WIX Archives

Taiwan fishing boats used to use Merlins.

Posted by Will Fowler on Thu Nov 01, 2001 10:57:14 PM

In reply top Gobsmacked..... posted by Tony on Thu Nov 01, 2001 07:13:50 PM

I heard that after the R.O.C Airforce retired the Mossi's they operated they were broken up and the engines were brought by coastal fishman for their boats, I had my mrs do some snooping around the local fishing ports whilst I have been here but alas the boats that used them have long since passed into history, shame.

Regards,

Will

: Mr Scheil Sir
:
: I simply had no idea. Thanks Joe, for a very very interest
: ing, UNPUBLISHED (as far as I am aware) insight into the u
: se of Merlins and Packards.
:
: I think it's time to tell us all, about that undoubted lig
: ht you've been hiding under a bushel....
:
: Did"They were expendable" affect you deeply too..?
:
: For all of you, who have never heard a Merlin/Packard scre
: am at full Military boost, go watch this film
:
: Tony :0)
: (JFK was the man)
:
:
: : : Which boats used Packard/RR V-1650 series engines?
: :
: : A. None of them! As the war surplus Merlins were used
: in
: : hydroplane racing, along with the Griffon, and the Boat
: s
: : were Packard powered, it was always assumed by most that
: t
: : hey must have been Merlins. Boat racing used up and per
: ha
: : ps preserved the Merlin for posterity, but hundreds were
: d
: : estroyed racing.
: : Packard Motor Car Company was by the 1920's beginning to
: a
: : dvertise Land, Sea and Air supremacy and had produced en
: gi
: : nes and winning records on all fronts. Packard began it
: s
: : marine engines for defense in 1939 with a redesign of th
: e
: : famous Gar Wood engine they had raced so successfully ea
: rl
: : ier. It was called the 2M, the 1M reserved for the raci
: ng
: : mill, but was still too much of a racing design. The n
: ex
: : t was the 3M-1500 of 800hp. (1500 cid) a successful des
: ig
: : n. It grew to the 4M-2500 a 1200hp engine powering the
: 85
: : ' and 104' boats from Elco, Higgins and Vosper. This be
: ca
: : me the standard marine PT engine and grew to 1800hp by w
: ar
: : s end.
: : This prolific engine was a pure Packard design and was c
: on
: : sidered "the most perfect marine engine of its type" in
: of
: : ficial communication to Packard. The 4M 2500 was built
: i
: : n 17 different configurations but the standards are belo
: w.
: : ..
: :
: : 60 degree V-12, 100 octane gas, rt hand rotation 6 3/8 x
: 6
: : 1/2 inch bore and stroke 2600 fpm piston speed displaci
: ng
: : 2490ci weighing 2950lbs with 4 valve DOHC heads. As yo
: u
: : can see, larger that the Griffon and heavy! There was a
: ls
: : o a Packard 16, the 1M 3300, and had 2500 hp. A few wen
: t
: : to Navy training craft postwar. All subsequent developm
: en
: : t for surface ships was aimed torward diesels as the 100
: o
: : ctane gas was considered too dangerous by 1950.
: :
: : Packard was a precision racing engine builder and this a
: ll
: : owed them to consider building the Merlin in late 1940.
: O
: : n may 28 1940 Packard agreed to produce the Merlin XX.
: Th
: : e V-1650-1 was a fully interchangeable two piece block d
: es
: : ign while the RR factory was still producing the one pie
: ce
: : Model 28 block. The company regretted taking the job o
: n
: : as all the British threads, measures and tooling had to
: be
: : copied in house to assure interchangability. However t
: he
: : y began to love the best liquid cooled engine as their o
: wn
: : . Packard refined the engine in concert with RR and red
: uc
: : ed moving parts, cost and increased horsepower. The sup
: er
: : charger on the 1650-5 was a Packard refinement and was c
: al
: : led two speed, but was in a sense an overdrive, and appr
: ov
: : ed by RR. Testing began in August of 1941 and at the en
: d
: : Packard constructed 55,523 Merlins.
: : As for the PT's there were 808 ordered, 774 delivered, 7
: 0
: : losses, 219 to Russia, and 481 surplused or scrapped.
: :
: : A long post, but a subject dear to my heart. Interestin
: gl
: : y the Brits were worried of their dependance on Packard
: at
: : wars end and were also leary of the high octane fuel re
: qu
: : ired for these boats. The result was the incomparable N
: AP
: : IER DELTIC, a diesel 3 crankshaft 18 cyl, 54 piston engi
: ne
: : with tremendous power and operational use. See the Nap
: ie
: : r Deltic Tech page or the ptfnasty page. The ultimate P
: T?
: :
: :
: : Cheers Boys,
: : Joe Scheil
: :
: :

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