Rolls-Royce Merlin Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later called "Merlin" following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after birds of prey. After several modifications, the first production variants of the PV-12 were completed in 1936. The first operational aircraft to enter service using the Merlin were the Fairey Battle, Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. The Merlin remains most closely associated with the Spitfire and
Rolls-Royce Trent launched. When Boeing finally launched the 747-8 in 2005 it announced that the General Electric GEnx would be the only engine that would be available for the 747-8. On 6 April 2004 Boeing announced that it had selected two engine partners for its new 787, Rolls-Royce and General Electric. Initially, Boeing considered the idea of sole sourcing the powerplant for the 787, with GE being the most likely candidate. However, potential customers demanded choices and Boeing relented. Both engine types will have a standard interface with the aircraft, allowing any 787 to be fitted with either a GE or Rolls-Royce