Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent explained

The Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent was the first Rolls-Royce turboprop engine.^[1]

Design and development

The Trent was based on an invention by Sir Frank Whittle. It was a Derwent Mark II turbojet engine with a cropped impeller (turbine unchanged)^[2] and a reduction gearbox (designed by A A Rubbra) connected to a five-bladed Rotol propeller. The Trent ran for 633 hours on test before being installed in a Gloster Meteor jet fighter which flew for the first time on 20 September 1945 at the start of a 298-hour flight test programme.^[3]

Applications

• Gloster Meteor

Engines on display

A preserved Rolls-Royce Trent turboprop engine is on display at the London Science Museum.

A preserved RB50 Trent is displayed at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust in Derby.

References

Bibliography

• Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.

External links

• "The First Propeller Turbine Engine to Fly" a 1946 Rolls-Royce advertisement in Flight
• "Know-How From the Trent" a 1947 Flight article
• Trent Meteor "In the Air" - a 1948 Flight article on flying the Trent Meteor

Notes and References

1. Gunston 1989, p.147.
2. "Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989,, p.119
3. Book: Pugh, Peter . The Magic of a Name, Part Two. Icon Books . 2001 . 1-84046-284-1.