My sadly departed Dad worked for Napier & Son at Acton just before they were absorbed into Rolls-Royce. Napiers were expert at packaging multiple banks of cylinders into compact designs especially for aero engines where low frontal area was needed to reduce drag (actually the cooling system causes more drag - there was a very good book written by LJK Setright on this topic - anyone know what it was called?). They were of course not very reliable but they produced a design called the Nomad that was a compound two stroke diesel and turbine engine - the most thermally efficient engine ever produced. The Deltic diesel is a good example of a design that was used in railway locomotives and patrol boats - my Dad spent a lot of time placating the Indian Navy as there Deltic powered PTBs spent most of their time being towed home.
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