The use and testing of a new alloy in E.R.A. racing cars and the Merlin aero engine, alongside the company's own research into aluminium alloys.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\3\ scan0093 | |
| Date | 1st November 1936 guessed | |
| E.R.A's were one of the first Companies to appreciate the potentialities of the new alloy and have been using it on their racing cars since 1937. The bearings which they put in engines in 1937 ran untouched through the 1938 competition season and still require no attention for 1939. They are now getting 245 B.H.P. from a 1½-litre engine. As a big-end bearing it has just successfully completed 100 hours on the MerlinAero Engine aero engine under type test conditions. It is being tried out experimentally by a number of manufacturers both in England and on the Continent. The development of the Rolls-Royce aluminium alloys has been facilitated by the large sum of money devoted by the Company annually to this side of research. This expenditure has recently culminated in the building of a large research labora- tory where the most elaborate up-to-date equipment for light alloy research is available. This includes X-ray apparatus for detecting flaws in castings and forgings and other ultra-modern devices. | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).