Rolls Royce Tank Engines

[Admiral Beez]

Before the Meteor and Meteorite did Rolls Royce produce or consider any of their earlier aircraft engines for use in tanks? The smaller Kestrel and Peregrine might work well with Britain's earlier, smaller tanks.

"In 1930, one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine, Sir Harry Ricardo, developped a Diesel variant of the Rolls Royce V12 Kestrel aero engine. This engine helped the land speed record breaking car 'Flying Spray' (f.k.a. Speed of the Wind) set a new diesel speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats, 159 mph, a record that would stand until 1950." A Rolls-Royce Diesel engine? - PreWarCar

 

[z42]

They made armored cars in late WWI and interwar years, but I'm not aware of any RR engines used for tanks before the Meteor.

If you're looking for something better than what the UK historically had for tanks in the run up to WWII and most of the war, as discussed in Best tank engines of WWII maybe the best option they had was the Napier Lion. Kestrel could in principle be an option, but seems RR was quite occupied by their aviation engines and were thus reluctant to spend resources on adapting it and producing it for land use.

 

[Reluctant Poster]

They made armored cars in late WWI and interwar years, but I'm not aware of any RR engines used for tanks before the Meteor.

If you're looking for something better than what the UK historically had for tanks in the run up to WWII and most of the war, as discussed in Best tank engines of WWII maybe the best option they had was the Napier Lion. Kestrel could in principle be an option, but seems RR was quite occupied by their aviation engines and were thus reluctant to spend resources on adapting it and producing it for land use.

View attachment 798856

A single Vickers 6 ton was fitted with a Rolls Royce engine but did not enter production.

Vickers E: Bestselling Export

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