For a long time I have thought that a “Buzzard II” was a huge missed opportunity for the UK. Something with the same general scheme as the buzzard but designed to the limits of thirties tech as the Merlin was OTL should have arrived in WW2 as a monster motor. It certainly wasn’t anything excessive large relative to the Jumo, Daimler or Hispano-Suiza contemporaries. But instead of “more power from same size” RR and Bristol and even Napier seemed to decide on first “same power from smaller size” and then “MUCH more power from frabjous complexity” because what could be better for war than relying on 140,000 parts in a 48-cylinder Z-layout two-stroke stratified charge sleeve-valve engine with 3 crankshafts and 11 carburettors?Buzzard was first, designed as a scaleup of the Kestrel at 2240 cubic inches in 1927
On 77 Octane, did 825hp@2000rpm. 1448 pounds.
A nice big V-12 should IMO have been a very tempting prospect but for some reason it just didn’t happen. Maybe related to the hyper engine lunacy in the US, if someone important thought it was much more important to get more power out of a smaller unit than to just have the maximum possible power.
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