A British engine that powered Luftwaffe prototypes.
The Kestrel was designed in 1926 at the Rolls-Royce factory as the first of a new generation of engines from this company featuring cast cylinder blocks. Like its predecessor, it was named after a bird of prey. The carburettor was placed before the supercharger.
Its direct developments were the RR Goshawk and RR Peregrine engines, as well as the slightly larger RR Buzzard. It was used in the Hawker Hart, Hawker Demon, Hawker Fury and Hawker Nimrod as well as the Handley Page Heyford aircraft. The Kestrel’s successor in production was the legendary Merlin.
The BMW-VI engines used in the 1930s to power prototypes of new German military aircraft proved insufficient, and new engine types were not yet available. A batch of 10 Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines was therefore purchased from Great Britain. They were used in the first flights of the Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber prototype (Ju 87 V1) and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter prototype (Bf 109 V1). The museum archive holds a copy of the invoice confirming the purchase of this batch of engines by the Germans. The displayed engine is one of that batch of ten.
| Configuration | 12-cylinder V-type |
| Cooling | liquid |
| Compression ratio | 6.0 |
| Propeller reduction | 0.55 |
| Displacement | 21.2 l |
| Weight | 420 kg |
| Maximum power | 525 hp at 3000 rpm |
| Rated power | 475 hp at 2500 rpm |
