Hives and the Merlin

The Battle of Britain has become a symbol of British victory and German defeat. However, the War did not end in September 1940. The battle for survival continued day and night and one of the crucial weapons instrumental in securing that survival was Britain’s Royal Air Force.

Critical to the aircraft of the RAF was the Merlin engine developed by Rolls-Royce under the inspired leadership of Ernest, later Lord, Hives. This is the story of that man’s immense contribution, told by acclaimed historian Peter Pugh together with Sir Ian Lloyd, who wrote The Merlin at War in the late 1940s.