircr ...

Kissimmee Air Museum The Kissimmee Air Museum was located at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Kissimmee, Florida, Kissimmee, Florida. It housed vintage aircraft from World War II to the Vietnam War including an outdoor showroom.Frommer’s."Flying Tigers Warbird Rest ...

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, Derby *

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, AFB Ysterplaat *

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* Stonehenge Air Museum,

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Specifications (Griffon 65)

Media

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

* Air Ministry. ''Pilot's Notes For Spitfire XIV & XIX; Griffon 65 or 66 Engine''. London: Air Ministry, 1946. * Bridgman, L, (ed.) (1989) ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II.'' Crescent. *Carvell, Roger. "Aeroplane Examines the Avro Shackleton."
Aeroplane
' No. 2, Vol. 38, Issue 442, February 2010. *Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines: From the Pioneers to the Present Day''. 5th edition, Stroud, UK: Sutton, 2006. * Lovesey, Cyril. "Development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin from 1939 to 1945". ''Aircraft Engineering'' magazine. London: July 1946 * Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and Their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * Price, Alfred. ''The Spitfire Story''. Second edition, London: Arms and Armour Press, 1986. . * Rubbra, A.A. ''Rolls-Royce Piston Aero Engines: A Designer Remembers: Historical Series no 16'' : Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, 1990. *White, Graham. ''Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II: History and Development of Frontline Aircraft Piston Engines Produced by Great Britain and the United States During World War II''. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: SAE International, 1995. *"A Classic Design; The Rolls-Royce Two-Stage Griffon (article and images)." ''The Aeroplane'', 21 September 1945.

'' Flight and the Aircraft Engineer'' No. 1917, Vol. XLVIII, 20 September 1945.
Rolls-Royce Griffon 130 (article and images).
'' Flight and the Aircraft Engineer'' No. 1933, Vol. XLIX, 10 January 1946.
British Aero Engines (article and images).
'' Flight and the Aircraft Engineer'' No. 2468, Vol. 69, 11 May 1956.
1980 U-1 Miss Budweiser (article).
Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Volume 1 Number 2.

External links

Griffon 58 on YouTube
a 1945 ''Flight'' article on the Griffon 65
"Rolls-Royce Griffon (65)"
a 1945 ''Flight'' article on the Griffon 65

a 1946 ''Flight'' article {{RRaeroengines Griffon 1930s aircraft piston engines Articles containing video clips V12 aircraft engines