Griffon or Merlin?

[ozzy72]

There are two distinct Spitfire camps in Britain Kevin, HawkerTempest5 is firmly in the Quill camp and loves Griffon engined Spits.
The other camp is the Henshaw one, and that is where a number of us here reside....
And nope I've never heard of a Griffon being fitted to a P-51, could be err interesting

[Hagar]

[quote]Again I am forced to notice the difference in opinion lies along the line of country of origin.

[Woodlouse2002]

[quote]Again I am forced to notice the difference in opinion lies along the line of country of origin.

[Wing Nut]

I think that's pretty much hit the nail on the head Woody.  ;)

[Hagar]

Americans seem to love things that can go exceptionally fast in a straight line but have the turning circle of an oil tanker.

Wish I'd thought of that. It would have saved a lot of typing.

[HawkerTempest5]

[quote]BTW, I am curious; Has anyone ever heard of a Griffon being fitted to a Mustang?

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

I don't understand...why wreck a lovely aeroplane with a bubble???


A.

[ozzy72]

Because the bubble canopy offered better vision to the rear and flanks, which is where the Hun that would get you was most likely to be lurking...
I was always surprised that the 109 and 190 didn't get a bubble canopy...

[Hagar]

I was always surprised that the 109 and 190 didn't get a bubble canopy...

I think this was one area where the Allies were more advanced than the Germans. I believe the first practical one-piece "bubble" canopies were manufactured in England. Miles Aircraft was one of the pioneers with moulded plastics, including transparent "Perspex".

PS. The Fw 190 had a nice moulded canopy.

[kommissar]

Hi Guys.
A 'newbie' here.

Having worked on both the 'Merlin' & 'Griffon' Spitfires while on the BBMF at Scampton in the RAF.

The Merlin is good but I think the Griffon is better.

But to me ...... THE MERLIN WILL ALWAYS SOUND BETTER!

IT IS ONE OF THE FEW SOUNDS THAT RAISES THE HAIRS ON MY ARMS AND THE BACK OF MY NECK...

Just a brief hearing of that wonderful engine can have me looking in the direction the noise came from.

The Griffon sound is to 'smooth'. It does not sound as POWERFUL as a Merlin.

Cheers.

[Rifleman]

Methinks that Ozzy has someone to get "in-depth" with on here now.......Griffons and Merlins ?  8)

[C]

I was always surprised that the 109 and 190 didn't get a bubble canopy...

May have something to do with the unique construction of the rear ruselage, and whether it would be strong enough in a cut down form.

BTW, I am curious; Has anyone ever heard of a Griffon being fitted to a Mustang?  

There have been several I think, including the one that crashed at reno a few years back (1999) when the tail broke off (Miss Ashley II). There have been a few before too, one crashed (Red Baron) in the late 70's and nearly killed well known pilot and restorer Steve Hinton (thank god it didn't). Also there's "World Jet" which has already been mentioned...

Charlie

[Merlin66]

The "classic" Spitfire has to be the Merlin series. I know we "deviated" on the MkXVI but that was, as mentioned, a product of necessity.

I had exactly the same arguement when I started the YAS series, which is ONLY Merlin's. Only the Merlin's were SPITFIRES.........

[Straferr]

I tried to get past these discussions, but the temptation got to me. I am voting for the Mk21 w/Griffon 2800hp; the Hawker Typhoon w/Napier-Sabre H-block 3200hp; and R. J. Mitchel would have produced the F21 ATF version of the F16XL.

Now, I am leaving before you guys start throwing things.