RB.50 Trent | |
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A Rolls-Royce Trent turboprop on display at the Science Museum (London) | |
Type | Turboprop |
Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Limited |
First run | June 1944 |
Major applications | Gloster Meteor(Trent Meteor version) |
Developed from | Rolls-Royce Derwent |
Developed into | Rolls-Royce Clyde |
The Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent was the first Rolls-Royce turboprop engine.
The Trent was based on a concept by Sir Frank Whittle. It was a Derwent Mark II turbojet engine with a cropped impeller (turbine unchanged) 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.
A preserved Rolls-Royce Trent turboprop engine is on display at the London Science Museum.