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
_______________________________ 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
_____________________________ 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
___________________________ 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
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