Orenda Engines
 |
|
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Predecessor | Turbo Research (1944) |
| Successor | Magellan Repair, Overhaul & Industrial |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Parent |
Avro Canada (1946–1962) Hawker Siddeley Canada 1962–1980s Magellan Aerospace 1980s– |
Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada, they produced a number of military jet engines from the 1950s through the 1970s, and were Canada's primary engine supplier and repair company.
The origins of the company stem back to the Second World War. During the war, the National Research Council of Canada ran a small aerodynamics effort similar to NACA in the US or Royal Aircraft Establishment in the UK. In 1942 they sent two of their researchers to the UK to take a survey of their efforts and report back on what fields of study the Canadians should focus on in order to avoid duplication.
One of the many topics mentioned was Frank Whittle's efforts to build the first working jet engine. At the same time the fledgling RCAF was concerned about their dependence on the US and UK for their aircraft engines. Both the RCAF and NRC felt the jet engine offered a way for Canada to quickly catch up in engine technology via this newly evolving field. Another report was started to make an exhaustive study of the jet engine efforts in the UK, and to try to find roles where Canada could aid the UK efforts as soon as possible.
Over the next year a number of members of the NRC's aerodynamics lab traveled to the UK, and in May 1943 they published their findings in the top secret Report on Development of Jet Propulsion in the United Kingdom, widely known as the Banks Report. Among their recommendations was the suggestion to form a cold weather testing centre, as up to then jet engines had not been tested in that environment. Another suggestion was to form their own engine company as soon as possible.
Following the advice of the Report, in March 1944 the government formed Turbo Research as a crown corporation. The company was formally incorporated on 1 July 1944, and were set up in a disused section of the Research Enterprises Limited factories in Leaside. Several members of the NRC teams that had traveled to the UK during the Report moved to the new company, including K.F. Tupper as chief engineer, Paul Dilworth as chief designer and Winnett Boyd, initially as the combustion engineer, but later as the chief designer.
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