Mirrlees Blackstone: Large Diesel Engines of Medium Speed

Mirrlees National, which was a subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley, won the Queen’s Award in 1967 in recognition of the innovative developments embodied in its ‘K Major’ heavy-duty diesel engine. In producing this engine the company was able to combine its accumulated technological experience with a ‘scientific’ approach to design. Following the launch of the original K Major there have been two main chapters of post-innovation improvement in the form of the Mark 2 and Mark 3 models. The Major continues to be the principal product at what is now Mirrlees Blackstone’s Stockport factory, and to date nearly 1000 engines have been sold.