Most of the historic aircraft that make up the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) have been grounded due to an engine issue.

It is not clear if the BBMF will perform at Southport Air Show in September.

A Lancaster bomber, two Hurricanes and three Spitfire planes are all affected by the problem.

The BBMF has three other Spitfires with different engines which are currently unavailable for other reasons.

A spokesman for RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where the BBMF is based, said safety was its key priority.

The World War Two aircraft, which are all original models, have been grounded temporarily while an engine issue is checked.
The RAF spokesman was unable to say when the planes would be back in the skies.

One of the planes is the last remaining airworthy Spitfire which flew in the Battle of Britain, and the Lancaster is one of only two left flying in the world.
The problem is "related to the Merlin engine" - which powers aircraft including the Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane - but "affects all current and serviceable display aircraft", the BBMF said.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the problem this stuff is affecting all our vehicles, have a look at this article on the problems its causing on www.johnsmotorcyclenews.co.uk well worth a read

It will be a generic re engineered part from a supplier. Only the Merlin's are affected, not the Griffins. Also only the BBMF Merlin's not Merlin's world wide.