Rolls-Royce Avon

The Rolls-Royce Avon was the first axial-flow jet engine designed and produced by Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1950, it became one of the company's most successful post-war engines, used in a wide range of military and civil aircraft and in versions for stationary and maritime power. It began as a private venture proposed for the English Electric Canberra, first called the AJ.65 for Axial Jet, 6,500 lbf, based on a project concept by Alan Arnold Griffith, with a design team initially headed by Stanley Hooker. The first engine ran on 25 March 1947, and the first production version, the RA.3 or Mk 101, entered production in 1950 with 6,500 lbf of thrust. The highest-thrust version reached 17,110 lbf with afterburning on the English Electric Lightning. An Avon-powered Canberra made the first non-stop unrefuelled transatlantic jet flight, and a de Havilland Comet 4 flew the first scheduled transatlantic jet service in 1958. More than 11,000 were built before aero production ended in 1974, while the industrial Avon continues, made by Siemens since 2015.