The Armstrong Siddeley Snarler was a small rocket engine used for
mixed-power experiments with an early turbojet engine.
and was the first British liquid-fuelled rocket engine to fly.
Design and development
Unlike other British rocket engine projects that used
hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...
as an
oxidiser
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ''electron donor''). In ot ...
, Armstrong Siddeley's used
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing.
Physical ...
. The rocket engine is described as having a dry weight of thrust of and a
specific fuel consumption of 20 (lb/h)/lbf thrust.
[ Work began in 1947 and the final configuration was first tested on 29 March 1950.][
The prototype of the Hawker P.1040 Sea Hawk, ''VP 401'', had a Snarler rocket of 2,000 lbf thrust added in its tail. The ]Rolls-Royce Nene
The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent,"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 ...
turbojet, of 5,200 lbf thrust, had a split tailpipe which exhausted either side of the fuselage. The combination was termed the Hawker P.1072.[Although the Nene's thrust, as for any turbojet, fell with increasing altitude the Snarler's remained constant.] 50% greater thrust, although with twenty times the fuel consumption.[ It was first used in flight on 20 November 1950, by Hawker's ]test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
Trevor "Wimpy" Wade.[ Half a dozen flights were made using the rocket motor before a minor explosion damaged the aircraft. Although methanol was used in the P.1072, jet fuel could be used for the Snarler. It was decided that ]reheat
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military aircraft, military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, ta ...
was a more practical proposition for boosting jet thrust than rockets.
An unusual feature of the engine was that the fuel/oxidiser pump was externally driven, by a drive from the gearbox
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
of the P.1072's turbojet engine. This feature continued into the first versions of the subsequent Screamer
The screamers are three South American bird species placed in Family (biology), family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar beak, bills, but are more closely related to the family Anatidae, i.e. ducks ...
engine, but was later replaced with a turbine-driven turbopump.
Variants
;ASSn.1 Snarler:The prototype and test engines, (Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...
designation ASSn.).
Applications
* Hawker P.1072
Specifications
See also
References
{{Aviation rocket engines
Snarler
Aircraft rocket engines
Rocket engines using alcohol propellant