This Sirrus Merlin is in the colors worn by Serial Number 12666A, flown by Aleutian Dex shortly after his defection to the Separatist side. "Double Twos" was damaged beyond repair during a crash landing at Balycyut Airdrome after Aleutian's 124th kill.


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Sirrus Aeronautics Corp. Model 77
Designation: Merlin


Compared to many aircraft that saw service in the Separatist War, the Sirrus Merlin was an archaic abomination. While the biplane concept was still in use, the use of fabric covered wings and fuselages had long been obsolete. However, 70% of the Merlin’s skin was fabric, a linen and silk composite that was stretched over a duraluminum frame that made up the wings and aft fuselage. The control surfaces were metal, as well as the nose cowling and the area immediately around the cockpit. Originally, the Merlin had not even been designed as a fighter, but as a high speed mail plane, having a rather cavernous cargo bay between the engine and cockpit. However, the Sepratist War broke out shortly after the first batch of 30 had been built. Due to the desperate need for fighters on the Separatist side, the 30th production Merlin was pulled into the factory and given a makeover from hell.
In place of the original 400hp Sirrus M37 V8 engine went a monstrous V-12 “Scorpion” engine of 1300 horsepower. To give this pigeon bite, the engineers at Sirrus laid a Kelshan 20mm machine cannon between the cylinder heads and through the propeller crankshaft. The top wing, originally with a graceful curved leading edge, was cut back to a flat leading edge to accommodate the exposed valve covers of the Scorpion. At the crank in the upper wings, two .40 caliber light machine guns were fitted, with room for nearly 1000 rounds per gun. The cargo bay was stuffed with two 70 gallon fuel tanks to supplement the 160 gallons that were stored in the wings, all to feed the massive engine. The landing gear remained fixed, but was substantially beefed up to handle the hard landings. Visually, the Merlin was still a rather sleek airplane, but little seemed to have changed, as she still had fixed landing gear and a two bladed laminated wood propeller. However, the plane was a changed creature. Beauty had become the beast.
The handling of the Sirrus Merlin had become viciously wicked. The torque of the engine almost flipped the fighter onto its back during take off, requiring a near full right bank to keep her on the runway. Stall characteristics had become terrible, the plane stalling at much higher speed and in almost any orientation with the exception of vertical. The center of gravity had shifted, making the plane aerodynamically unstable, and the tail buffeted terribly, necessitating a replacement of the rudder and elevator assemblies to larger units.
Even with all these drawbacks however, the Merlin had become a phenomenon of speed and maneuverability. Top speed was nearly 470kph, almost a quarter faster than the new Imperial Falcon MKII fighters. The aerodynamic instability proved a boon in the hands of a capable fighter pilot, making the Merlin as nimble as a dragonfly. The weaponry, once thought to have been too light, proved to be a deadly mix, combined with the survivability of the airframe. The silk linen composite proved itself as well, the silk coming from the huge (but domesticated) Caprisian Cave spider. This farm grown silk proved to be nearly 100% bullet proof, and while the skin was not 100% silk, the weaving was enough to stop small arms, as well as contain the explosions of explosive bullets and minimize shrapnel. The reliability of the V-12 and cable and chain controls were paramount, and while the landing speed and forward visibility were dismal, the Merlin proved a useful carrier launched fighter. The engine could run on several alternative fuels other then Hydroscaline, including grain alcohol, with little to no loss of engine performance It became a vicious foe for the Imperial forces to try and eliminate. Due to its simplicity, the Sirrus Merlin was coming off the factory floor at the rate of 7 a day. For a majority of the war, the Sirrus Merlin was a fighter, one that was better than no fighter at all. Despite her drawbacks, the Merlin carved its place in the history of the Separatist War, so much so that the plane’s image was declared illegal.
Due to the total destruction of the Separatist Air force and the “Cleansing of Heartache”, no known examples of the Sirrus Merlin exist save for the war trophy airframe in the Imperial Museum of War Heroes in the capital city. It is proudly proclaimed that it is the fighter flown by the traitor Aleutian Dex, but it is well known that that particular fighter was destroyed at Shattered Feathers.