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Bentley, Royce also asked Harvey-Bailey to scale up the 20-litre Kestrel aero engine to 37 litres. Again, Harvey-Bailey added extra features where he felt prudent and the “H Engine” or Buzzard was the result.
THE WORLD-BEATING “R” ENGINE … Only 100 Buzzards were ever ordered – the majority by Japan – but it won its spurs when the Air Ministry told Rolls-Royce they needed a more powerful engine for the 1929 Schneider Trophy: it was feared that the Lion did not have enough “stretch” left in it to secure another win for Britain. Royce did assemble his team and sketched a potential narrow angle V-16 with his walking stick in the sand at West Wittering – but nothing happened. Time was short and his personal design team appear not to have done anything. The Ministry pressed for an answer. Some within Rolls-Royce felt a bit negative about the risks – but Royce remained adamant that the call be answered. He never contemplated failure, and at that time in the Depression, official funding would help carry technology forwards. Meanwhile, sensing the passage of time,
Harvey-Bailey and Ernest Hives put their heads together. Harvey-Bailey got his Senior Section Leader, Bill Clough, to use his big layout drawing board to scheme a “Racing H” version