engines were converted before priority was given to producing aero engines. Experiments were carried out by the Irish Army involving replacing the Bedford engine of a Churchill tank with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine salvaged from an Irish Air Corps Seafire aircraft. The experiment was not a success, although the reasons are not recorded. Surviving engines One of the most successful of the World War II era aircraft engines, the Merlin continues to be used in many restored World War II vintage aircraft all over the world. The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is a notable current operator of the Merlin. In England the Shuttleworth Collection owns and operates a Merlin-powered Hawker Sea Hurricane IB and a Supermarine Spitfire VC – Both can be seen flying at home displays throughout the summer months. Engines on display Preserved examples of the Rolls-Royce Merlin are on display at the following museums: Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia) Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre Polish Aviation Museum, Kraków (Cracow), Poland Rolls-Royce Heritage Centre, Derby – several versions, including displayed superchargers, reduction gears and other components Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford & London Science Museum (London) Shuttleworth Collection Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC Wings Museum, West Sussex, England Specifications (Merlin 61) See also References Footnotes Citations Bibliography Air Ministry. A.P 1509B/J.2-W Merlin II and III Aero Engines (June 1940). London: Air Ministry, 1940. Air Ministry. A.P 1565B Spitfire IIA and IIB Aeroplanes: Merlin XII Engine, Pilot's Notes (July 1940). London: Air Data Publications, 1972 (reprint). . Air Ministry. Pilot's Notes for Spitfire Mark F.VII – Merlin 64 or 71 engine; Mark F.VIII – Merlin 63,66 or 70 engine. Air Publication 1565G & H -P.N. London, UK: Air Ministry, December 1943. Beckles, Gordon. Birth of a Spitfire: The Story of Beaverbook's Ministry and its First £10,000,000. London: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1941. Berger, Monty and Street, Brian Jeffrey. Invasion Without Tears. Toronto, Canada: Random House, 1994. . Bridgman, L. Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Crescent, 1998. Fozard, John W.Sydney Camm and the Hurricane; Perspectives on the Master Fighter Designer and his Finest Achievement. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 1991. . Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1994. . Gunston, Bill World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines (5th Edition). Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing, 2006. Harvey-Bailey, A. The Merlin in Perspective – The Combat