The Rolls-Royce RB.109 Tyne is a twin-shaft

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

engine developed in the mid to late 1950s by

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

to a requirement for the

Vickers Vanguard The Vickers Vanguard was a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by ...

airliner. It was first test flown during 1956 in the nose of a modified Avro Lincoln. Following company naming convention for

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

engines this turboprop design was named after the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

Design and development

Designed in 1954 by a team under Lionel Haworth and intended as a more powerful alternative to the

Dart Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

, the RB.109 Tyne was initially designed for a power of 2,500 shp but when first run in April 1955 the engine far exceeded expectations and was soon being type-tested at 4,220 shp. The Tyne was developed primarily for the four-engined

airliner, the prototype first flying on 20 January 1959 equipped with four Tyne Mk.506 of 4,985 e.s.h.p. Production deliveries of the engine were made from mid-1959 onwards to power the 43 Vanguards delivered to

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

and

Trans-Canada Airlines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...

. The engine was further developed with greater power and used in the later twin-engined Dassault-

Breguet Atlantique Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

long-range reconnaissance aircraft; also in the

Canadair CL-44 The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were ...

and

Transall C-160 The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and ...

transport aircraft. A single stage HP turbine drives the nine-stage HP compressor. A three-stage LP turbine drives the six-stage LP compressor and, through a reduction gearbox, the propeller. The

combustor A combustor is a component or area of a gas turbine, ramjet, or scramjet engine where combustion takes place. It is also known as a burner, combustion chamber or flame holder. In a gas turbine engine, the ''combustor'' or combustion chamber is fed ...

is cannular. The Mark 515 Tyne had a nominal takeoff power output of equivalent power, flat rated to ISA+16.8C. An agreement was signed in 1963 between

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

and Rolls-Royce for the licence production of the Tyne for the

Breguet Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

and

. Each company that was part of the agreement built parts for itself and the partners, Rolls-Royce (United Kingdom) 20%, Hispano-Suiza (France) 44%, MAN (Germany) 28% and FN (Belgium) 8%. The final assembly was undertaken by both MAN and Hispano-Suiza. The first production batch was for 80 engines and 40 spares for the Atlantic.

Variants

;RTy.1: Takeoff power of ; cruise power of at and altitude, with specific fuel consumption (SFC) of ; fitted to

Vickers Type 951 Vanguard The Vickers Vanguard was a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by ...

and

Vickers Merchantman The Vickers Vanguard was a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by ...

;RTy.11: Takeoff power of with SFC of ; cruise power of at and altitude, with SFC of ; for

Vickers Type 952 Vanguard The Vickers Vanguard was a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by ...

;RTy.12: for

;RTy.12: Takeoff power of with SFC of ; for

Short Belfast The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast)Mondey 1981, p. 228. is a heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air ...

;RTy.20 Mk 21: for

Breguet 1150 Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

and

Breguet ATL2 Atlantique Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

;RTy.20 Mk 22: for

;RTy.20: for

Aeritalia G.222T The Aeritalia G.222 (formerly Fiat Aviazione, later Alenia Aeronautica) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. It was developed to meet a NATO specification, but Italy was initially the only NATO member to adopt the type. The Uni ...

;RTy.20: for

and

;RTy.22: projected military use engine rated at equivalent ;RTy.32: projected military use engine rated at equivalent ;Mk.101: (RTy.12) ;Mk.506: ;Mk.512: ;Mk.515: ;Mk.515-101W ;Mk 801 ;Mk 45: ;RM1A:Marinised ship powerplant ;RM1C:Essentially similar to the RM1A ;RM3C:Essentially similar to the RM1A

Applications

Aircraft

Rolls-Royce Tyne Avro Lincoln Farnborough 1956

Aeritalia G.222 The Aeritalia G.222 (formerly Fiat Aviazione, later Alenia Aeronautica) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. It was developed to meet a NATO specification, but Italy was initially the only NATO member to adopt the type. The Unite ...

* Avro Lincoln (testbed) *

* Conroy Skymonster *

Ships

The marine version, the Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1A, RM1C and RM3C remained in service as the cruise gas turbines in Royal Navy Type 21 frigates, Type 42 destroyers and Type 22 frigates until the retirement of the 4 Batch 3 Type 22 frigates (2011) and the last remaining Type 42 Destroyer (2013).

Engines on display

A Rolls-Royce Tyne is on public display at the

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free (currently, 2022) museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departme ...

. *

East Midlands Aeropark East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, close to Castle Donington in northwestern Leicestershire, between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is () to the south and Lincoln () north ...

Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust
Derby

Specifications (Tyne RTy.20 Mk 21)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

a 1959 ''Flight'' advertisement for the Tyne {{Rolls-Royce aeroengines Tyne 1950s turboprop engines