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Rolls-Royce Meteorite
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.
In 1940 William Robotham who led a chassis design and development division at Clan Foundry in Belper, and Henry Spurrier, a director Leyland Motors, began investigating the use of Rolls-Royce aero engines as tank power-plants. 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. 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). 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.
Initially Robotham and Spurrier investigated the use of a naturally aspirated version of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine. 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.
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. This was to become the Rolls-Royce Meteor which went on to power the Cromwell tank.
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. 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.
Meteorites were produced alongside Meteors in Rover's Ministry of Supply factory at Acocks Green.
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.
The Meteorite's crankcase, cylinder block and cylinder heads were all cast from aluminium alloy. The engine was lubricated from a dry sump, this had the advantage of allowing the engine to be operated at extreme angles without starving for oil.
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Rolls-Royce Meteorite
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.
In 1940 William Robotham who led a chassis design and development division at Clan Foundry in Belper, and Henry Spurrier, a director Leyland Motors, began investigating the use of Rolls-Royce aero engines as tank power-plants. 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. 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). 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.
Initially Robotham and Spurrier investigated the use of a naturally aspirated version of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine. 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.
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. This was to become the Rolls-Royce Meteor which went on to power the Cromwell tank.
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. 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.
Meteorites were produced alongside Meteors in Rover's Ministry of Supply factory at Acocks Green.
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.
The Meteorite's crankcase, cylinder block and cylinder heads were all cast from aluminium alloy. The engine was lubricated from a dry sump, this had the advantage of allowing the engine to be operated at extreme angles without starving for oil.