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![]() ![]() ![]() Semmons wrote: ‘ We think this should be sufficient to enable you to prepare an estimate of the cost of the necessary design work and the manufacture of, say, 12 prototype units. The Chief Engineer (Power Plant) from the FVRDE, Mr W J Semmons, wrote to William Lyons on 15 March 1951, enclosing a rough specification for the proposed engine. The talks were positive and the two men from the FVRDE went away to draft a preliminary specification of the proposed engine. They met with William Lyons, William Heynes and others to discuss the possibility of a purpose-built 8-litre V8 engine for use by the British Military. In March 1951 two members from the FVRDE at Chobham in Surrey visited Jaguar at Foleshill. The Ministry of Supply were pleased with Jaguar’s work with the Meteor and it followed that, when they wanted a new engine, they turned to the company that had also produced a military XK engine which had passed the stringent tests at the Ministry of Supply’s Fighting Vehicles Research Design Establishment (FVRDE) at Chobham in Surrey. Machines were also set up for heads and crankcase, they were Huller machines from Germany all Meteor work ceased in 1953.” Once the engines had been delivered the production line was shut down, the tooling and equipment removed from the Jaguar works and stored, ready to be used in the future if required. The machines were partly new but mostly from government stores. Gerry Beddoes, then working in the Service department and later to become one of Jaguar’s top engineers, recalled that during his tour of manufacturing he spent three months with machine setter Jack Bedder “…taking two forgings down the crankshaft line, setting up each machine in turn. Jaguar manufactured 150 sets of spares – which included crankshafts – and 150 engines were assembled and tested. The Meteor was a version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine that had been modified for use in main battle tanks. In 1952 Jaguar secured a contract to set up a production line to manufacture Meteor spares and build Meteor Mk IVB engines. ![]() William Lyons contacted the Ministry of Supply in December 1950 enquiring about vehicle or engine contracts for the military and soon after the move to Browns Lane from Foleshill his letter bore fruit. An adaptation of the famous Merlin aircraft engine. ![]()
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