Reluctant Poster
Tech Sergeant
- 1,501
- Dec 6, 2006
Rolls Royce was developing a 3 speed drive for the Merlin supercharger. I believe a 3 speed Griffon actually flew in a Spiteful. Do you have any history on the Merlin 3 speed?Personally I think the Griffon would have been a retrograde step, the Mustang was already heavy (until the "H" version) and its biggest
strength was the range and speed through clean aerodynamics etc, stick in a Griffon and you`ll definetly lose fuel economy through
weight increase and probable bulges and CG compensation.
The Griffon spitfire was a brutal interceptor, probably the most lethal late war fighter in figher-fighter use, but it also had abysmal
range.
A good thing it didnt happen I think, I dont think you can beat a P-51-H with a 100 series Merlin - thats pretty much the ultimate WW2 fighter
for air-air usage, in my view.