The Rolls-Royce R was a British aero engine designed and built
specifically for air racing purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited. Developed
from the Rolls-Royce Buzzard, it was a 37-litre (2,240 cu in) capacity,
supercharged V-12 capable of producing just under 2,800 horsepower
(2,090 kW), and weighed 1,640 pounds (770 kg). Factory testing
initially revealed mechanical failures that were reduced by the use of
redesigned components, greatly improving reliability. The R was highly
successful during its use in the Schneider Trophy seaplane competitions
held in England in 1929 and 1931. Shortly after the 1931 competition,
an R engine using a special fuel blend powered the winning Supermarine
S.6B aircraft to a new airspeed record of over 400 miles per hour
(640 km/h). Continuing through the 1930s, both new and used R engines
were used to achieve various land and water speed records by such
racing personalities as Sir Henry Segrave, Sir Malcolm Campbell, and
his son Donald; the last record was set in 1939. Nineteen R engines
were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931. The
experience gained by Rolls-Royce and Supermarine designers was
invaluable in the subsequent development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin
engine and the Spitfire.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_R>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1606:
The first recorded performance of the play King Lear, a tragedy by
William Shakespeare based on the legend of King Lear of Britain, was
held.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear>
1790:
French Revolution: Louis XVI of France gave his Royal Assent to the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy, subordinating the Roman Catholic
Church in France to the French government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Constitution_of_the_Clergy>
1806:
War of the Fourth Coalition: French troops under Napoleon engaged
Russian forces in both the Battles of Pultusk and Golymin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pu%C5%82tusk>
1898:
At the French Academy of Sciences, physicists Pierre and Marie Curie
announced the discovery of a new element, naming it radium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/radium>
2006:
The Hengchun earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Taiwan,
coincidentally on the second anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake that devastated the coastal communities across Southeast and
South Asia, and on the third anniversary of the 2003 Bam earthquake
that destroyed areas of southeastern Iran.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Hengchun_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
supernal (adj):
1. Pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
2. Exalted, exquisite, superlative
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/supernal>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear;
They breathe a soul to animate thy clay.
Bright Rapture calls, and
soaring, as she sings,
Waves in the eye of Heav'n her many-colour'd wings.
--Thomas Gray
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Gray>