Mercury | |
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Preserved Bristol Mercury VII on display at the Royal Air Force Museum London | |
Type | Piston aero engine |
Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
Designer | Roy Fedden |
First run | 1925 |
Major applications | Bristol Blenheim Gloster Gladiator Fokker D.XXI |
Number built | 20,700 |
Developed from | Bristol Jupiter |
Developed into | Bristol Pegasus |
The Bristol Mercury is a British nine-cylinder, air-cooled, single-row, piston radial engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from the earlier Jupiter engine, later variants could produce 800 horsepower (600 kW) from its capacity of 1,500 cubic inches (25 L) by use of a geared supercharger.
Almost 21,000 engines were produced, with a number also being built under license elsewhere in Europe. Several examples remain airworthy, with other preserved examples on public display in aviation museums.