The Armstrong Siddeley Stentor, latterly Bristol Siddeley BSSt.1 Stentor, was a two-chamber
HTP rocket engine used to power the
Blue Steel stand-off missile carried by Britain's
V bomber
The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...
force.
The high thrust chamber was used for the first 29 seconds, after which it was shut down and a smaller cruise chamber was used for the rest of the powered flight.
Design and development
It was fuelled by
hydrogen peroxide with kerosene.
The engine incorporated an integral tubular mounting frame which was attached by six lugs to the rear bulkhead of the missile airframe, the complete engine being enclosed in a tube-shaped fairing with the nozzles at the rear.
Applications
*
Blue Steel missile
The Avro Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force. It allowed the bomber to launch the missile against its target while still outside the range of surface-to-air ...
Engines on display
Preserved Stentor engines are on display at the following museums:
*
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 ...
*
Midland Air Museum
The Midland Air Museum (MAM) is situated just outside the village of Baginton in Warwickshire, England, and is adjacent to Coventry Airport. The museum includes the ''Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre'' (named after the local aviation pione ...
*
The University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, in the Department of Engineering foyer.
*
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum
The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM) is a Volunteer led museum located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies the former site of the Royal Air Force Station, RAF Doncaster. The museum occupies the last remaining o ...
, Doncaster
*
Newark Air Museum
Newark Air Museum is an air museum located on a former Royal Air Force station at Winthorpe, near Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. The museum contains a variety of aircraft.
History
The airfield was known as RAF Winthorpe during ...
, Nottinghamshire
*
Cambridge Science Centre
Cambridge Science Centre, initially located on Jesus Lane in Cambridge, England, is the city's first interactive science museum. The start-up exhibition space was opened by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, Leszek Borysiewicz, on 7 ...
, Cambridge
Specifications
See also
References
{{Rocket engines
Rocket engines using hot cycle hydrogen peroxide propellant
Stentor
In Greek mythology, Stentor (Ancient Greek: Στέντωρ; ''gen''.: Στέντορος) was a herald of the Greek forces during the Trojan War.
Mythology
Stentor is mentioned briefly in Homer's ''Iliad'' in which Hera in the guise of Stent ...
Rocket engines using kerosene propellant