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The Rolls-Royce Meteor (also sometimes known as the Rover Meteor) was a British tank engine of the Second World War. It was developed from the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine by W. A. Robotham and his chassis design and development division at Belper, as they were not involved in aero-engine work. With the aid of engineers from Leyland, who were engaged in tank work, he considered RR's two V12s. The Kestrel, while having more power than the existing "Liberty" or Meadows engines, did not provide the desirable 20 bhp per ton required, so the Merlin III was used. Despite his lack of experience in tank design or warfare, Robotham was made Chief Engineer of Tank Design and joined the Tank Board. He was involved in the Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tank. The Tank Division at Belper was involved with the overall design of four versions of the Cromwell tank, using a standard set of components. ==Design and development== For tank use the Merlin had its supercharger, reduction gear, and other equipment removed from its crankshaft, greatly simplifying its construction. It had cast, rather than forged, pistons, and was de-rated to around 600 bhp (447 kW), running on lower-octane pool petrol instead of high-octane aviation fuel. In addition, because weight saving was not so important for a tank engine, some of the Merlin's more expensive light-alloy components were replaced with cheaper, steel components in the Meteor X version. It was also envisaged that the Meteor would use some components rejected on quality grounds for the Merlin, i.e. Merlin scrap.〔Sidgreaves〕 In 1943 an acute shortage of blocks was met by dismantling surplus older marks of Merlins. Unlike earlier British tank engines, such as the American Liberty L-12 of licence-built by Nuffield and used in the Crusader, the Meteor engine, of virtually the same 1,650 in³ (27 litre) displacement as the earlier Liberty engine, from its R-R Merlin origins was very lightly stressed and reliable, and doubled the power available. Previously British tanks had been regarded as underpowered and unreliable, and the Meteor is considered to be the engine that for the first time gave British tanks ample, reliable power. Initially it was used in the Cromwell tank, which was a further development of the cruiser line and would replace the Crusader tank. But in 1941 Leyland, who had an order for 1,200 Meteor engines, were still advocating their own diesel tank engine, although it would deliver only , as they were concerned with the problems of sufficient cooling. Meadows produced some Meteors, but the small factory of 2,000 men was producing 40 different types of engine. So Meteor production was to be by the Rover Company (Tyseley) and Morris (Coventry). The first Merlin prepared for tank use was tried in a modified Crusader in September 1941 at Aldershot.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club – Clan Foundry Belper )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rolls-Royce Meteor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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