By Alec Harvey-Bailey. Historical Series No. 2. In Softcovers, First Published in 1983 Fourth Edition 1995, large folding table at rear, Black and White Plates, charts, diagrams, illustrations etc, 204 Pages, Published By Rolls-Royce heritage Trust Derby England. A Near Fine Copy Introduction- 'This book attempts to look overall at the wartime Merlin, to examine the pressures on its development and the task set manufacturing and support facilities, but above all at its role as the major combat engine in the one big air force which saw the War through from September 1939 until August 1945. Its history and achievements were crowded into a short span of years, which is remarkable because no other engine type has approached the production run in numbers or operational scope. The Merlin was instrumental in converting Rolls-Royce from what has been described as a brilliant sprat in the ocean of technology into a world contender in aero engine manufacture. Its serious design did not start until 1933. Its once familiar exhaust note started as an infant cry in the sky in 1935, became the sound of the RAF in the Battle of Britain, grew to a crescendo in 1945 and then died away to become, when heard in a lone Hurricane or Spitfire as sostalgic as the rumble of a Le Mans Bentlry or the scream of an ERA'