The Battle of Britain was won by the RAF's Fighter Command and the air war then taken to the Nazis by Bomber Command. None of this would have been possible without one common factor -the Merlin, an engine that is said to have won the war. Of the 160,000 Merlin's manufactured, 60,000 were produced by Packard in the USA.

The Merlin's first flight was also that of the Hawker Hurricane. The engine went on to power the Spitfire, Mustang, Whitley, Lancaster, Mosquito, Halifax, and many others.

The sound of the Merlin evokes great emotion to those who appreciate the sacrifices made by the aircrew of these World War II aircraft.