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A comment on Coffman engine starter. Parent comment

Re:Coffman engine starter by rjsw on Sunday November 04, 2018 @08:42AM (#18375813)
US built Merlins were made by Packard not Ford. The Ford factory in Manchester did make lots of Merlins too but they were to the Rolls-Royce design.

Wikipedia only lists the Merlin 32 as using a Coffman starter, as it went into naval aircraft maybe there was a requirement to be able to restart an engine in flight.

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Re:Coffman engine starter by Theodores on Sunday November 04, 2018 @09:15AM (#18375939)
Thanks for that. Elsewhere on Wikipedia there is the Merlin XII as having this feature:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Merlin

...beginning in 1939.

Ford - Manchester UK only got going in 1940.

I didn't realise that Ford in America turned down the job, that must have been Mr very contrary Ford for you!

I must have gleaned that 'fact' regarding the Rolls Royce blueprints being no good for Ford from the History Channel. I do wonder though about how much Ford thinking influenced Rolls Royce and their shadow factories elsewhere in England, where they did use relatively untrained staff to crank out the volume.

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