Abstract
Towards the end of the Second World War, almost all British piston aero engines in both production and development, with the exception of the Merlin, were of sleeve-valve design. This situation was unique; no other country had so wholeheartedly embraced the sleeve valve. It is the author’s opinion that this situation existed as a direct result of the steadfast conviction of one man, Harry Ricardo. From the early 1920s to the Second World War Ricardo, with the backing of the Air Ministry, carried out a vast programme of sleevevalve research which initially encouraged and then supported the Bristol, Napier and Rolls-Royce Companies in the development and production of a range of sleeve-valve engines. It is not the intention of this paper to discuss the excellent work undertaken by these companies but rather to trace the early years of the fascinating self-confessed love affair between Harry Ricardo and the sleeve valve, as revealed in The National Archives documents relating to the Aeronautical Research Committee.
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