1940s British turboprop aircraft engine
The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba was a British turboprop engine produced by Armstrong Siddeley in the late 1940s and 1950s, producing around 1,500 effective horsepower (1,100 kW).
Armstrong Siddeley gas turbine engines were named after snakes .
Design and development
The Mamba was a compact engine [ 1] axial compressor , six combustion chambers and a two-stage power turbine. The epicyclic reduction gearbox was incorporated in the propeller spinner. Engine starting was by cartridge. The Ministry of Supply designation was ASMa (A rmstrong S iddeley Ma mba). The ASMa.3 gave 1,475 ehp and the ASMa.6 was rated at 1,770 ehp. A 500-hour test was undertaken in 1948[ 1] Douglas DC-3 , when in 1949, a Dakota testbed was converted to take two Mambas.
The Mamba was also developed into the form of the Double Mamba , which was used to power the Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft for the Royal Navy . This was essentially two Mambas lying side-by-side and driving contra-rotating propellers separately through a common gearbox.
A turbojet version of the Mamba was developed as the Armstrong Siddeley Adder , by removing the reduction gearbox.[ 2]
Variants and applications
The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba-powered Douglas C-47B Dakota testbed in 1954 showing the slim outline of the Mambas ASMa.3 Mamba
[ 3] Armstrong Whitworth Apollo Avro Athena Boulton Paul Balliol Breguet Vultur Miles M.69 Marathon II Douglas C-47 Dakota Short SB.3 ASMa.5 Mamba
Development engine for Armstrong Siddeley ASMD.3 Double Mamba [ 3]
ASMa.6 Mamba
[ 3] Short Seamew ASMa.7 Mamba
A version for civil applications[ 3]
Swiss-Mamba SM-1 (aft turbofan variant)
EFW N-20 Mamba 112
(ASMa.6)
Engines on display
An Armstrong Siddeley Mamba is on static display at the Midland Air Museum , Coventry Airport , Warwickshire , at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford and at the East Midlands Aeropark .
A Mamba is also on display at the Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia) .[ 4]
A Swiss-Mamba SM-1 is on display at the Flieger-Flab-Museum Dübendorf.
A Mamba is also on display at the Hertha Ayrton STEM Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Mamba and propeller from the Apollo airliner Data from Aircraft engines of the World 1957[ 5]
General characteristics
Type: TurbopropLength: 90.2 in (2,290 mm)Diameter: 33 in (840 mm)Frontal area: 5.9 sq ft (0.55 m2 )Dry weight: 850 lb (390 kg)
Components
Compressor: 11 stage axial flowCombustors :Turbine :Fuel type: Aviation Kerosene / JP-4
Maximum power output: 1,650 shp (1,230 kW) plus 320 lbf (1.4 kN) thrust ; 1,770 shp (1,320 kW) (equivalent) at 15,000 rpmOverall pressure ratio :Air mass flow: 21.5 lb/s (9.8 kg/s) at 15,000 rpmSpecific fuel consumption :Power-to-weight ratio :
See also
Related development
Related lists
References
^ a b "Aero Engine Information" . RAF Museum . Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2008 .^ Gunston 1989, p.20.
^ a b c d Taylor, John W.R. FRHistS. ARAeS (1955). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56 . London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co Ltd. ^ Studio, Cicada. "Armstrong Siddeley Mamba" . www.raafawa.org.au . Retrieved 16 March 2019 . ^ Wilkinson, Paul H. (1957). Aircraft engines of the World 1957 (15th ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. pp. 122–123.
Bibliography
"Aero Engines 1954" , Flight , retrieved 4 November 2008 Gunston, Bill (1989). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN 978-1-85260-163-8
External links
Piston engines Turbojets Turboprops Rocket engines
