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The Tank Museum in 100 Objects: Meteor Tank Engine (Patreon)

Published:
2023-06-11 11:59:01
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Developed from the legendary Merlin that powered the RAF’s Spitfire and Lancaster, both of which will be attending TANKFEST 2023, the Meteor tank engine proved to be just as much a winner as its aero counterpart. William Rowbotham at Rolls-Royce started a project with the assistance of the Leyland engineers to create a suitable tank engine from the successful Merlin aero engine. A new version of the Cromwell tank, the A27M was designed to house the engine and the Meteor gave the tank greater speed and mobility. Find out more in ‘The Tank Museum in 100 Objects’ book: https://tankmuseumshop.org/products/the-tank-museum-in-100-objects

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Comments

Benjamin Matts

I'm curious if using airplane engines was because there was a lot more R&D invested in airplane engines between world wars and that lead to that segment of the engine market to be well ahead of the others?

The Tank Museum

Hi Benjamin, apologies for our delayed response! That’s certainly true in the United States, where aviation and its associated technology expanded at a huge rate in the Inter-War period, and tank development fell behind – by 1939, US manufacturers had still only produced around 300 tanks in total, whereas aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Curtiss – and Ford, in fact - were making huge strides in development. Aero engines were really the only option. Truck engines weren’t powerful enough, and railway engines were too big. In Britain between the wars there was less of an aero industry to provide engines. Also, the heavier a commercial truck, the higher the tax rate it attracted. This meant there was no incentive for manufacturers to build more powerful truck engines, and therefore nothing available for tanks when war broke out. The first British WW2 tanks used the Liberty engine that essentially dated from 1918. The Meteor is adopted mid-war because the Merlin is the most powerful engine available. The Soviets and Germans, however, did produce engines specifically for tanks without reference to aircraft design.