Miss Shillings Orifice

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No its not porn, as the name might suggest, but I have been rereading my copy of the history of the Battle of Britain, and the following extract is quite interesting.

It was an orifice-plate fuel flow restrictor in the carburettor-feed of the early RR Merlins used in WW-2. Under negative G, the carbs could flood & cause the engines to lose power, misfire, or occasionally temporarily cut out altogether. Ms Shilling’s invention essentially eliminated that serious deficiency. Prior to the application of Miss Shilling’s orifice, Spit & Hurricane pilots avoided the negative G problem, where possible, by a half-roll & pull (split-s) to keep positive G on the engine. That put them at a disadvantage in terms of manoeuvring options.

Later Merlins & Griffons used pressure carbs to eliminate the flooding issue.

Beatrice Shilling was a PhD engineer & received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her invention & contribution to Britain’s war effort.

Quite a clever lady.

 

Cheers

[mutley 4,487]

The second world war brought many innovations which may have seemed insignificant at the time but were game changers.