| Spey | |
|---|---|
 An RB.168 Mk 202 Spey as fitted to theF-4K Phantom | |
| Type | Turbofan |
| Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Limited |
| First run | 1964 |
| Major applications | |
| Number built | 2,768 |
| Developed from | Rolls-Royce Conway |
| Developed into | |
| Variants | Allison TF41 |
TheRolls-Royce Spey (company designationsRB.163 andRB.168 andRB.183) is a low-bypassturbofan engine originally designed and manufactured byRolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of the Spey between Rolls-Royce andAllison in the 1960s is theAllison TF41.
Intended for the smaller civilianjet airliner market when it was being designed in the late 1950s, the Spey concept was also used in various military engines, and later as aturboshaft engine for ships known as theMarine Spey, and even as the basis for a new civilian line, theRolls-Royce RB.183 Tay.
Aviation versions of the base model Spey have accumulated over 50 million hours of flight time.[1] In keeping with Rolls-Royce naming practices, the engine is named after theRiver Spey.
In 1954 Rolls-Royce introduced the first commercial bypass engine, theRolls-Royce Conway, with 17,500lbf (78 kN) of thrust aimed at what was then the "large end" of the market. This was far too large for smaller aircraft such as theSud Caravelle,BAC One-Eleven orHawker Siddeley Trident which were then under design. Rolls-Royce then started work on a smaller engine otherwise identical in design derived from the largerRB.140/141 Medway - which itself had been cancelled afterBritish European Airways (BEA) had demanded the downsizing of the Trident,[2] theRB.163, using the same two-spool compressor arrangement and a smaller fan deliveringbypass ratios of about 0.64:1. Designed by a team under Frederick Morley,[2] the first versions of what had become the 'Spey' entered service in 1964, powering both theBAC One-Eleven andHawker Siddeley Trident. Several versions with higher power ratings were delivered through the 1960s, but development was ended nearing the 1970s due to the introduction of engines with much higher bypass ratios, and thus better fuel economy.
In 1980, TurbomecanicaBucharest acquired the license for the Spey 512-14 DW version, which propelled the Romanian builtBAC One-Eleven aircraft (Rombac One-Eleven).[3]
Spey-powered airliners remained in widespread service until the 1980s, when noise limitations in European airports forced them out of service.
In the late 1950s theSoviet Union started the development of theSverdlov-class cruisers that would put theRoyal Navy at serious risk. The Naval Air Warfare Division[4] decided to counter this threat with a strike aircraft which would fly at very high speed at very low level. The winning design was theBlackburn Buccaneer.
The first version of the Buccaneer, the S.1 powered by thede Havilland Gyron Junior, was underpowered in certain scenarios, although not in maximum speed, and the engine was unreliable.[5] The Spey was chosen in 1960 as a re-engining option to give more thrust for a Buccaneer Mk.2. It was also predicted to increase range by 80%.[6] The engine was a militarized version of the BAC 1-11 Spey, and called theRB.168-1. The Buccaneer S.2 served into the 1990s.
A Spey derivative, designed and developed jointly by Rolls-Royce and Allison for theLTV A-7 Corsair II, was produced under licence in the United States as theTF41.
TheBritish versions of theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (designated Phantom FG.Mk.1 and FGR.Mk.2) replaced the 16,000 lbf (71 kN) wet thrustJ79 turbojets with a pair of 20,515 lbf (91 kN) wet thrust Spey 201 turbofans. These provided extra thrust for operation from smaller British aircraft carriers, and provided additional bleed air for the boundary layer control system for slower landing speeds. The air intake area was increased by twenty per cent, while the aft fuselage under the engines had to be redesigned. Compared to the original turbojets, the afterburning turbofans produced a ten to fifteen per cent improvement in combat radius and ferry range, respectively, and improved take-off, initial climb, and acceleration, but at the cost of a reduction in top speed because compressor outlet temperatures would be exceeded in an essentially subsonic civil design.[7][8]
During its lifetime the Spey has achieved an impressive safety record. Its relatively low maintenance costs provide one of the major reasons it remained in service even when newer designs were available. With the need for a 10,000 to 15,000 lbf (44 to 67 kN) thrust engine, with better specific fuel consumption and lower noise and emission levels, Rolls-Royce used Spey turbomachinery with a much larger fan to produce theRolls-Royce Tay.
A fully updated version of the military RB.168 was also built to power theAMX International AMX attack aircraft.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Examples of the Rolls-Royce Spey are on public display at the:
Data from[citation needed]
Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists
