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Someone said "2,800 RPM" ... the engine could turn that fast (maybe as fast as 3,000 RPM).

BUT...because every major piston/prop warplane of WWII had a reduction gear feature, with an engine turning 3,000 RPMs, the fastest that a propeller on a Mustang with a Merlin engine would turn was around 1,400 RPMs.

A typical Merlin on a P-51 Mustang had a gear ratio of just below 0.48:1. That meant that for every revolution of the engine's crankshaft, the propeller turned less than 1/2 of a revolution.

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Tom Griffith

Lvl 2
5y ago

What else can I help you with?