Sorry - but this is over the top.
It's 'clap-trap' and crowd pleasing but it misses the point.
It was the people who designed the engine.
It was the people who built the engine.
It was the people who flew the aircraft.
It was the people who maintained the engine on the ground.
A fine engine .. although my father always reminded us that it was a Merlin that nearly killed them on 2nd Jan 1945 when it failed on take off. A Mosquito that has 716 gallons of fuel and a full armament load and one engine on fire, is not the place to be!
They survived because a farmer and two of his men pulled them from the wreck, at significant danger to their own lives. Later, the three men were given the BEM.
In this article, the author (that is getting lots of free publicity) says: "It was, of course, the Merlin that powered the planes of the Dambusters Raid in May 1943, the greatest single RAF exploit of the war and one that symbolised Britain's heroic fightback against Germany."
It has long been established that the dams raid was more psychological in it's impact than much else. Trying to identify the 'greatest single'
anything is usually futile. In a war it all counts and the men who operated alone and in the thousand bomber raids (with their night fighter support) and long, lonely patrols over the North Atlantic, also made single, great efforts every time they took off. Yes, the dams WAS a vital raid but, please, let it go.
Yes, the Merlin was a remarkable engine but I think the BBC (and other British media types) should not be using phrases like, "... the Rolls-Royce Merlin, may have been the difference between freedom and
tyranny." (my emphasis) It was then and my German friend thinks we are stupid to still trumpet this - whilst our country slides down the economic table. It belittles us to live in the past but Britain just can't seem to stop it.
Lastly, for the BBC to publicise this now - when so many more people are looking at their main website?
For the record, my father lost his parents to a V2 and lost much more in his 106 operations over enemy territory in night fighters and was decorated DFC ** so he had some reasons for hating the Germans - but he didn't. To his dying day, he disliked the tup thumping (such as this article) and I write this post with him in my heart.