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Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593

Olympus 593
On display at the Aerospace Bristol museum
Type Turbojet
National origin United Kingdom/France
Manufacturer Rolls-Royce Limited/Snecma
First run June 1966
Major applications Concorde
Developed from Rolls-Royce Olympus

The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 was an Anglo-French turbojet with reheat, which powered the supersonic airliner Concorde. It was initially a joint project between Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL) and Snecma, derived from the Bristol Siddeley Olympus 22R engine.[1][2] Rolls-Royce Limited acquired BSEL in 1966 during development of the engine, making BSEL the Bristol Engine Division of Rolls-Royce.[2]

Until regular commercial flights by Concorde ceased in October 2003, the Olympus turbojet was unique in aviation as the only turbojet with reheat powering a commercial aircraft.

The overall efficiency of the engine in supersonic cruising flight (supercruise) was about 43%, which at the time was the highest figure recorded for any normal thermodynamic machine.[3]

  1. ^ "Olympus-the first forty years" Alan Baxter, RRHT No15, ISBN 978-0-9511710-9-7, p. 135.
  2. ^ a b Leney, David; Macdonald, David (July 2020). Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde 1969 onwards (all models). Sparkford, Somerset: Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-818-5.
  3. ^ Hooker, Stanley (1984). Not much of an Engineer: an autobiography. Assisted by Bill Gunston. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife. pp. 154–155. ISBN 9780906393352. OCLC 11437258.

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