Bristol Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited | |
Founded | 1959 | by merger
---|---|
Defunct | 1966 |
Fate | Purchased and merged into Rolls-Royce |
Successor | Rolls-Royce Limited |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Aircraft 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 the de Havilland Engine Company and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1966.
History
Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited was formed by the 1 April 1959 merge of
Armstrong Siddeley Motors had been producing aero-engines and motor-cars since it had been formed in 1919 with the merger of
On 6 May 1958 Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited was formed[2] as a pilot company to bring about an alliance between the Bristol and Coventry concerns, and a full merger took effect from the beginning of April 1959. The purpose of the new company was to combine the research, engineering and manufacturing resources of the two great component companies to meet the changing demands of the aviation industry.[citation needed]
The company was further strengthened in November 1961 when it acquired the full share capital of the de Havilland Engine Company Limited and Blackburn Engines Limited, both of which were formerly operating within the Hawker Siddeley Group. The aircraft side of Blackburn became part of Hawker Siddeley.[3] Both of these companies had long histories in the aero-engine industry.
The de Havilland Engine Company Limited had the de Havilland Sprite which was a rocket engine with a military type test certificate. In 1954, the company had produced the axial turbojet Gyron of 30,000 lbf (130 kN) thrust, from which was descended the Gyron Junior series. The de Havilland Engine Company's portfolio included the (licensed) Gnome turboshaft. The Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company had entered the aero engine field in 1934 when the
Bristol Siddeley was bought by
Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited is still a listed but dormant company within the Rolls-Royce group.[2]
Products
The company was one of the largest of its kind in the world[6][7] and offered a wider range of engines than any other manufacturer.[citation needed] Aero engines produced by the company included piston engines, turboprops, turboshafts, turbojets, turbofans, auxiliary power units, ramjets and liquid propellant rocket engines. Outside the aeronautical field its products were gas turbines for marine and industrial use, diesel engines, and automatic transmissions.
Aero engines
The
Diesel engines
Bristol Siddeley also manufactured
The MD engines produced by BSEL included 16 basic engines in the range, which covered powers from 380 to 3,000 horsepower, and includes 4- and 6-cylinder in-line units, and 8, 12 and 16 V units. Each of these were pressure-charged, with or without intercooling. They were used with hydraulic transmission systems, in the Type 4 locos (with two MD650 engines of 1,152 bhp each) hauled the express trains of the Western Region of British Railways - e.g. the Bristolian and the Cornish Riviera. Several hundred more orders were placed by British Rail.(Ref TJ102). MD series engines were widely used in base load, intermittent and standby electricity generating sets, and were transported by rail up to the nominal 1200 kW size for a complete generator set. They were also employed in oil rigs and pumping sets.(Ref TJ151/2).
Motor cars
When the company was formed it also included the motor car companies
See also
Related lists
References
- ^ Barnes 1988, pp. 30-31
- ^ a b English Company No. 00604105 BRISTOL SIDDELEY ENGINES LIMITED
- ^ "1966 | 1663 | Flight Archive". Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- ^ Gunston 1989, pp.37-38.
- ^ "1967 | 1775 | Flight Archive". Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- ^ Flight 6 Feb 1959
- ^ Flight 28 August 1959
- ^ "End of Armstrong Siddeley Cars - Production Found Uneconomic". News. The Times. No. 54794. London. 10 June 1960. col B, p. 14.
- ^ "Bristol Cars Ltd. Sold". News. The Times. No. 54879. London. 17 September 1960. col A, p. 6.
Sources
- Barnes, C.H. Bristol Aircraft since 1910. London, England. Putnam. 1988. ISBN 0-85177-823-2
- Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
- Bristol Siddeley TJ101, July 1960
- Bristol Siddeley TJ102, July 1960
- Bristol Siddeley TJ151/2, December 1962
- British Secret Projects ISBN 978-1-85780-258-0, Ian Allan 2008