Rolls-Royce Meteor
The Rolls-Royce Meteor was a British V - 12 cylinder - tank engine with liquid cooling , which in the year 1943 during the Second World War from the aircraft engine Rolls-Royce Merlin was derived. It was the drive source for various British armored vehicles even after the Second World War and is one of the most successful tank engines ever.
history
Emergence
Before the appearance of the Rolls-Royce Meteor , which was derived from the Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 cylinder aero engine during the Second World War in 1943 , most British tanks were considered to be underpowered and often also mechanically unreliable. Unlike previous British tank engines such as the Nuffield Liberty ( under license of US aircraft engine Liberty L-12 ) from the cruiser tank ( English : cruiser tank) Crusader , the meteor had a far greater capacity (27,000 cm³), characterized he was mechanically far less stressed, naturally had more power reserves, was, due to its much more modern conception as an aircraft engine, more stable in terms of speed and therefore in the end it was far less sensitive in comparison. The greatest advance in everything, however, was that the Meteor delivered twice as much power, making it the first engine that was able to provide British tanks with adequate engine power with good mechanical reliability. Initially manufactured by Rolls-Royce itself, production was soon outsourced to Leyland in Luton so that Rolls-Royce could concentrate fully on the production of the Merlin and Griffon aircraft engines.
Cromwell tanks (from 1943)
The first version of the engine with an output of 600 hp (447 kW ) at 2000 rpm was used immediately in 1943 in the new Cromwell cruiser tank with a 75 mm cannon, which can reach speeds of up to 64 km / h (40 mph ) . This enormous top speed (fastest British tank of the war) was limited a short time later to 53 km / h or 33 mph due to chassis damage. The Rolls-Royce Meteor allowed such high performance that the Cromwells often escaped the much heavier German tanks such as the Tiger or the Panther , or in various cases were even able to outmaneuver them. Despite some full-throttle parforce chases on the battlefield or on the way there, the machines always impressed with their insensitivity and reliability. The Cromwell was taken out of service in 1950.
Comet tanks (from 1945)
The Comet was the further development of the Cromwell, it appeared on the battlefield in April 1945, but could no longer play a major role because the war was nearing in May. The Rolls-Royce Meteor also proved itself in this improved tank, which was only slightly heavier than its predecessor, and gave it a (again limited) top speed of 51 km / h (32 mph) despite its higher weight. The Comet remained in service with the British Army until 1958, and in South Africa until 1970.
Centurion tank (from 1945)
In May 1945, however, too late for use in the war, which was Centurion Mk.I as heavy cruiser tank ( english : "heavy cruiser tank") newly introduced. This was the first British main battle tank with really good armor protection and also had the Rolls-Royce Meteor . The Centurion became the best-known British tank, as it was in use in many countries for a long time after the war and some of it (even if it has been more or less extensively modernized) is still in use today. However, with the newer versions of the Centurion (originally designed as a heavy tank, but classified as a medium tank since the late 1950s), it was not exactly light with its 51 tons of combat weight and the Rolls-Royce Meteor as a power source was no longer was very contemporary. These newer versions, whose Rolls-Royce Meteor now developed 650 hp, turned out to be too slow with a top speed of only about 35 km / h and the fuel consumption was quite high, which was especially true after the weight-increasing upgrades and combat value increases which in any case never continued to limit the particularly long range. In the following years were in many cases the original Rolls-Royce Meteor - gasoline engines to more modern, stronger and more fuel-efficient diesel engines American production (eg in. Swedish Centurion or the Israeli Centurions named Sho't ) replaced. The South African Olifant Mk.1 , a further development of the Centurion, initially kept the Rolls-Royce Meteor , but with the help of a mechanical injection system , its output was increased to over 800 hp. The later version of the Olifant Mk.1A received a diesel engine produced in-house with 750 hp, and from the Mk.1B version even a turbo diesel engine with 900 or 950 hp.
Tortoise tank (from 1947)
In 1947, the Rolls-Royce Meteor was also installed in the experimental heavy Sturmpanzer / Jagdpanzer Tortoise (turtle) with 95 mm cannon ( 32 pounder ) and surprisingly proved to be reliable, although this vehicle was very heavy and therefore extremely underpowered. With its weight of almost 80 tons and a maximum speed of 20 km / h , the Tortoise was correspondingly slow and consumed a lot of fuel. This vehicle remained a prototype (only six copies) due to the limited combat value in practice .
Conqueror tanks (from 1948)
In 1948, the Conqueror heavy main battle tank with a 120-mm cannon was the penultimate British armored vehicle fitted with the Rolls-Royce Meteor . Despite the new engine version with petrol injection, the Meteor M120, which developed 810 hp (595 kW), was quite slow at 34 km / h with a combat weight of 66 tons, which openly showed for the first time that the Rolls-Royce Meteor was nearing the end of its potential was. It could therefore no longer be the first choice for future tank models. This new version was also convincing with good reliability (although that did not always apply to the power transmission), but the fuel consumption was very high and the range of the Conqueror was rather low at 165 to 65 kilometers. Interestingly enough, thanks to its successful chassis design, this heavy battle tank was able to drive up and away from the Centurion when driving off-road despite its higher weight. The Conqueror was retired in 1966, with new upgraded versions of the Centurion taking over.
Charioteer tanks (from 1953)
The last British tank to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Meteor was the Charioteer (official name: FV 4101 Charioteer tank destroyer ), in use in Great Britain from 1953 to 1959 (20 units), then in Austria , Jordan and Finland sold. This was a derivative of the Cromwell with a new turret and a long 20-pound cannon (84 mm) from the Centurion Mk.3, 200 of which had been converted for use as a tank destroyer . The Rolls-Royce Meteor also performed well in this armored vehicle, which was only slightly slower than the original Cromwell. The Charioteer was also the last tank powered by the Rolls-Royce Meteor to be used in the war (in 1978 in southern Lebanon on the side of the PLO against Israel in Operation Litani ). Due to its firepower and good driving performance as well as its reliability, 38 copies of this vehicle remained in service with the Finnish Army until 1979.
description
The Rolls-Royce Meteor is derived directly from the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine, a V-12-cylinder gasoline engine with a 60 ° cylinder angle and liquid cooling that was used by various British fighter planes ( Hawker Hurricane , Spitfire Mk.I-IX ), US during World War II - powered American fighters ( Curtiss P-40 , P-51 Mustang ) and British bombers ( Handley Page Halifax , Avro Lancaster , De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito ). Later it was also installed in some British and Canadian civil aircraft such as the Avro Lancastrian or the Canadair North Star . The Merlin was only slightly modified for use as a tank engine. The usual Merlin charger was omitted, the mixture preparation was equipped with other carburettors and the power depending on the version throttled to 600 HP (447 kW) at 2000 / min or (later) 650 HP (485 kW) at 2200 / min. The last version, the Meteor M120 (also known as the Fuel Injected Meteor ), developed 810 HP (595 kW) at 2500 rpm with gasoline injection. This limitation of the power output to a balanced level resulted in a favorable torque curve and material-friendly operation, which benefited the service life and reliability. Since, in contrast to the aircraft engines for tank engines, saving weight was not of such critical importance, some of the more expensive light metal components of the Merlin were replaced with steel ones in order to keep production costs down. Nevertheless, around 80 percent of the components were identical to those of the Merlin aircraft engine, which in turn greatly simplified production. The Rolls-Royce Meteor turned out to be a successful conversion of a tried and tested engine and was considered to be very reliable and easy to maintain. Due to its multiple use, it is one of the most successful tank engines ever.
Varieties
The Rolls-Royce Meteorite , in turn, comes from the Meteor , a V eight-cylinder petrol engine reduced to 18 liters , which served as the drive for the heavy tank transporter Thornycroft Antar .
Images of meteor tanks
Cromwell
Comet
Centurion
Tortoise
Conqueror
Charioteer
Technical specifications
- Design: 12-cylinder 60 ° V gasoline engine, liquid-cooled
- Displacement: 26,800 cm³ (1,647 in³ )
- Bore × stroke: 137.2 × 152.4 mm (5.4 × 6 in )
- Compression: 6: 1
- Valve control: OHC , 2 intake and 2 exhaust valves per cylinder, sodium-cooled exhaust valves
- Mixture preparation: 2 rising flow carburettors or mechanical injection
- Power:
- Lubrication: dry sump with one pressure and two suction pumps, oil supply 30 liters
- Cooling: overpressure - liquid cooling (mixing ratio 70 percent water & 30 percent ethylene glycol )
- Weight: 835 kilograms (1841 lb )
- Fuel: gasoline
commitment
The Rolls-Royce Meteor was used in the following British tanks (the period in British use in brackets):
- Cromwell (1943-1950)
- Comet (1945–1958) - in South Africa until 1970
- Centurion (1945–1968) - in some countries until today
- Tortoise (1947–1948) - prototypes only
- Conqueror (1948-1966)
- Charioteer (1953-1959, in Finland until 1979) - derivative of Cromwell
Other British tank engines
- Meadows Flat 12
- Nuffield Liberty
- Bedford Twin Six (Bedford Flat 12)
- Leyland E series
- AEC A series
