During the battle of Britain the Merlin must have been the most welcome sound of all. It must have been the sound of fighting back, the sound connected to the fighting spirit, the sound of Britain's finest hour, many hopes must have been pinned on it, my vote goes to Merlin. The sound of the Griffon signified domination and power later in the war.
@@piritskenyer true, 2200 HP in the earlier models, but it was the Merlin and later The Griffon that powered the Spitfire, to me still the best looking plane of all time, I have an oil painting of Group Captain Sailor Malan's Spitfire call sign ZP-A hanging over my desk, and it awes me every time I look at it. Incurable Spitfire/Merlin fan...
@@losonsrenoster I love the Spitfire too, but the Tempest leaves me in awe. The first time I saw a Typhoon 1:1 size model hanging in the Caen War Memorial, it took my breath away, and while the Spit will always be a beauty queen (LO-D of Pierre Clostermann is the one I had on my desk in 1:48 for a long time), the Tempest just grabs me.
Imagine getting paid to fly one of those things, I always wanted to meet one of those pilots and my first question would be:" What was the dominant emotion when getting into the cockpit to fly operational? Would it be elation at getting back in the air in one of the best performing planes of your time, or anxiety at the prospect of exposing yourself to a mortal enemy, also in a good plane? But I guess adrenaline would override most of those emotions.
Both Rolls-Royce engines sound good but the Griffon engine does have that deep meaty exhaust note to it & is easily recognisable and the Merlin has that unique growl to it & sounds just as good & to be honest & fair I love them both, the best of British engineering & makes you feel proud to be British whenever you hear them too!
The Merlin sounds like you would exactly imagine how a WW2 fighter would sound like. But the Griffon engine has just that certain OOMPH too it making it very awesome on its own.
@@diegomayan Yawn... Where you from Diego? Range Rover has been going since 1970, and still the best 4x4 by far, what does your country of origin have to compare?
@@diegomayan don't want to piss on your chips, but the first range rover had a buick v8 in it, then a BMW engine fitted, British engineering? Always check your facts before making a derogatory remark,
The throb from the griffon is enhanced by the 5 bladed prop that its swinging so you're not only hearing the engine note. Listening to a merlin as a brit, we're somewhat culturally biased purely because of everything that comes in the symbiotic package that the Merlin represents. Yes, the capitalisation was unconsciously deliberate when I went back and mulled it over. I respect everything the griffon is and spitfires that carried it, but I'm an Englishman and I will be Team Merlin until they put me to bed with a shovel. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
@@justwilliam6192 its funny how people see things differently. I think the merlin spits sound like they're ripping through cotton. Its a rough, rugged, harsh sound, which absolutely defines the spitfire we all know and love. The griffon sounds far smoother to my ears, and has a much more polished engine note.
When I was a small boy from 59 to 61 a boat named Miss Supertest participated in first speed trials then the Harmsworth races on the Bay of Quinte in front of my Great Grandfather's farm. She was powered by a Griffon engine. That sound still raises the hair on the back of my neck. Even just a video like this puts a thrill through my body the same as it did when I was 5 or 6.
The first time I heard one of these (I'm assuming that it was a Merlin) was once when I was riding my bike along a road at the bottom of a wide valley. I thought that a large truck was coming up from behind me but when I looked up there was a Spitfire at less than 500 feet zooming directly overhead! That throaty rumbling deep growl got me; truly unforgettable. The airport was only about 5 or 6 km away so I guess he was on his approach. Anyway, this was more than 35 years ago and I wasn't sure whether it was a Spit or a Hurricane but the sound was awesome.
I prefer the sound of liberty that two provided for the humanity.I am brazilian,and i never heard any of those angels near to me,but they make me free today.
@Genaro Scala Excuse me,please.The question is about Spitfire,but....Do you know If i stay only in this country??Sometimes people are free physically and stuck in their own minds(i Hope not you,but....)
Love them both. I think if I were a troop on the ground, I would prefer to hear the griffon, sounds more meaty, but the merlin has a lovely growl on it grrrrrrrr :)
I watched this 3 times... The Merlin does it for me in a just pure enjoyable sound sense, easily. The Griffon sounded more functional and almost over-engineered. In terms of sweetness, Merlin all the way.
At a Flying Legends show a few years ago, the commentator said that he had remarked to the pilots that both Merlin and Griffon sounded amazing from the the ground and asked the pilots how they sounded in the cockpit - the pilots' response was "the Merlin sounds like its about to fail at any moment, and the Griffon sounds like it already has"
Both a pleasure but the Griffon has the edge i think. In 1985 i was on deck of my DSV. Berthed in Dover docks. I heard the unmistakable sound and instinctively looked to the skies. Saw 2x spits going over the white cliffs of dover. The sound/setting and the morning sun was perfection. The feeling of pride was emotional. It put me on a high all day. And i'm a Maltese so when you all go on about English men.. think about other theatres of war. Those aircraft meant the islands survival against the AXIS powers.. pure and simple.
Both sound amazing. But, when you hear that Rolls Merlin you immediately have visions of Betty Grable's legs and hear big band music and can almost smell Churchill's cigar.
Both sounds are amazing. I wouldn’t be able to recognise which one is which without someone saying beforehand, but even though the Merlin is the legend - hands down - the Griffon has this purring raw whistling roar that makes me feel goosebumps. Who cares anyway? They’re freaking awesome Spitfires! 😍
How totally appropriate to be on top of Beachy Head, facing towards France, watching and listening to Spitfires. In the Second World War, from 1940-44, this was the front line.
I had a couple of nights in Eastbourne in the summer and when driving to Beachy Head I heard an almighty roar up above, looked up to see a Spitfire heading towards the cliffs and out over the channel. Felt like I'd gone through some sort of time warp back to 1940, fantastic sight and sound in the perfect place.
The Merlin is an iconic sound and engine known across the world and is easily the most famous engine of the war. A marvel of good old British engineering. Little did they know how much this engine would still be celebrated to this day. The Griffon sound is one of pure power and dominance, it's is a superb engine.
jose amram That was a bit different. Goering asked Luftwaffe ace Adolf Galland what he would need to gain airsuperiority against the RAF and Galland answered: "a squadron of Spitfires".
Well, they probably couldn't fit the Griffon to the P-51's frame whereas the Spitfire was designed to be upgraded to the "big engine" in the foreseeable future pretty much from the beginning. Btw, drop tanks and huge oil reserves made your grandfather's P-51D a "war-winner" . By 1944 the synthetic oil production in Nazi Germany was the only thing that kept them from a complete collapse. You can't just fuel your planes on happy thought can you? In some German airdromes they used oxen to pull the aircraft to the runways just to save every drop of fuel. That's how desperate the situation was for them in the final years of the war. Nazi Germany couldn't even outproduce Britain alone in aircraft production in 1940 and 1941. Aircraft production 1940: United States: 6,068 Nazi Germany: 10,826 Soviet Union: 10,565 United Kingdom: 15,049 Japan: 4,768 Italy: 2,142 So Great Britain produced 40% more aircraft by itself in 1940 than Nazi Germany and almost as many as Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan *combined* . Aircraft production 1941: United States: 19,433 Nazi Germany: 12,401 Soviet Union: 15,737 United Kingdom: 20,094 Japan: 5,088 Italy: 3,503 Great Britain produced more aircraft than the United States in 194, 62%(!) more than Nazi Germany and 898 less than Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan *and* Italy combined in 1941. Worth noting is that all three powers who are at war with Nazi Germany in 1941 (Britain, USSR, USA) all outproduce Nazi Germany in aircraft production *by themselves* . Knowing this it's easy to see that the war-winner was allied industrial output which was superior to Nazi Germany's even in the early days of the war when the war was still going well for Germany 1939-1941. Churchill was the "war-winning" politician who insisted on aircraft production being given top priority. At the time it was falsely believed Nazi Germany had far more aircraft than they actually had.
Any red blooded Yank as well! We love the Spits and Hurricanes too. And Mossys. And Lancs. And Sea Furies. And what I wouldn't give to see and hear a Tempest V. And a Tiffy. And...
Another iconic aircraft noise is the sound of an approaching Bell UH-1 Iroquios Huey helicopter with the original style two blade rotors. Goosebumps every time. No other aircraft fixed or rotor wing makes that sound.
The merlin engine sound is widely remembered by movies like "battle of Britain" or "their finest hour". But I must admit that the aggressive whistling of the griffon sound makes me goose bumps. The engine sound i like most is the double wasp sound from the f-4u corsair or the sound of the hawker sea fury.
Even among the Limeys I've met, the Spitfire is indelible but the Hurricane just doesn't register. The Hurricane deserves respect like the Dingo, Bletchley and other contributions well done. I AM Anti-War however.
@@anomalyp8584 No, I mean I don't wank to War Porn. I don't pull strings to get "stationed in Hollywood" for WW2 then spend the rest of my life (only) TALKING tough about War - you know, like John Wayne and Ron Reagan. There is an A-List of Stars so long, I have forgotten them all but they served in the War, many saw combat and THEY ALSO did not "Love War". Good Enough for YOU "pal"?
@@arcanondrum6543 hahaha That's actually amazing. Kudos for the in depth answer. But....do you wank to other stuff then?!! Did you just call yourself a wanker then?! In all seriousness though...that's exactly how it should be seen. It's necessary sometimes, but it's still hell. Btw it's still interesting to see how fast people take offense, on social platforms in general. Probably normal social inhibitions that just get switched off for some reason.
@@goosesteppa7642 I've already given my opinion on the matter; this is all a subjective judgement and you're showing the world that you don't get it and would rather be a judgemental idiot.
The Merlin has a nice, reserved feel to it. It’s your best friend, reliable, pretty, and shy, and is the popular kid at school. The Griffin is raw power, it screams and thunders and isn’t liked by everyone, but it doesn’t give a damn what others think.
@@septicwhelk3654 If you read Johnnie Johnson's auto biography, you will find that he was quite scathing about the tendency of the Packard built Merlins in his group's Spitfire MK XVI's exploding in flight, killing several veteran pilots who would have otherwise survived the war.
First time I remember hearing that Merlin engine I would have been about 6 years old standing with my Grandad at an air display, I will always love that sound, and to this day 45 years later it still makes the hairs on my neck stand up when I get to hear it for real. And it will always will remind me of my Grandad .
They both sound incredible..... I've only ever heard the Merlin at an airshow.....and felt it, the pass was so low....even hearing it in this video makes the hair on my arms stand on end.... incredible engineering and power, for that time....the Griffon sounds wonderful.....they both sound like they mean business ! .....for me, it's the Merlin.
For me, and my Dad who adores the Spitfire as many Norwegians do with their proud love and friendship towards The United Kingdom, the Merlin has the elegance and soul that encapsulates the pride, valour and enthusiastic bravery of the time. The Merlin is the underdog fighter who has the spirit in him, the will to do battle and the coeur de lion. The Griffon is awesomely powerful, but the Merlin is the heart of the Spitfire
They are both amazingly wonderful engine sounds, the Merlin is music to the ears but I remember being at a Duxford air show a few years back when a griffon engined spit came in at full chat, low level from left to right curving in from behind the crowd line for the surprise effect before pulling up into a banking roll and I can tell you that was one of the most amazing piston engined sounds I have ever heard.
For me The Merlin....so classic and sort of smooth, the Griffon is brutish sounding and a bit rough. The roar of a Shackleton (4 Griffons in close formation!) however, was always mind blowing!
I heard a commentator at Duxfords 'Flying Legends' Airshow a few years back say that RAF mechanics had a saying "If a Merlin sounds rough then something is wrong and if a Griffon doesn't sound rough then something is wrong" 😃👍
The griffon power was a lot more than the merlin. Depended on which model version. I think the Spitfire canopy changes were more important as the later ones gave you 360 degree viewing. Some of the finest aircraft end engines came too and only entered in at the end or WWII, like the Hawker Sea Fury.
I live in Derby ( Home of RR). In the summer you can hear the RR Spitfire flying about as its stored at our local airport. Its such a wonderful sound. It reminds me of my late father who built and serviced Merlins for RR/RAF during the war.
Was awed by both engines when I used to go to unlimited hydroplane races way back when. Their place as ‘heroic’ machinery from the big war only made them more special and an honor to see running. Allisons were also used, but you could tell they were not up to the Merlins and certainly not the Griffons. Like all of you, I watch every RU-vid vid I can find featuring a Griffon. Cheers, mates.
After umpteen playbacks I'm going with the Griffon. That roar and deep guttural exhaust just does it for me as a gear head! The Merlin may not have won my opinion, but it certainly didn't lose either!
I was told once at a Duxford airshow by the show narrator that the Merlin is a 'G' chord...I try not to compare 2 different engines at all...All the WII engines sound different but still sweet to me ...and I've heard the majority of them in reality...I just look more forward to hearing a Merlin...and that's probably just because that's what I heard as a young lad in the 70's every time the Lanc, Spits and Hurris flew over our house from Lincs...
More the sound of defiance. Britain stood virtually alone against the German war machine that had eaten Europe in a matter of weeks relying on the Merlin to take the fight to the Germans and punch as hard as they got punched. Winnie was right, never has so much been owed by so many to so few...
The Merlin sounds like it's naturally Aspirated, while the Griffin sounds as though it's Turbine Assisted. You can Hear the whistle/whine of the Turbine as it Passes. They Both Sound ready to challenge the Huns to a Fight. Yelling "For GOD, QUEEN AND COUNTRY"
The Merlin just has that classic, distinct sound to it to where as soon as you hear it, you recognize it right away! When your hear a Merlin, it makes you atomatically think, Spitfire!!
The Griffon just sounded like it has more of a "presence" to me. It sounded reassuring, like nothing and no one would be capable of standing against it in combat.
