Working as a professional mechanical engineer more years ago than I care to remember, the subject of ‘engineering modelling’ was and remains perfectly respectable with or without a computer, being an invaluable tool for solving all manner of technical problems, much as mathematical modelling is nowadays used to describe every human predicament or uncertainty from pandemics to climate change. Speed Range = 900 rpm (idle) to 2,750 rpm maximumĪ Tale of Three Miniature Aero Engines and the Effort to Build Themįor much of my life I have been bothered by the word ‘model’. The builder believes this engine to be the only working Lynx model. No works drawings survived the blitz on Coventry in 1940 so the builder had to produce his own, making good use of the Handbook (pub. There is one example of a Lynx kept in flying condition in the UK plus a couple of non-working ones in museums. Its final development resulted in the well-known Cheetah of which many examples exist. The smaller Lynx, offering around 200 hp, found much use in light aircraft such as the Avro 504 between the wars. The Lynx was a one-row version of the more famous Jaguar, possibly the first truly successful radial engine designed in 1917. It runs smoothly with no vibration and has excellent throttle response.Ĭomfortable Running Speed = 2,000 rpm (maximum is possibly 2,500 rpm).A very early (possibly the first example) Zenith aero carburettor.Electroformed copper water jackets and induction pipework.A crankshaft running in ball bearings requiring a one-piece tunnel type crankcase.Without the lessons learnt from its construction and trials it would have been impossible to build the vehicles that would supersede it.The engine has several interesting features: Therefore although Little Willie never saw combat and was redundant almost as soon as it was made, it represented a major step forward in military technology. The completed vehicle was running by the end of 1915 but by then a new design was under construction and this would become the prototype for all British heavy tanks in the First World War. At one time Little Willie also had a turret but this was taken off.
When these failed the British designers came up with a successful pattern and were fitted to Little Willie. of Lincoln, was contracted to build a prototype machine based on some imported American tracks. After many experiments an agricultural firm, William Foster & Co.
Weighing 18 tons, with a crew of 2 plus four gunners Little Willie was the first completed tank prototype in HistoryIn 1915 the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, created a Landships Committee to tackle the problems of trench warfare.
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