Bristol Mercury
Bristol
- Configuration
- 9-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial
- Power
- ~420–840 hp
About
The Mercury was a compact nine-cylinder air-cooled radial giving up to around 840 hp, built in great numbers — about 20,700 — and licence-produced across Europe. It powered the Bristol Blenheim light bomber, the Gloster Gladiator (the RAF’s last biplane fighter) and the Westland Lysander army-cooperation aircraft. In 1939 the Mercury XV became one of the first British aero engines cleared to run on imported 100-octane fuel, the change that would shortly give Fighter Command’s engines a vital edge in combat.
Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Bristol Mercury — Wikipedia and Lumsden, Alec — British Piston Aero-Engines and their Aircraft (Airlife, 2003). The text is original and has been written from factual source material.