Designed in 1954 by a team under Lionel Haworth and intended as a more powerful alternative to the
Dart, the RB.109 Tyne was initially designed for a power of 2,500 shp but when first run in April 1955 the engine far exceeded expectations and was soon being
type-tested at 4,220 shp. The Tyne was developed primarily for the four-engined
Vickers Vanguard airliner, the prototype first flying on 20 January 1959 equipped with four Tyne Mk.506 of 4,985 e.s.h.p. Production deliveries of the engine were made from mid-1959 onwards to power the 43 Vanguards delivered to
British European Airways and
Trans-Canada Airlines. The engine was further developed with greater power and used in the later twin-engined Dassault-
Breguet Atlantique long-range reconnaissance aircraft; also in the
Canadair CL-44 and
Transall C-160 transport aircraft. A single stage HP turbine drives the nine-stage HP compressor. A three-stage LP turbine drives the six-stage LP compressor and, through a reduction gearbox, the propeller. The
combustor is
cannular. The Mark 515 Tyne had a nominal takeoff power output of equivalent power, flat rated to ISA+16.8C. An agreement was signed in 1963 between
Hispano-Suiza and Rolls-Royce for the licence production of the Tyne for the
Breguet Atlantic and
Transall C-160. Each company that was part of the agreement built parts for itself and the partners, Rolls-Royce (United Kingdom) 20%, Hispano-Suiza (France) 44%, MAN (Germany) 28% and FN (Belgium) 8%. The final assembly was undertaken by both MAN and Hispano-Suiza. The first production batch was for 80 engines and 40 spares for the Atlantic. ==Variants==