The Bristol Thor, latterly Bristol Siddeley BS.1009 Thor, was a diameter ramjet engine developed by

Bristol Aero Engines 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 aircraft engines. Notable a ...

(later

Bristol Siddeley Engines 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 t ...

) for the

Bristol Bloodhound The Bristol Bloodhound is a British ramjet powered surface-to-air missile developed during the 1950s. It served as the UK's main air defence weapon into the 1990s and was in large-scale service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the forces of f ...

anti-aircraft missile. Although Bristol Aero Engines acquired

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

technology from the US company

Marquardt Marquardt is a surname of German origin. Notable people with the surname include: * August F. Marquardt (1850–1925), American politician *Bridget Marquardt (born 1973), American television personality, glamour model, and actress *Christel Marquard ...

, BAE put considerable effort into developing the Thor unit, including the construction of a high altitude test plant (HATP) at their Patchway site, with a supersonic test cell. The Bloodhound Mk.1 could attain a speed of Mach 2.2, while the Mk.2 was capable of just over Mach 2.7. Bristol THOR Ramjet engine

Variants

;BT.1 Thor: ;BT.2 Thor: ;BT.4 Thor: ;BS.1009 Thor:

Specifications (BT.2 Thor)

Notes

References

* {{BristolAeroengines Ramjet engines

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...