The P-51 Mustang was a superior aircraft to the Spitfire in the design of its airframe and performance with a good engine. It had a “piece of crap” for an engine.”
When the P-51 was fitted with the Merlin Super Marine engine from Rolls Royce the best airframe and best engine made history. The Rolls Royce engine was also produced in the United States under license of Rolls Royce.
However, as lovely as the P-51 is, when you see a Spit do a chandel there is no question as to the beauty of the Spit.
47 posted on
07/04/2011 10:23:03 PM PDT by
cpdiii
(Deckhand, Roughneck, Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist, Iconoclast: THE CONSTITUTION IS WORTH DYING FOR.)
Packard motors built the Merlin under license from rolls royce. They made so many of them that the US was shipping them back to the UK for their domestic aircraft production.What made this swap possible were the nearly identical dimensions and weights between the merlin and the Allison V12. BTW, Allison is still in business as a division of General motors. They make commercial and industrial application vehicle transmissions.
CC