Rolls-Royce Merlin alternative uses Rolls-Royce Merlin alternative uses The Rolls-Royce Merlin, although designed as an aero engine, was used in other applications both on land and at sea. A derivative called the Meteor was developed for use in tanks. Michael Wilcock of Sussex, England, built the "Swandean Spitfire Special", using a Merlin XXV engine acquired from a scrap yard for one hundred and forty pounds. The engine was installed in a home-brewed chassis confected from two Daimler Dingo scout car chassis. The car was run in the Brighton Speed Trials in 1953, and was sold to James Duffy of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1956.
Rolls-Royce RB211 of power-to-weight ratio. Despite knowing that the timetable was challenging for an engine incorporating these new features, Rolls-Royce committed to putting the RB211 into service in 1971. Lockheed felt that the new engine enabled the L-1011 to offer a distinct advantage over the otherwise similar DC-10 product. However, Douglas had requested proposals from Rolls-Royce for an engine to power its DC-10, and in October 1967 the response was a thrust version of the RB211 designated RB211-10. There followed a period of intense negotiation between airframe manufacturers Lockheed and Douglas, engine suppliers Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, and the