Bristol Siddeley
Encyclopedia
Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British
aero engine
manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited
and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited
. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of the de Havilland Engine Company
and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft
. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited
in 1966.
and Armstrong Siddeley Motors
. These were the aero engine
manufacturing companies of the Bristol Aeroplane Company
and the Hawker Siddeley Group. The share capital of Bristol Siddeley was held in equal proportions by these two parent organisations. At around the same time Bristol's aircraft manufacturing was being subsumed into the British Aircraft Corporation
along with those of English Electric
and Vickers-Armstrong.
Armstrong Siddeley Motors had been producing aero-engines and motor-cars since it had been formed in 1919 with the merger of Siddeley-Deasy
and the Armstrong Whitworth Company
. Bristol Aero-Engines had been formed in 1920 when the Bristol Aeroplane Company had taken over the assets of the Cosmos Engineering Company.
On 6 May 1958 Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited was formed as a pilot company to bring about an alliance between the Bristol and Coventry concerns, and a full merger took effect from the beginning of April 1959. The purpose of the new company was to combine the research, engineering and manufacturing resources of the two great component companies to meet the changing demands of the aviation industry.
The company was further strengthened in November 1961 when it acquired the full share capital of the de Havilland Engine Company Limited
and Blackburn Engines Limited, both of which were formerly operating within the Hawker Siddeley Group. The aircraft side of Blackburn became part of Hawker Siddeley. Both of these companies had long histories in the aero-engine industry.
The de Havilland Engine Company Limited had the de Havilland Sprite
which was a rocket engine with a military type test certificate. In 1954, the company had produced the axial turbojet Gyron
of 30000 lbf (133.4 kN) thrust, from which was descended the Gyron Junior
series. The de Havilland Engine Company's portfolio included the (licenced) Gnome turboshaft
.
The Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company had entered the aero engine field in 1934 when the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company became part of the Blackburn and this became the Engine Division of Blackburn Aircraft and subsequently Blackburn Engines Limited. In 1952 an agreement was signed which enabled Blackburn Engines Limited to produce engines based on the Turbomeca
range of small gas turbine engines. These were developed for use as airborne auxiliary power unit
s for large aircraft and they were also used as a ground starter unit in the British services.
Bristol Siddeley was bought by Rolls-Royce Limited
in 1966 for £63.6 million in order to prevent competition from a planned collaboration between BSEL, Pratt & Whitney
and Snecma
.
Bristol Siddeley retained its own identity and marketing organization.
Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited is still a listed but dormant company within the Rolls Royce group.
factory in North Bristol
produced many high performance military aeroplane engines including the Olympus
two-spool turbojet (from which the engine for Concorde
was developed), the Orpheus
turbojet for the Folland Gnat
light fighter/trainer aircraft, the Pegasus
two shaft medium bypass ratio vectored thrust turbofan for the Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel/Harrier VSTOL ground attack aircraft, the Proteus
turboprop for the Bristol Britannia
airliner and the Viper turbojet for the Hawker Siddeley HS.125
. Bristol Siddeley had under development another vectored thrust turbofan, the "plenum chamber burner" (similar to an afterburner) equipped BS100, which was intended for the supersonic Hawker Siddeley P.1154
VSTOL fighter, but the project was cancelled in 1965. Hypersonics were explored in a shock tube near the HATP at Bristol, in support of BS1012 hypersonic engine thinking. High supersonic ramjets for long range defensive missiles were tested in the HATP (ref TJ102 and TJ151/2).
s under license from the German company Maybach
Maybach Motorenbau GmbH. These were for installation in British Rail Class 42
and Class 52
locomotives which were themselves based on licensed German designs but with as much British-built content as possible. The Maybach MD650, MD655 and MD870 engines built by Bristol Siddeley were sophisticated in design, running at much higher speeds than normal diesels of their size and featured advanced construction such as a disc-webbed crankshaft
that ran in large roller bearings, telescopic pipes to deliver cooling oil to the pistons and detachable piston crowns.
The Maybach Diesel (MD) engines produced by BSEL included 16 basic engines in the range, which covered powers from 380 to 3,000 horsepower, and includes 4 and 6 cylinder in line units, and 8, 12 and 16 V units. each of these were pressure charged, with or without intercooling. They were used with hydraulic transmission systems, in the Type 4 locos in which two MD650 engines of 1,152 bhp each, hauling the expresses of the Western Region of British Railways - eg the Bristolian and the Cornish Riviera - several hundred more orders were placed by British Rail.(Ref TJ102). The MD engines were widely used in base load, intermittent and standby electricity generating sets, and were transported by rail up to the nominal 1200 kW size for a complete generator set. They were also employed in oil rigs and pumping sets.(Ref TJ151/2).
. It was soon decided to stop production of Armstrong Siddeley cars as it was becoming uneconomic, with production of the only product the Star Saphire ending in July 1960. In September 1960 Bristol Cars was sold.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aero engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited
Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury motor cars and aircraft engines.-Siddeley Autocars:...
. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of the de Havilland Engine Company
De Havilland Engine Company
The de Havilland Engine Company was an offshoot of the de Havilland aircraft building company, which started life as the 'Engine Division of the de Havilland Aircraft Company' in 1926 producing the famous de Havilland Gipsy aero-engine...
and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.-History:...
. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
in 1966.
History
Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited was formed by a merger, effective from the 1 April 1959, of the Bristol Aero-EnginesBristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
and Armstrong Siddeley Motors
Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury motor cars and aircraft engines.-Siddeley Autocars:...
. These were the aero engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
manufacturing companies of the Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
and the Hawker Siddeley Group. The share capital of Bristol Siddeley was held in equal proportions by these two parent organisations. At around the same time Bristol's aircraft manufacturing was being subsumed into the British Aircraft Corporation
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
along with those of English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
and Vickers-Armstrong.
Armstrong Siddeley Motors had been producing aero-engines and motor-cars since it had been formed in 1919 with the merger of Siddeley-Deasy
Siddeley-Deasy
Siddeley-Deasy was a British automobile, engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Sideleley Motor and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft companies....
and the Armstrong Whitworth Company
Armstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
. Bristol Aero-Engines had been formed in 1920 when the Bristol Aeroplane Company had taken over the assets of the Cosmos Engineering Company.
On 6 May 1958 Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited was formed as a pilot company to bring about an alliance between the Bristol and Coventry concerns, and a full merger took effect from the beginning of April 1959. The purpose of the new company was to combine the research, engineering and manufacturing resources of the two great component companies to meet the changing demands of the aviation industry.
The company was further strengthened in November 1961 when it acquired the full share capital of the de Havilland Engine Company Limited
De Havilland Engine Company
The de Havilland Engine Company was an offshoot of the de Havilland aircraft building company, which started life as the 'Engine Division of the de Havilland Aircraft Company' in 1926 producing the famous de Havilland Gipsy aero-engine...
and Blackburn Engines Limited, both of which were formerly operating within the Hawker Siddeley Group. The aircraft side of Blackburn became part of Hawker Siddeley. Both of these companies had long histories in the aero-engine industry.
The de Havilland Engine Company Limited had the de Havilland Sprite
De Havilland Sprite
The Sprite was a British rocket engine built by de Havilland for use in RATO applications. For RATO use only a short burn time is required, with simplicity and light weight as major virtues...
which was a rocket engine with a military type test certificate. In 1954, the company had produced the axial turbojet Gyron
De Havilland Gyron
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:** - A 1957 Flight magazine article on the Gyron...
of 30000 lbf (133.4 kN) thrust, from which was descended the Gyron Junior
De Havilland Gyron Junior
|-See also:-External links:* *...
series. The de Havilland Engine Company's portfolio included the (licenced) Gnome turboshaft
Rolls-Royce Gnome
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:*...
.
The Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company had entered the aero engine field in 1934 when the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company became part of the Blackburn and this became the Engine Division of Blackburn Aircraft and subsequently Blackburn Engines Limited. In 1952 an agreement was signed which enabled Blackburn Engines Limited to produce engines based on the Turbomeca
Turbomeca
Turbomeca is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbines for land, industrial and marine applications...
range of small gas turbine engines. These were developed for use as airborne auxiliary power unit
Auxiliary power unit
An auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft, as well as some large land vehicles.-Function:...
s for large aircraft and they were also used as a ground starter unit in the British services.
Bristol Siddeley was bought by Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
in 1966 for £63.6 million in order to prevent competition from a planned collaboration between BSEL, Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
and Snecma
Snecma
Snecma is a major French manufacturer of engines for commercial and military aircraft, and for space vehicles. The name is an acronym for Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation .In 2005, the Snecma group, which included Snecma ,...
.
Bristol Siddeley retained its own identity and marketing organization.
Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited is still a listed but dormant company within the Rolls Royce group.
Products
The company was one of the largest of its kind in the world and offered a wider range of engines than any other manufacturer. Aero engines produced by the company included piston engines, turboprops, turboshafts, turbojets, turbofans, auxiliary power units, ramjets and liquid propellant rocket engines. Outside the aeronautical field its products were gas turbines for marine and industrial use, diesel engines, and automatic transmissions.Aero engines
The FiltonFilton
Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building...
factory in North Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
produced many high performance military aeroplane engines including the Olympus
Rolls-Royce Olympus
The Rolls-Royce Olympus was one of the world's first two-spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engines, originally developed and produced by Bristol Aero Engines. First running in 1950, its initial use was as the powerplant of the Avro Vulcan V Bomber...
two-spool turbojet (from which the engine for Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
was developed), the Orpheus
Bristol Siddeley Orpheus
-See also:-References:* Retrieved: 29 September 2008-External links:*...
turbojet for the Folland Gnat
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force....
light fighter/trainer aircraft, the Pegasus
Rolls-Royce Pegasus
The Rolls-Royce Pegasus is a turbofan engine originally designed by Bristol Siddeley, and now manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc. This engine is able to direct thrust downwards which can then be swivelled to power a jet aircraft forward. Lightly loaded, it can also manoeuvre like a helicopter,...
two shaft medium bypass ratio vectored thrust turbofan for the Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel/Harrier VSTOL ground attack aircraft, the Proteus
Bristol Proteus
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Hooker, Sir Stanley. Not Much Of An Engineer. Airlife Publishing, 1985. ISBN 1853102857....
turboprop for the Bristol Britannia
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...
airliner and the Viper turbojet for the Hawker Siddeley HS.125
British Aerospace BAe 125
The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...
. Bristol Siddeley had under development another vectored thrust turbofan, the "plenum chamber burner" (similar to an afterburner) equipped BS100, which was intended for the supersonic Hawker Siddeley P.1154
Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation . Developed alongside the subsonic and smaller Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel, the P.1154 was derived from the P.1150. The P.1150 proposal did not meet NATO...
VSTOL fighter, but the project was cancelled in 1965. Hypersonics were explored in a shock tube near the HATP at Bristol, in support of BS1012 hypersonic engine thinking. High supersonic ramjets for long range defensive missiles were tested in the HATP (ref TJ102 and TJ151/2).
Diesel engines
Bristol Siddeley also manufactured diesel engineDiesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s under license from the German company Maybach
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
Maybach Motorenbau GmbH. These were for installation in British Rail Class 42
British Rail Class 42
British Railways' Type 4 Warship class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in Germany...
and Class 52
British Rail Class 52
British Rail assigned Class 52 to the class of 74 large Type 4 diesel-hydraulic locomotives built for the Western Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1964...
locomotives which were themselves based on licensed German designs but with as much British-built content as possible. The Maybach MD650, MD655 and MD870 engines built by Bristol Siddeley were sophisticated in design, running at much higher speeds than normal diesels of their size and featured advanced construction such as a disc-webbed crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
that ran in large roller bearings, telescopic pipes to deliver cooling oil to the pistons and detachable piston crowns.
The Maybach Diesel (MD) engines produced by BSEL included 16 basic engines in the range, which covered powers from 380 to 3,000 horsepower, and includes 4 and 6 cylinder in line units, and 8, 12 and 16 V units. each of these were pressure charged, with or without intercooling. They were used with hydraulic transmission systems, in the Type 4 locos in which two MD650 engines of 1,152 bhp each, hauling the expresses of the Western Region of British Railways - eg the Bristolian and the Cornish Riviera - several hundred more orders were placed by British Rail.(Ref TJ102). The MD engines were widely used in base load, intermittent and standby electricity generating sets, and were transported by rail up to the nominal 1200 kW size for a complete generator set. They were also employed in oil rigs and pumping sets.(Ref TJ151/2).
Motor Cars
When the company was formed it also included the motor car companies Armstrong Siddeley Motors and Bristol CarsBristol Cars
Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...
. It was soon decided to stop production of Armstrong Siddeley cars as it was becoming uneconomic, with production of the only product the Star Saphire ending in July 1960. In September 1960 Bristol Cars was sold.