Rolls-Royce Tyne

The Rolls-Royce RB.109 Tyne is a twin-shaft turboprop developed in the 1950s by Rolls-Royce Limited to meet a requirement for the Vickers Vanguard airliner, and named after the River Tyne. A team under Lionel Haworth designed it in 1954 as a more powerful alternative to the Dart. First run in April 1955, it far exceeded its 2,500 shp design power and was soon being type-tested at 4,220 shp. A nine-stage high-pressure compressor is driven by a single-stage turbine, while a three-stage turbine drives the six-stage low-pressure compressor and, through a reduction gearbox, the propeller. Later versions powered the Breguet Atlantic, the Canadair CL-44 and the Transall C-160, with production shared under a 1963 agreement among Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza, MAN and FN. Marine versions served as cruise gas turbines in Royal Navy frigates and destroyers.