Editing Rolls-Royce Merlin (section)

==Production==
Production of the Rolls-Royce Merlin was driven by the forethought and determination of [[Ernest Hives, 1st Baron Hives|Ernest Hives]], who at times was enraged by the apparent complacency and lack of urgency encountered in his frequent correspondence with the [[Air Ministry]], the [[Ministry of Aircraft Production]] and local authority officials.<ref>Pugh 2000, pp. 195–196.</ref> Hives was an advocate of [[British shadow factories|shadow factories]], and, sensing the imminent outbreak of war, pressed ahead with plans to produce the Merlin in sufficient numbers for the rapidly expanding Royal Air Force.<ref>Pugh 2000, pp. 193–194.</ref> Despite the importance of uninterrupted production, several factories were affected by [[industrial action]].<ref>McKinstry 2007, pp. 327–329.</ref> By the end of its production run in 1950, 168,176 Merlin engines had been built; over 112,000 in Britain and more than 55,000 under licence in the U.S.{{#tag:ref|Factory production numbers:
* Rolls-Royce: Derby = 32,377
* Rolls-Royce: Crewe = 26,065
* Rolls-Royce: Glasgow =23,675
* Ford Manchester= 30,428
* Packard Motor Corp = 55,523 (37,143 Merlins, 18,380 V-1650s)
* Commonwealth Aircraft Corp (CAC): NSW Australia =108 Type MK102. 1946–1952 for the CAC Avro Lincoln<ref>RAAF Museum Point Cook</ref>
* '''Overall:''' 168,176
|group=nb}}<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines"/>{{#tag:ref|Cost: [[Pound sterling|£]]2,000 (engine), £350 (propeller)<ref>Beckles 1941, pp. 78–79. (1940 prices, unadjusted for inflation).</ref>
|group=nb}}

===Derby===
[[File:Osmaston Rolls-Royce.jpg|thumb|alt=Image of a red brick building with a central front door, the words Rolls-Royce Limited appear above the door in white letters|The [[Marble Hall, Derby|Marble Hall]] at the Rolls-Royce factory, Nightingale Road, [[Derby]] (photo 2005)]]
The existing Rolls-Royce facilities at [[Osmaston, Derby]] were not suitable for mass engine production although the [[Area|floor space]] had been increased by some 25% between 1935 and 1939; Hives planned to build the first two or three hundred engines there until engineering teething troubles had been resolved. To fund this expansion, the [[Air Ministry]] had provided a total of £1,927,000 by December 1939.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003607 War Cabinet-Supply and Production: Fourth Report by the Air Ministry, Appendix V, sheet 3.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308203419/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003607 |date=8 March 2016 }} National Archives.gov.uk. Retrieved: 8 March 2016.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Crewe works in fact had been leased to Rolls-Royce by the government.<ref>Harvey-Bailey 1995, p. 12.</ref>|group=nb}}  Having a workforce that consisted mainly of design engineers and highly skilled men, the Derby factory carried out the majority of development work on the Merlin, with flight testing carried out at nearby [[Hucknall Airfield|RAF Hucknall]]. All the Merlin-engined aircraft taking part in the [[Battle of Britain]] had their engines assembled in the Derby factory. Total Merlin production at Derby was 32,377.<ref name="Gunston2006190">Gunston 2006, p. 190.</ref> The original factory closed in March 2008, but the company maintains a presence in Derby.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7321327.stm Derby factory closure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403035424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7321327.stm |date=3 April 2008 }} news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved: 24 August 2009</ref>

===Crewe===
To meet the increasing demand for Merlin engines, Rolls-Royce started building work on a [[Bentley Crewe|new factory]] at [[Crewe]] in May 1938, with engines leaving the factory in 1939. The Crewe factory had convenient road and rail links to their existing facilities at Derby. Production at Crewe was originally planned to use unskilled labour and [[sub-contractor]]s with which Hives felt there would be no particular difficulty, but the number of required sub-contracted parts such as crankshafts, camshafts and cylinder liners eventually fell short and the factory was expanded to manufacture these parts "in house".<ref>Pugh 2000, p. 193.</ref>

Initially the local authority promised to build 1,000 new houses to accommodate the workforce by the end of 1938, but by February 1939 it had only awarded a contract for 100. Hives was incensed by this complacency and threatened to move the whole operation, but timely intervention by the Air Ministry improved the situation. In 1940 a [[Strike action|strike]] took place when women replaced men on [[Turret lathe|capstan lathes]], the workers' [[Trade union|union]] insisting this was a skilled labour job; however, the men returned to work after 10 days.<ref>Pugh 2000, pp. 196–197.</ref>

Total Merlin production at Crewe was 26,065.<ref name="Gunston2006190"/>

The factory was used postwar for the production of Rolls-Royce and [[Bentley]] motor cars and military fighting vehicle power plants. In 1998 [[Volkswagen AG]] bought the Bentley marque and the factory. Today it is known as Bentley Crewe.<ref>[http://www.jackbarclayparts.co.uk/about-us/crewe-history/ Crewe factory history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305100743/http://www.jackbarclayparts.co.uk/about-us/crewe-history/ |date=5 March 2012 }} jackbarclayparts.co.uk. Retrieved: 24 August 2009</ref>

===Glasgow===
[[File:Rolls Royce factory -Merlin engines and female workers-1942 (original).jpg|thumb|alt=An image of workers on an engine assembly line|Workers assembling cylinder heads on the Hillington Merlin production line in 1942]]
Hives further recommended that a factory be built near [[Glasgow]] to take advantage of the abundant local work force and the supply of steel and forgings from Scottish manufacturers. In September 1939, the [[Air Ministry]] allocated £4,500,000 for a new Shadow factory.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003498 War Cabinet-Supply and Production: First Report by the Air Ministry, Appendix XI.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308203426/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003498 |date=8 March 2016 }} National Archives.gov.uk. Retrieved: 8 March 2016.</ref>{{#tag:ref|This allocation had increased to £5,995,000 by December 1939.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003607 War Cabinet-Supply and Production: Fourth Report by the Air Ministry, Appendix XI.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308203419/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9003607 |date=8 March 2016 }} National Archives.gov.uk. Retrieved: 8 March 2016.</ref>|group=nb}} This [[Her Majesty's Government|government]]-funded and -operated factory was built at [[Hillington, Scotland|Hillington]] starting in June 1939 with workers moving into the premises in October, one month after the outbreak of war. The factory was fully occupied by September 1940. A housing crisis also occurred at Glasgow, where Hives again asked the Air Ministry to step in.<ref>Pugh 2000, p. 197.</ref>

With 16,000 employees, the Glasgow factory was one of the largest industrial operations in Scotland. Unlike the Derby and Crewe plants, which relied significantly on external [[subcontractor]]s, it produced almost all the Merlin's components itself.<ref>Lloyd and Pugh 2004, p. 61.</ref> Hillingdon required "a great deal of attention from Hives" from when it was producing its first complete engine; it had the highest proportion of unskilled workers in any Rolls-Royce-managed factory”.<ref>Robotham 1970, p. 127.</ref> Engines began to leave the production line in November 1940, and by June 1941 monthly output had reached 200, increasing to more than 400 per month by March 1942.<ref>Lloyd and Pugh 2004, p. 69.</ref> In total 23,675 engines were produced. Worker [[absenteeism]] became a problem after some months due to the physical and mental effects of wartime conditions such as the frequent occupation of [[air-raid shelter]]s. It was agreed to cut the punishing working hours slightly to 82 hours a week, with one half-Sunday per month awarded as holiday.<ref>Pugh 2000, p. 198.</ref> Record production is reported to have been 100 engines in one day.<ref name=BBCNews>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/scotland/4531580.stm End of era for Rolls-Royce plant.] news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved: 25 August 2009</ref>

Immediately after the war the site repaired and overhauled Merlin and Griffon engines, and continued to manufacture spare parts.<ref name=BBCNews/> Finally, following the production of the [[Rolls-Royce Avon]] [[turbojet]] and others, the factory was closed in 2005.<ref>[http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/heritage/branches/scotland.jsp Hillington factory history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807021409/http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/heritage/branches/scotland.jsp |date=7 August 2009 }} rolls-royce.com. Retrieved: 24 August 2009</ref>

===Manchester===
{{Main|Ford Trafford Park Factory}}

The [[Ford of Britain|Ford Motor Company]] was asked to produce Merlins at [[Trafford Park]], [[Stretford]], near [[Manchester]], and building work on a new factory was started in May 1940 on a {{convert|118|acre|ha|adj=on}} site. Built with two distinct sections to minimise potential bomb damage, it was completed in May 1941 and bombed in the same month.{{#tag:ref|The new factory was bombed by the Luftwaffe in May 1941.<ref name=Nicholls103/>|group=nb}} At first, the factory had difficulty in attracting suitable labour, and large numbers of women, youths and untrained men had to be taken on. Despite this, the first Merlin engine came off the production line one month later and it was building the engine at a rate of 200 per week by 1943,<ref name=Nicholls103>Nicholls 1996, p. 103.</ref> at which point the joint factories were producing 18,000 Merlins per year.<ref name= "Lumsden p. 201"/> In his autobiography ''Not much of an Engineer'', Sir Stanley Hooker states: "...&nbsp;once the great Ford factory at Manchester started production, Merlins came out like shelling peas&nbsp;...".<ref>Hooker 1984, pp. 58–59.</ref>

Some 17,316 people worked at the Trafford Park plant, including 7,260 women and two resident doctors and nurses.<ref name=Nicholls103/> Merlin production started to run down in August 1945, and finally ceased on 23 March 1946.<ref>Nicholls 1996, p. 105.</ref>

Total Merlin production at Trafford Park was 30,428.<ref name="Gunston2006190"/>

===Detroit===
{{Main|Packard V-1650 Merlin}}

As the Merlin was considered to be so important to the war effort, negotiations were started to establish an alternative production line outside the UK. Rolls-Royce staff visited North American automobile manufacturers to select one to build the Merlin in the U.S. or Canada. [[Henry Ford]] rescinded an initial offer to build the engine in the U.S. in July 1940, and the [[Packard Motor Car Company]] was selected to take on the [[United States dollar|$]]130,000,000 Merlin order (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|130,000,000|1940}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref name=Time>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,795076,00.html ''Time Magazine'' (8 July 1940) – Business: Ford's Rolls-Royces.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721023935/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,795076,00.html |date=21 July 2013 }} time.com. Retrieved: 26 August 2009</ref> Agreement was reached in September 1940, and the first Packard-built engine, a Merlin&nbsp;XX, designated the V-1650-1, ran in August 1941.<ref>Lumsden 2003, p. 202.</ref> Total Merlin production by Packard was 55,523.<ref name="Gunston2006190"/>

Six development engines were also made by [[Continental Motors, Inc.]]<ref name="Gunston2006190"/>