The Turbomeca Artouste is an early French

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...

engine, first run in 1947. Originally conceived as an

auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...

(APU), it was soon adapted to aircraft propulsion, and found a niche as a powerplant for turboshaft-driven helicopters in the 1950s. Artoustes were licence-built by

Bristol Siddeley Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of t ...

(formerly

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

) in the UK,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

in India, and developed by Continental CAE in the US as the Continental T51. Two major versions of the Artouste were produced. The Artouste II family, mainly used in the

Aérospatiale Alouette II The Aérospatiale Alouette II (, "lark"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. It was the first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine e ...

helicopter, had a one-stage centrifugal compressor and a two-stage turbine, with gearbox-limited power of . The Artouste III family, mainly used in Aérospatiale's

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

and

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

helicopters, had a two-stage axial-centrifugal compressor and a three-stage turbine, with gearbox-limited power of .

Variants

;Artouste I: ;Artouste II: ;Artouste IIB, IIB1: for takeoff, continuous ;Artouste IIC, IIC1, IIC2, IIC5, IIC6: for takeoff, continuous (limited by engine gearbox) :(Without gearbox limit, ratings are for takeoff and continuous) ;Artouste IIIB: for takeoff, continuous (limited by engine gearbox) :(Without gearbox limit, sea level ratings are for takeoff and continuous) ;Artouste IIIB1, IIID: for takeoff, continuous (limited by engine gearbox) :(Without gearbox limit, sea level ratings are for takeoff and continuous) ; Continental T51:Licence production and development of the Artouste in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

;Turbomeca Marcadau:A

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

variant, the Marcadau was a development of the Artouste II, producing through a 2.3:1 reduction gearbox.

Applications

;Artouste *

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a popular ro ...

* Aerospatiale Lama *

Aerotécnica AC-14 The Aerotécnica AC-14 was a Spanish five-seat light helicopter of the 1950s, designed by Jean Cantinieau, based on enlarging his Nord Norelfe design. The AC-14 continued the Cantinieau practice of mounting the engine forward of the main rotor, a ...

* Atlas XH-1 Alpha * Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 *

Handley Page Victor The Handley Page Victor was a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final ''V bomber'' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Vickers ...

- as APU *

Hawker Siddeley Trident The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident (originally the de Havilland DH.121 and briefly the Airco DH.121) is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley. In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (BEA ...

- as APU * IAR 316 *

IAR 317 The IAR 316 is a Romanian license-built Aérospatiale Aérospatiale Alouette III, SA 316B Alouette III manufactured by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR). Design and development IAR 316 IAR began manufacturing the IAR 316 in 1971 at its pla ...

* Merckle SM 67 * Nord Norelfe *

Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep The Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep (company designation PA-59) was a prototype vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by Piasecki Aircraft. The Airgeep was developed to fulfill a U.S. Army Transportation Research Command contract for a fly ...

* SNCASO Farfadet *

Vickers VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a retired mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The VC10 is often compared to the larger Soviet Ily ...

- as APU ;Marcadau * Morane-Saulnier Epervier

Engines on display

A Turbomeca Artouste is on public display at: *

The Helicopter Museum (Weston) The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, is a museum featuring a collection of more than 80 helicopters and autogyros from around the world, both civilian and military. It is based at the southeastern corner of the fo ...

* Aviodrome - Lelystad Airport - The Netherlands

Specifications (Artouste IIIB)

References

;Notes: ;Bibliography: * {{Turbomeca aeroengines 1940s turboshaft engines Helicopter history Artouste Aircraft auxiliary power units

Variants

Applications

Engines on display

Specifications (Artouste IIIB)

See also

References