Rolls Royce Vulture, survivors?

Read the forum code of contact

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,353

Hi all,

Over the years I have seen some examples of the RR Vulture 24 cilinder X-engine. One was reasonable having been recovered from soft ground in the northern part of Holland. Ours came from the north sea and looks terrible and another one we only recovered gears and other internals from.

Are there any examples that could be restored to static condtion and possibly for a Manchester reconstruction? Something I have been wondering about for ages.

Cheers

Cees

Original post

Member for

17 years 9 months

Posts: 754

Hi all,

Over the years I have seen some examples of the RR Vulture 24 cilinder X-engine. One was reasonable having been recovered from soft ground in the northern part of Holland. Ours came from the north sea and looks terrible and another one we only recovered gears and other internals from.

Are there any examples that could be restored to static condtion and possibly for a Manchester reconstruction? Something I have been wondering about for ages.

Cheers

Cees

YE GODS !!! a manchester??? now that would be something !!! Thye are extinct arnt they?

Member for

18 years 3 months

Posts: 2,025

Speaking to a friend of a friend at the Rolls-Royce heritage trust, He said there was only one crash damaged engine left (over here) and that was excavated from (I believe) Hucknall.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,353

Stuart,

I have seen a photograph of a Vulture that I thought was taken at RAF Stafford. It showed a substantial complete Vulture but still covered in peat, perhaps this was the same engine.

So no engines have survived not even at the Science Museum? The last Manchester was recovered from a quarry by an American team and scrapped. Pics in the book by Mr Kirby. Pity. I know where the wreck of one lies in the IJsselmeer but it is very shallow and not worth to recover for a restoration.

Cees

Member for

18 years 3 months

Posts: 2,025

Cees. it is several years since I spoke to Stan Grainger (the chap in question) ,I was given to understand that, that was the only one they had , but that is not to say the only one in existance ,( or that since my conversation with him that they have not aquired another).

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 486

there are at least 2 vultures in store with the RAF musuem with a third one on loan to RR. The one on loan and the one that I saw (pretty reasonable condition) were recovered by the RAF in the 70's from a Manchester crash. The other I believe was a sea recovery.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,353

Hi Dave,

Two Manchester engines are in museums in the north and south of Holland. As I said ours came from the north sea and only just resembles a Vulture with the cilinder barrels and engine mounting being recognisable. The one in the north is very complete and still has its prop mounted. It came from a Manchester which crashed in soft soil.

Very interesting engine, deserves more PR

Cees

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,418

Wouldn't mind a bit if one of the existing Lancasters was enginered back into a Manchester. BW Roger

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,893

Wouldn't mind a bit if one of the existing Lancasters was enginered back into a Manchester. BW Roger

Just as long as it's not expected to fly. :)

Member for

18 years 7 months

Posts: 155

From what we have seen happening at museums recently, some museum directors ARE certifiable.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,353

Unlikely. Why replace an icon with something that was considered unsuccesful in its day, and is only remembered today as 'the forerunner of the Lancaster'?

Any director of a museum owning a Lancaster would have to be certifiably crazy to even consider it!

Mike,

Of course it would be sacriledge if a museum would only even contemplate such a conversion :eek: . But there are sections still around (Kermit Weeks, Sandtoft etc.) that can be used for such a project. Don't forget the Manchester wasn only the forerunner of the Lanc. It was a type in itself of which high hopes were placed. But it represented a moment in time of Bomber Command that deserves a place. Why having only succesful types on display? It would be boring as that way most museums have similar collections which is to a certain extent already the case (in my very humble opinion).

Cees

Member for

18 years 2 months

Posts: 1,421

Given we are discussing engines of Manchesters what other bits of the type still survive? Anything of note or just a few piles of twisted metal? I cant say I have ever seen reference to anything but worth a try!

Jon

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,353

Given we are discussing engines of Manchesters what other bits of the type still survive? Anything of note or just a few piles of twisted metal? I cant say I have ever seen reference to anything but worth a try!

Jon

Jon,

Mostly twisted wreckage. But I believe the RAF Museum S-for Sugar was originally ordered as a Manchester. So technically she could still be a Manchester that was converted on the production line into a Manchester III AKA Lancaster I.

Cees

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 365

Vulture Mk V plate

Hi,

I have a Vulture Mk V, main plate.
Having seen references to the Rolls Royce Vulture mk I & II as being fitted to the Avro Manchester.

I have not been able to find any reference to a Rolls Royce Vulture Mk V !

Does any one know about this mark of Vulture?

cheers

Member for

17 years 2 months

Posts: 708

The mkV was fitted to the Hawker Tornado, a close relative of the Typhoon.

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,172

Here's ours, not much to look at as it has been trawled from the North Sea
but it's a Vulture.

Cees

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,893

The mkV was fitted to the Hawker Tornado, a close relative of the Typhoon.

But they only built one. Not used on anything else?

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 365

The mkV was fitted to the Hawker Tornado, a close relative of the Typhoon.

So either it is unique ,or were Mk V Vultures fitted to other aircraft?

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 681

I am pretty sure the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation museum have the remains of a Vulture engine that was trawled up locally.

My visit was about 5 years ago now - will see if I can locate my piccies

Member for

10 years 5 months

Posts: 262

I suspect that was from the Blackburn B20 which crashed off the Scottish coast

Member for

14 years 9 months

Posts: 699

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avro-Manchester-Legend-Behind-Lancaster/dp/1781552851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543402930&sr=8-1&keywords=avro+manchester

I have this book in my library and very good it is. The problem with the Vulture was in its big end design, when RR changed it to a design that was derived from radial engine technology the issue went away, but it was too late as the Merlin engined MkIII was already in production and removing the Vulture from the production schedules at RR factories simplified things a lot.

Instead of thinking of the Vulture as two 24 cylinder vee engines mounted back to back, think of it as a 4 cylinder 12 row liquid cooled radial!