Top 10: Amazing Planes That Used the brilliant Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine

Top 10: Amazing Planes That Used the brilliant Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine

Autocar

Thu, December 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM UTC

12 min read

GettyImages 528673160 Michael Cole Corbis via Getty Images 2

Powerful and dependable, the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine was fitted to many of the most significant warplanes of the Second World War—from the Spitfire and Hurricane to the Lancaster.

The engine’s melodiously throaty roar and undoubted contribution to Allied victory make it a favourite of many, as were the aircraft types it powered. We’ve selected 10 fascinating types from the many Merlin-powered aircraft (we’d love to do a part two later). Here are 10 Brilliant Planes That Used The Mighty Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine:

10: Fairey Fulmar

It is something of an anomaly that the Fleet Air Arm’s highest-scoring fighter of the war was the relatively slow and staid Fairey Fulmar, with 112 victories (more than double the total achieved by the far more potent Corsair in FAA service). Despite this, the Fulmar has never really caught the popular imagination.

As the Second World War loomed, the Admiralty was desperate for anything approximating a modern fighter aircraft. This need was met by a modified light dive-bomber originally intended for a cancelled RAF requirement. The resulting Fulmar shared the engine and armament with the Spitfire and Hurricane, but there the similarity ended.

10: Fairey Fulmar

With a pathetic flat-out speed of 247mph and a feeble service ceiling of 16,000 feet, it was far inferior to its contemporaries. More worryingly, it was also 30mph slower than the Luftwaffe's Heinkel He 111 bombers. Fair to say that, as a fighter, it made an adequate, cancelled dive-bomber. So how did it become the top Royal Navy fighter of the war?

To understand this apparent contradiction of how such a sluggish machine was the Navy's best fighter, it is necessary to look to a then-new technology: radar. The Fulmar had shown that as a naval fighter, her strengths of endurance and firepower could make up for her disadvantage in outright performance when coupled with radar.

9: Miles M.20

Flying for the first time, a mere 65 days after being commissioned by the Air Ministry, the M.20’s structure used wood throughout to minimise the aircraft’s use of potentially scarce aluminium, and the whole nose, airscrew and Merlin engine were conveniently supplied as a single, all-in-one 'power egg’ unit, as it was already in production for the Bristol Beaufighter II.

To maintain simplicity, the M.20 dispensed with a hydraulic system, and while this meant that the landing gear wasn’t retractable, the weight saved allowed for a large internal fuel capacity and the unusually heavy armament of 12 machine guns with twice as much ammunition as either the Hurricane or the Spitfire.

9: Miles M20

Tests revealed that the M.20 was slower than the Spitfire but faster than the Hurricane, and its operating range was roughly double that of either. It also sported one of the first clear-view bubble canopies to be fitted to a military aircraft.

Due to the M.20 being viewed as a ‘panic’ fighter – an emergency back-up if Hurricanes or Spitfires couldn’t be produced in sufficient numbers – production of the M.20 was deemed unnecessary, since no serious shortage occurred of either of the existing fighters.

8: de Havilland Hornet/Sea Hornet

The most qualified pilot to judge a piston-engine fighter was the test pilot Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, who deemed the single-seat Sea Hornet to be the finest aircraft he ever flew. Thanks to structural techniques developed from the Mosquito, a tiny frontal cross-section and fuselage, and buckets of power, it was joyfully overpowered.

Combat experience was limited to Malaya, where it replaced the Spitfire and the Beaufighter in the ground attack role, flying over 4500 reconnaissance and close support sorties. Hornets also played a part in the dramatic rescue of survivors, including a six-year-old girl, of the shot-down Cathay Pacific DC-4 near Hainan Island in November 1954.

8: de Havilland Hornet/Sea Hornet

The Hornets were the first to arrive on the scene to search for survivors, followed by a Valetta, Sunderland, York and Privateer. The DC-4 was shot down by Chinese Air Force La-11s for reasons unclear, either mistakenly for a Taiwanese military aircraft, to kill a Chinese Nationalist ambassador onboard or in a failed attempt to kill former OSS Head ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan.

The Hornet was the zenith of the minimalist school of fighter design, which like the earlier Westland Whirlwind, mated the minimum possible ‘wetted area’ with the maximum power. The Hornet was an astonishing warplane, and a quick glance over its mind-blowing performance figures - including a top speed of 475mph - will convince you of its excellence.

7: Avro Lancaster

RAF Air Chief Marshal ‘Bomber’ Harris declared the Lancaster bomber was the single greatest war-winning weapon of the war. It unleashed death and destruction on an epic scale, dropping over 610 million kg of bombs. Yet the famous Lancaster had a less-than-auspicious start.

It was preceded by the terrible Avro Manchester, powered by two unreliable Vulture engines, which was introduced in November 1940, and sensibly put out to pasture in 1942. The replacement of the two troublesome Vultures with four Merlins showed the true promise of the airframe and merited a name change to Lancaster.

7: Avro Lancaster

The Lancaster was more than a re-engined Manchester, but not much more. In fact, the prototype Lancaster was a conversion of the earlier twin-engined bomber and was initially known as the Manchester III. The result was spectacular, and the mediocre Manchester became the devastatingly effective Lancaster.

Of a total of 7377 built, about 3249 were lost in combat. 487 were lost in accidents: Total losses roughly 3736 — about 50% of all Lancasters built. That loss rate was one of the highest for any major wartime aircraft type, largely due to the sustained night area-bombing campaigns over heavily defended German targets. It should also be noted that it performed 156,000 sorties.

6: Tsunami

The astonishing Tsunami was a purpose-built racing aircraft developed in the United States during the 1980s. It was an absolute rocketship, an incredible speed, leaving even the Griffon-powered Spitfires for dust! Its goal was to break the 3 km world speed record for propeller-driven planes and compete in the Unlimited class at the Reno Air Races.

The aircraft took six years to build, with its first flight on 17 August 1986, piloted by Steve Hinton. Initially equipped with a single-stage supercharged Merlin engine, it was later upgraded to a two-stage supercharged version to boost speed. Tsunami achieved speeds over 500mph, showcasing impressive engineering and power.

6: Tsunami

In 1989, an attempt was made to break the world speed record at Wendover, Utah. However, a landing gear collapse prevented success, forcing the team to abandon the record attempt. Despite its speed, Tsunami’s racing career was modest, with only one major victory in Sherman, Texas, in 1990.

The programme tragically ended in 1991 when designer and owner John Sandberg was killed in a crash. Mechanical failures, including a faulty airspeed indicator and flap system, caused the aircraft to roll during final approach to Pierre Regional Airport, South Dakota, resulting in the fatal accident.

5: I.Ae. 30 Ñancú

The British minimal school of high-speed twin piston-engine fighters found its ultimate expression in an utterly unlikely place. From the brilliant mind of the Italian, Cesare Pallavicino, former chief engineer for Caproni, the Ñancúwas created in Argentina. Somewhat like a metal rather than wooden Hornet, the brilliant Ñancú – named after a Patagonian eagle – remains the fastest ever Latin American piston-engined aircraft.

Prior to the Ñancú, I.Ae. had developed the I.Ae. 24 Calquin bomber, which was essentially a radial-engine Mosquito. Quite sensibly, attempts to make a follow-on single-seat escort fighter built on the experience of the Calquin, resulting in the Hornet-like Ñancú. Power for the aircraft came from two Rolls-Royce Merlins.

5: I.Ae. 30 Ñancú

Despite official meddling rushing development, to the point of incomplete aerodynamic testing, the Ñancú proved in many ways, notably in all-out performance, to be an impressive machine. Had it arrived two or three years earlier with its planned armament of four to six 20mm cannon, it would have proved a world-beating fighter by any standards.

Attempts to create jet derivatives of the Ñancú were scuppered by Kurt Tank’s success in Argentinawith the Pulqui I and II jets, and because of an economically and politically chaotic situation. The Ñancú was brilliant in almost every way; it was just too late. The aircraft didn’t amount to much, but Pallavicino would still attain immortality, through the international success of his Lambretta motor scooter.

4: North American Mustang

In 1940, Britain was desperate for large numbers of modern fighter aircraft. The US company North American Aviation was approached and asked to build Curtiss P-40s. They believed they could create a far superior design and, in response, created the P-51.

The resultant aircraft combined all the latest innovations in aerodynamics to create an exceptionally ‘clean’ low-drag machine. Everything about was designed with low drag in mind, down to the then-novel fully retractable tailwheel. The P-51 was fast, extremely long-ranged and manoeuvrable. But its original Allison engine was less than stellar at medium and higher altitudes.

4: North American Mustang

Pairing what was probably the most aerodynamically advanced airframe with the best aeroengine in the world, the Merlin, was a match made in heaven. An excellent low-level fighter became a superb all-round fighter. Jealous British historians may claim that using the Merlin was an entirely British idea, but several in the US had also considered this happy marriage.

The North American P-51 Mustang became a war-winning weapon, able to stay and protect bombers throughout their entire mission. The superb P-51 played no small part in the Allies achieving air superiority over Western Europe from early 1944. Though the other aircraft in this list have Rolls-Royce Merlins rather than the US-built Packard V-1650 Merlins, a small number of P-51s did, allowing us to include this important aircraft in our story.

3: de Havilland Mosquito

In trials on 16 January 1941, prototype Mosquito W4050 outpaced a Spitfire at 6000 feet, achieving 20 mph more despite its larger size. This speed, paired with its versatility, saw Mosquitos excel in bombing, reconnaissance, and precision raids - most famously the daring 1944 Amiens Prison raid.

Its strengths included range, reliability, and high survivability compared with four-engine bombers. The Mosquito could carry up to 4000 lb (1818kg) of bombs, not the 6000 lb of a B-17, but compensated with speed and agility for hit-and-run strikes. Used by around a dozen nations, from Canada to Israel, it even flew in the Chinese Civil War. Unique for its era, no enemy type matched it.

3: de Havilland Mosquito

Several bombers were converted into fighters during the war, though none with the success of the Mosquito. Partly, this was due to its astonishing performance, but the possibility of the aircraft being used as a fighter had, in fact, been envisaged from the very beginning of the design process.

The Mosquito was famously conceived as a bomber of wooden construction, fast enough to dispense with a defensive gun armament. However, provision for an offensive armament of four cannon had been provided in the forward fuselage. This, combined with four machine guns in the nose, made for a potent armament. Most of its victories were achieved at night.

2: Hawker Hurricane

Hawker followed their series of brilliant interwar biplane fighters with the Hurricane, which first flew in 1935. Technologically, the Hurricane was a halfway house, combining many of the proven features of earlier fighters, with then-modern features, notably a monoplane configuration, enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage. The result was a tough, dependable fighter.

The Hurricane was the first aircraft purpose-designed to fly with the Merlin (the very first Merlin flight taking place on a Hawker Hart testbed earlier in the same year). It had initially been developed with the Kestrel engine in mind, but it soon became apparent that the Merlin had far more potential.

2: Hawker Hurricane

Hurricanes shot down more aircraft during the Battle of Britain and made up the majority of the British fighter force at that time, but the Spitfire was better looking and effortlessly captured the public imagination. Dozens of ‘Spitfire Funds’ raised money for the RAF. There was not a single equivalent ‘Hurricane Fund’.

The Spitfire was also, of course, a better fighter, and the Hurricane was generally replaced by Spitfires over the course of the war. However, the Hurricane had proved vital in many campaigns when victory was far from certain, serving with distinction across the globe on land and at sea.

1: Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire, one of the most important aircraft in history, and likely the most important in British history, was a masterpiece. It combined delightful handling with excellent performance, manoeuvrability and timing. Much of its brilliance is derived from its engine, the superb Rolls-Royce Merlin.

If you ask people today what a ‘spitfire’ is, virtually everyone will answer ‘an aeroplane’. It is extremely unlikely that anyone would say ‘someone with a fierce temper’, despite their slightly tedious accuracy, if they did. This is the enduring legacy of the Spitfire: it has become the definition of the word originally used to name it; its success has changed the language.

1: Supermarine Spitfire

In the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire, along with the Hurricane, proved vital in deterring the Luftwaffe. It fought around the world, almost always enjoying the upper hand. In an unforgiving technology race with the Fw 190 and Bf 109, the Spitfire more than kept up. The Merlin would eventually give way to the Griffon, but 90% of Spitfires were Merlin-powered.

In Royal Air Force service alone, some sources suggest it destroyed almost 6000 enemy aircraft across the Second World War (though not all these were by Merlin-powered aircraft). Though exact figures are hotly debated, it is possible that the Spitfire shot down more aircraft than the other Allied top killers, the P-51and Hellcat; this would make the Spitfire the most deadly fighter aircraft of the Allies. In RAF service all top three scoring aircraft of the war were powered by the Merlin - and five of the top 10 were also Merlin-powered.

Follow Joe Coles on Substack, Twitter X or Blue Sky. His superb Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes is available here.

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Photo Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

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