Rolls-Royce R
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The Rolls-Royce 'R' was a racing aero engine. Developed from the Buzzard it was a 36.7 litre V12. There were 19 made between 1929 and 1934. It was capable of producing over 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) and weighed 774 kg. It was used for Schneider Trophy seaplane racing and for land and water speed record attempts.
Rolls-Royce practice was to use odd serial numbers for engines which rotated anticlockwise when viewed from the front; all R engines conformed to this practice.
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Engines produced
The First configuration drawing of the "Racing H" engine based on the Buzzard (itself a 5:6 scaled Kestrel) was sent to R. J. Mitchell of Supermarine on 3 July 1928 to proceed with the new S6 Schneider Trophy seaplane layout. The previous year's S5 had used the Napier Lion engine.
Note - all serial numbers are odd. This was Rolls Royce convention when the propeller rotated anticlockwise when viewed from the front.
| Engine | Date | Notes |
| R1 | 7 April 1929 | Development engine. First test, neat benzole fuel. |
| 25 April 1929 | 8 hours running so far. High oil consumption. Build up of fuel in the supercharger volute during warm-up - cured by machining | |
| 1 May 1929 | 1400 hp after 13.5 hours running. Crankcase modifications have decreased over oiling by 75%, new scraper ring suggested for the rest. Distribution problem due to new manifold - back to original Buzzard manifold suggested | |
| 7 May 1929 | 1500 hp at 2750 rpm. Briefly 1,686 hp (1,257 kW) at 3000 rpm. Engine stripped, forked conrods cracked. Redesign rods and crankcase machined | |
| R3 | 15 May 1929 | Development engine. Completed 15 min acceptance test. 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) at 2750 rpm |
| 26 February 1931 | Back in development. Spot reading 2,300 hp (1,700 kW) at 3200 rpm< | |
| 21 March 1931? | First test with articulated connecting rods. | |
| 23 March 1931? | 1900 bhp at 3200 rpm for 17 minutes. Longest time at this power with new rods | |
| 25 March 1931 | 2120 bhp at 3200 rpm but lost oil pressure after 22 min | |
| 14 July 1931 | Running with sodium-filled valves | |
| 28 July 1931 | 2360 hp at 3200 rpm prior to crankshaft failure | |
| R5 | 18 June 1929 | Development engine. Completed 15 min acceptance test. 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) at 2750 rpm |
| 23 July 1929 | Ran for one hour, 1,537 hp (1,146 kW) at 2750 rpm | |
| 7 August 1929 | Completed first 1 hour full throttle test 1,568 hp (1,169 kW) at 300 rpm | |
| 25 February 1931 | Back in devel for 1931 race. Probably this engine that blew up at 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) after reduction gear failure. | |
| R7 | 6 July 1929 | Passed acceptance test, 1,552 hp (1,157 kW). Issued to Calshot for test flying with minimum use of full throttle |
| Mid September 1929 | Post race, installed in S6 N.248 for speed record attempt | |
| R9 | 4 August 1929 | Installed in S6 N.247. All mod's to date are in this engine |
| 10 August 1929 | Flown in S6 N.247 | |
| 22 August 1929 | Returned to Derby having run 4 hr 33 min on ground and 2 hr 52 min in air. Overhauled and refitted to N.247 for the race | |
| June 1931? | Rebuilt to 1931 spec. 2,165 hp (1,614 kW) at 3200 rpm. Cleared at Calshot for short full throttle use. | |
| 12 August 1931 | Back at Derby with new design crankshaft. 2,350 hp (1,750 kW) at 3200 rpm for full hour. | |
| R11 | August 1929? | Development engine |
| 1930 | Redesignated "R-MS-11" for Buzzard MS (moderately supercharged) development | |
| R15 | 7 September 1929 | Probably in S6 N.248 for race. |
| September 1931 | Prepared as "sprint engine" for speed record attempt post race - opened up to run on high methanol fuel. | |
| 9 September 1931 | Produced 2,783 hp (2,075 kW) at 3400 rpm, a record for an R engine. | |
| R17 | April 1930 | Direct drive engine for Sir Henry Seagrave's water speed record boat Miss England II, sponsored by Lord Wakefield.
2,053 hp (1,531 kW) at 3000 rpm. Had water cooled exhaust manifolds. This was the only R engine originally made as a counter-clockwise unit - hence it had different crankshaft, camshaft and ancillaries. Strangely it was still given an odd engine number, contrary to RR convention. |
| 1935? | Lent by Lord Wakefield to Sir Malcolm Campbell as spare for land speed record attempt | |
| ? | Lent by Sir Malcolm Campbell to George Eyston as a spare for land speed record attempt | |
| R19 | April 1930 |
Direct drive engine for Sir Henry Seagrave's water speed record boat Miss England II, sponsored by Lord Wakefield. 2,053 hp (1,531 kW) at 3000 rpm. |
| 1935? | Lent by Lord Wakefield to Sir Malcolm Campbell as spare for land speed record attempt. | |
| 30 June 1937 | Timed at 85 mph (137 km/h) in Bluebird Z-K30 with Sir Malcolm Campbell. | |
| R21 | 6 July 1931 | First new 1931 engine "finalled-off". 2292 hp.
Installed in S6B S1596 ready for competition. |
| R23 | 30 August 1931 | First 1931 race engine delivered. |
| R25 | 3 September 1931 | Second 1931 race engine delivered. |
| 13 September 1931 | Was fitted to the Schneider Trophy winning S.6B S1595 flown by Flt Lt J.N. Boothman. | |
| ? | To George Eyston for Thunderbolt land speed record car. | |
| ? | To RAF Cranwell. It is now on a stand on display in the RAF Museum at Hendon. | |
| R27 | September 1931 | Second sprint engine for record attempt - opened up to run on high methanol fuel. |
| 29 September 1931 | Fitted in S.6B S1595 (the Trophy winning plane) and
gained the air speed record at 407.5 mph. |
|
| ? | To George Eyston for Thunderbolt land speed record car. | |
| ? | This is now the "standalone" engine in the Science Museum in London. | |
| R29 | 3 September 1931 | Third 1931 race engine delivered. |
| 13 September 1931 | Installed in S.6B S1595 for the Schneider Trophy Contest. | |
| R31 | ? | Last of batch of 6 made for 1931 contest. |
| R33 | ? | Development for the last two LSR engines. After extensive development, ended up as space model for display only. |
| R35 | ? | Development for the last two LSR engines. After extensive development, ended up as space model for display only. |
| R37 | Late 1933 | Bought from Rolls Royce for £5,800 by Malcolm Campbell for use in Bluebird car. |
| July/August 1937 | Swapped into Bluebird Z-K30 (R19 removed) by Campbell, but overheated due to cooling scoop problems. | |
| 17 August 1949 | In Bluebird K4 with Donald Campbell
Now in Filching Manor Motor Museum |
|
| R39 | 1935 | "Factory spare" lent by Rolls Royce to Sir Malcolm Campbell as a spare (he already owned R37) for the 1935 land speed record attempt. |
| ? | George Eyston has an option to use this engine as a spare for Thunderbolt. | |
| July/August 1937 | Swapped into Bluebird Z-K30 (R37 removed) by Sir Malcolm Campbell. | |
| 1 September 1937 | Takes water speed record at 126.32 mph. | |
| August 1939 | In Bluebird K4 raises water speed record again with Sir Malcolm Campbell. | |
| 10 June 1951 | In 'Bluebird K4 with Donald Campbell. | |
| 10 September 1951 | Sank at Coniston Water in Bluebird K4 with Donald Campbell, but salvaged? |
There was no R13; Rolls Royce never used 13 in any of their numberings. It is unclear where the funding come from for these extra "post Schneider" engines, or if they were made up from spares from the "Schneider Trophy engine" development engines.
[edit] Fate of engines
One of these (R11) went into the "in-house" Buzzard MS development. Two (R17, R19) were built for Sir Henry Seagrave's water speed record boat Miss England II. Eleven were used for the Schneider Trophy planes and development. However, some of these then went on to other users.
Malcolm Campbell, and later his son Donald, used R engines from 1932 till 1950. In 1932, Campbell states, "I was fortunate in procuring a special R.R. Schneider Trophy engine" for the land speed record car to replace his Napier Lion. He was lent this engine, either R25 or R31, by Rolls Royce. By February 1933 the car had been rebuilt for the larger engine and was running again at Daytona. In late 1933 he bought engine R37 from Rolls-Royce, and had also been lent R17 and R19 by Lord Wakefield and R39 by Rolls Royce. He then lent R17 to George Eyston. Once he had achieved 300 mph (480 km/h), Malcolm Campbell "provisionally retired" from land speed record attempts.
In late 1935 he decided to tackle the water speed record. At that point he had available two Napier Lions and one Rolls Royce R Engine, and it was decided to use the R Engine which was installed in Bluebird K3. During trials on Loch Lomond in June 1937 the engine, R37, was "slightly damaged... because of trouble with the circulating water system".
By August 1937 Bluebird was taken to Lake Maggiore and "the modified [circulation] system worked perfectly with a second engine". This was R39. R39 was then used in 1939 in Bluebird K4. In 1947 Campbell unsuccessfully converted K4 to jet power. After Campbell's death in 1948 his effects were auctioned. His son, Campbell, had bought K4 for a nominal sum as well as the 1935 record car. He also purchased an R engine back from a car dealer, and reinstalled it in K4.
Attempts on the record were made in 1949 and 1950. In 1950 the R37 was "damaged beyond any immediate repair" by overheating. Another attempt was made later in the year, with R39, but K4 was damaged and sank in Lake Coniston. It was recovered and broken up on the shore.
During the mid 1930s, George Eyston had taken many speed records up to 48 hour and up to 5000 km in his Speed of the Wind car, powered by an unsupercharged Kestrel. In 1937, he built a massive new car, Thunderbolt, powered by two R engines, to attempt the absolute land speed record. He actually gained the record in November 1937 and again in 1938. At the time of initial construction at Bean Industries in Tipton "the nearside engine ... {was} fitted to the seaplane which won the Schneider Trophy", i.e., from S1595. Besides R25 and R27, he also borrowed R17 from Sir Malcolm Campbell and an option to use R39. From this, it is very clear Rolls Royce extended a great deal of support to both Campbell and Eyston. According to A.A.Rubbra, a derated version of the R engine was tested in 1933. This was the Griffon. Presumably this was R11 used for "Moderately Supercharged Buzzard" development, which was not proceeded with until much later. There was a new redesigned engine, keeping the R engine bore and stroke called the Griffon I, which ran in the Experimental Department in November 1939. The production version was the Griffon II and went into service in 1942.
Regarding other development work, the National Archive's file AVIA 13/122 contains a proposal from the RAE, dated October and November 1932, to test four engines to destruction. This states there are five available for test purposes, the fifth to be used for a standard type test at high revs.
[edit] Speed records
[edit] Air Speed Record
In Supermarine S6B in 1931
[edit] Land speed record
Sir Malcolm Campbell used a single R engine in Bluebird in 1932, 1933, and 1935. George Eyston used a pair of R Engines in Thunderbolt in 1937 and 1938.
[edit] Water Speed record
Sir Henry Segrave used the same pair of R Engines in Miss England II in 1930, Kaye Don in Miss England II in 1931 and finally Miss England III in 1932. Malcolm Campbell used a single R Engine in Bluebird K3 in 1937 and K4 in 1939.
[edit] Surviving engines
The RAF Museum at Hendon has one on display (museum number 65E1139). It came to the museum in November 1965 from RAF Cranwell. According to the museum's records before that, it was with George Eyston, one of Thunderbolt#29.s record engines. Its data plate says it is R25 under Air Ministry contract number A106961. This makes it the second 1931 race engine delivered to Calshot.
The Science Museum has one which is catalogued as a stand alone item, inventory number 1948-310. This is R27, the second sprint engine for the air speed record attempt, also obtained via Thunderbolt. They also have S6B S1595 (winner of the 1931 race and the final air speed record plane).
The Filching Manor Motor Museum has R37 in its restoration of the Bluebird K3 water speed record boat.
These three engines are the only ones listed by the BAPC/RRHT .
The Southampton Hall of Aviation's S6A, N248 (in 1929 race as an S6, spare for 1931 race as S6A) is "empty" and they don't have an R Engine .
The museum Daytona USA has recently restored the original 1935 spec Bluebird. It was displayed at Goodwood in 2004 where it had long polished exhaust stubs, not flush ones as in the 1930s photographs normally seen.
Thunderbolt was destroyed in New Zealand in a fire during an aborted world tour in the early 1940s. At the time it had two "space model" engines, which survived the fire and may still be on display
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Science Museum, London
- The Schneider Trophy Story by Edward Eves. Published by Airlife Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-7603-1118-8. Data for R1 - R29.
- Rolls-Royce Piston Aero Engines - a designer remembers by A. A. Rubbra. Published by the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust. Historical Series no 16. ISBN 1-872922-00-7.
- Aeroplane magazine, October 2001. Database section "Supermarine Schneider Seaplanes".
- The Land Speed Record 1899-1936 published by Unique Motor Books, ISBN 1-84155-324-7.
- Wonders of World Engineering edited by Clarence Winchester, published by The Amalgamated Press Ltd, 1937.
- The Land Speed Record 1937-1961 published by Unique Motor Books, ISBN 1-84155-325-5.
- Southampton Hall of Aviation (with thanks to their staff).
- RAF Museum, Hendon, catalogue (with thanks to their staff)
- Famous Speedboats of the World by D. Phillips-Birt, published by St. Martin's Press 1959.
- With thanks to Peter Grieve at MerlinV12.com.
- "Aero engines exhibited & stored in the United Kingdom & Ireland". Produced for the British Aviation Preservation Council by the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust. May 2003.
- The World Water Speed Record by Leo Villa and Kevin Desmond.
- Leap into Legend by Steve Holter. Published by Sigma Press ISBN 1-85058-804-X. Further data on R1-R29 plus R37 and R39. Many thanks to Steve for additional comments from his research.
- Rolls Royce - Hives' Turbulent Barons by Alec Harvey-Bailey. Published by the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation. Historical Series No 20. No ISBN.
- "Royal Aeronautical Research Committee Reports & Memoranda 1575 - British High Speed Aircraft for the 1931 Schneider Trophy Contest" (thanks to Ralph Pegram)
- National Archive (UK) file AVIA 13/122 (thanks to Ralph Pegram)
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