Arthur Alexander Cecil Rubbra CBE (29 October 1903 – 24 November 1982) was an English engineer who designed many of

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

's successful aero engines. He was "placed by many alongside Royce, Rowledge and Elliot as one of Rolls-Royce's greatest engineers...".

Early life

Rubbra was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

on 29 October 1903 to Edmund and Mary Rubbra who ran a watch and jewellery repair business. It is thought that the rare family surname was a form of "Ruborough", the

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

village near Broomfield where his ancestors came from. His elder brother, Charles Edmund, was a distinguished composer. As a boy Rubbra was fascinated by

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

s and spent many hours at nearby

Blisworth Blisworth is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal ...

watching trains on the London–Crewe line. He was an accomplished artist and often sketched his favourite subjects. Rubbra attended Northampton Grammar School where he played rugby, and then

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

leaving in 1925 with a BSc.

Career

Rubbra's first job was with

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following ...

although little is known of his time there. He obtained a grant from a fund originally set up by the organisers of the 1851

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

, and secured a job as an assistant tester in the engine test houses of Rolls-Royce Limited at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

on 13 July 1925. He was paid the sum of exactly £1 per week at that time. He worked on the

Rolls-Royce Eagle XVI The Rolls-Royce Eagle XVI was a British experimental 16 cylinder aero engine designed and developed by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1925. The engine was test run but did not fly, the project, together with the planned larger variant, the Eagle XX, ...

16-cylinder

X engine An X engine is a piston engine with four banks of cylinders around a common crankshaft, such that the cylinders form an "X" shape when viewed from front-on. The advantage of an X engine is that it is shorter than a V engine of the same number ...

and the later

Rolls-Royce Kestrel The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar p ...

and

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

aero engines. In October 1927, Rubbra (who had become known as 'Rbr' in company shorthand) was promoted to designer, where he was further involved with the Buzzard, Kestrel and the new

Rolls-Royce R The Rolls-Royce R is a British aero engine that was designed and built specifically for air racing purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931. Developed from the Rolls- ...

. He also became deeply involved in the Goshawk,

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

and

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North a ...

projects. In 1934 he was appointed assistant chief designer and in July 1940 he was promoted further to chief designer of aero engines. His design work continued with development of the Merlin, and he was a major contributor to the success of the

Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre (2,240 cubic inch, cu in) Engine displacement, capacity, 60-degree V12 engine, V-12, liquid-cooled Aircraft engine, aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with compan ...

, the last of the V12 piston engine line. In 1943 Rubbra was designing the

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

and then began work on the

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...

, the company's first

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, ...

engine. In 1944 another promotion to assistant chief engineer saw him working on other emerging turbojet projects. By 1954 'Rbr' had risen to the position of technical director on the company board. During his time at Rolls-Royce, Rubbra married his secretary, Lilian Webster, and in 1961 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), as was his brother

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

who was a respected musical composer.

Retirement

In 1966 Rubbra gave up his post as technical director due to health reasons but continued to work as 'Chief Technical Advisor'. In October 1968 Arthur Rubbra retired from Rolls-Royce by which time he had become vice-chairman of the company. In 1969 he was awarded the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

's highest honour, the Gold Medal for 'outstanding contributions over many years in the whole field of aircraft propulsion'. His services were required once more in 1971 when he was asked, along with

Stanley Hooker Sir Stanley George Hooker, CBE, FRS, DPhil, BSc, FRAeS, MIMechE, FAAAS, (30 September 1907 – 24 May 1984) was a mathematician and jet engine engineer. He was employed first at Rolls-Royce where he worked on the earliest designs such as ...

, to assist with developmental problems pertaining to the

Rolls-Royce RB211 The Rolls-Royce RB211 is a British family of high-bypass turbofan engines made by Rolls-Royce. The engines are capable of generating of thrust. The RB211 engine was the first production three-spool engine, and turned Rolls-Royce from a sign ...

civil

turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which achieves mechanical ...

project. A. A. Rubbra died on 24 November 1982, aged 79. His brother died four years later in 1986. His memoirs, , formed the basis of an illustrated book published long after his death by the

Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust is an organisation that was founded in 1981 to preserve the history of Rolls-Royce Limited, Rolls-Royce Holdings and all merged or acquired companies. Five volunteer led branches exist, three in England, one in S ...

Early life

Career

Retirement

See also

Works

References

Further reading