Rolls-Royce Meteorite
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (December 2023) |
Rolls-Royce Meteorite | |
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Centurion tank load | |
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Rover |
Designer | Rolls-Royce & Rover |
Also called | Rover Meteorite |
Layout | |
Configuration | 60° V8 |
Displacement | 18.019 L (1,100 cu in) |
Cylinder bore | 5.4 in (137 mm) |
Piston stroke | 6 in (152 mm) |
Output | |
Power output |
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Torque output |
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The Rolls-Royce Meteorite, also known as the Rover Meteorite, was a post-war British 18.01 L (1,099 cu in) V8 petrol or diesel engine was derived from the Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine.[1]
Development
In 1940 William Robotham who led a chassis design and development division at Clan Foundry, Belper, and Henry Spurrier a director Leyland Motors, began investigating the use of Rolls-Royce aero engines as tank power-plants.[2] Both men felt that continued use of the War Office's preferred Nuffied Liberty to be a retrograde step in the development of British tanks.[3] The Liberty had been designed in 1917 and by this time was only able to produce a maximum power output of 340 horsepower (250 kW).[4] Their requirements were the engine had to fit into the same engine compartment as the Liberty, and their aspiration was it would offer a power-to-weight ratio of 20 horsepower per long ton (15 kW/t) for the proposed British tank designs.[4]
Initially Robotham and Spurrier investigated the use of a naturally aspirated version of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine.[4] The Kestrel presented a number of advantages, it was not in great demand by the Royal Air Force and it occupied less space than the Liberty, although bench tests showed it would fall short of their desire power requirements.[4]
The next engine investigated by Robotham and Spurrier was a modified version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin, which had the same displacement as the Liberty, due to its different bore and stroke it was more compact.[4] This was to become the Rolls-Royce Meteor which went on to power the Cromwell tank.[5]
In 1943 design and production leadership responsibilities for the Meteor were transferred to Morris and at the end of the war, all Meteors were produced by Morris.[6] After the war, Rover wanted to develop a range of heavy duty engines using common parts, so they devised the Meteorite by removing four cylinders from the Meteor.[6][7]
Meteorites were produced alongside Meteors in Rover's Ministry of Supply factory at Acocks Green.[8]
Design
The Meteorite was a 18.019 L (1,100 cu in) V-8 engine. It retained the 60° V and 5.4 in (140 mm) bore and 6.0 in (150 mm) stroke of the Meteor.[7][9]
The Meteorite's
Like the Meteor, originally the Meteorite ran on
Applications
The Meteorite is principally remembered for powering earlier versions of the
The first version of the Antar operated by the British Army, the Antar Mk 1 (designated FV12001), was a
The Valiant II assault tank was to be powered by a petrol Meteorite of between 400 and 500 hp (300 and 370 kW).[17][18]
In 1947–1948 a powerful land clearing bulldozer was developed at the Fighting Vehicles Proving Establishment for the Tanganyika groundnut scheme. It utilised Centurion tank automotive components and was powered by a Meteorite engine.[19]
The single Leyland FV1000 'Brontosaurus' heavy tank transporter prototype produced in 1951 was powered by a 498 bhp (371 kW) petrol Rover Meteorite Mk 202A.[20]
The two Leyland FV1200 series FV1201 heavy artillery tractor prototypes produced in 1953 were each powered by 510 bhp (380 kW) petrol Rover Meteorite.[21]
See also
- Rolls-Royce Merlin
- Rolls-Royce Meteor
- Ford GAA
References
Citations
- ^ Evans et al. (2004), pp. 126–140.
- ^ Lloyd (1978), pp. 84–85.
- ^ Lloyd (1978), p. 85.
- ^ a b c d e Lloyd (1978), p. 86.
- ^ Lloyd (1978), pp. 86 & 108.
- ^ a b Ware (2012), pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b Robson (1977), p. 50.
- ^ Ware (2020), p. 14.
- ^ Ware (2020), pp. 14 & 44.
- ^ a b c d Ware (2020), p. 9.
- ^ Ware (2020), p. 11.
- ^ Ware (2020), pp. 7–8.
- ^ Ware (2020), pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b Ware (2020), pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b c Ware (2020), p. 20.
- ^ Ware (2020), pp. 44–45.
- ^ Forty (1995), p. 46.
- ^ Newsome (2016), p. 10.
- ^ Dunston (1980), p. 87.
- ^ Ware (2021), p. 68.
- ^ Ware (2021), pp. 73–74.
Bibliography
- Dunston, Simon (1980). Centurion. ISBN 0-7110-1063-3.
- Evans, Charles; McWilliams, Alec; Whitworth, Sam; Birch, David (2004). The Rolls Royce Meteor. Derby: ISBN 1-872922-24-4.
- ISBN 1-85532-532-2.
- Lloyd, Ian (1978). Rolls-Royce: The Merlin at War. London & Basingstoke: The MacMillan Press Ltd.
- Newsome, Bruce (2016). Valentine Infantry Tank 1938-1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1375-6.
- Robson, Graham (1977). The Rover Story. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens (PSL). ISBN 0-85059-279-8.
- Ware, Pat (2021). British Military Vehicles: The Soft-Skin CT & GS Vehicles of the 1950s. Yalding: Kelsey Media.
- Ware, Pat (2012). The Centurion Tank. ISBN 978-1-78159-011-9.
- Ware, Pat (2020). The Thornycroft Antar. Yalding: Kelsey Media.
- Walentynowicz, Jerzy (2021). "The aircraft engines in the land vehicles" (PDF). Combustion Engines. 187 (4): 52–59. . Retrieved 17 November 2023.