The Whittle/Rover W2B
and Rolls-Royce W2B/23 Welland Turbo-Jets
By Peter Berry
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Diagram of the W2B or B23 |
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| Rolls-Royce W2B/23 Welland turbojet which
powered the Gloster F.9/40 DG202/G test bed and the early Gloster Meteor
Mk.1 and Mk.3 RAF fighters in 1944. (Rolls-Royce WNP.3663) |
The Rover W2B
The W2B was the Rover version of the Whittle engine, ordered into production by
the British Ministry of Aircraft Production in 1942. This “reverse-flow”,
43.5-inch diameter engine, featured a 19-inch, double-sided impeller, 10
“reverse-flow” combustion chambers and a single-stage turbine. Engine weight was
some 850 lbs.
To improve the “surging” problem found at altitude, Maurice Wilks and his staff
at Rover, Barnoldswick in Lancashire, developed 20-vane diffusers to Whittle’s
design. With the thrust still at 1,000 lbs, Mr. J.P. Herriot from A.I.D. came to
Rover and with improved turbine material, achieved a 25-hour test at 1,250 lbs
in November, 1942.
From July 10, 1940, test pilot Jerry Sayer, was only able to make taxiing runs
with 1,200 lb thrust Rover W2B/23 turbo-jets fitted to the first twin-engined
Gloster F.9/40 prototype fighter, DG202/G.
The Rover W2B turbo-jet was first flown in the tail of a twin-engined Wellington
test-bed, Z8570/G, from Hucknall, on August 9, 1942.
The deteriorating relations between Power Jets and Rover led to the transfer, in
early 1943, of the production of W2B engines at Barnoldswick to Rolls-Royce.
Rover handed over a total of 32 W2B engines to Rolls-Royce as well as four
“straight-through” W2B/26 engines, developed by Adrian Lombard.
The first flight of the second, single-engined Gloster E.28/39, W4046/G, fitted
with a Rover W2B/#110 turbo-jet, was made from Edgehill airfield by John
Grierson on March 1, 1943. From April 16, 1943, flight tests continued with a
1,526 lb. thrust W2B/#101 installed in W4046/G. On May 3, this aircraft was
flown to the RAE at Farnborough and the following day, flights were made powered
by a Rolls-Royce W2B. Flying continued with Farnborough test pilots until June
20, when a Rolls-Royce W2B/#141 was installed.
Following the twisting of the turbine blades by 5°, the W2B passed its 100-test
at 1,600 lbs on May 7, 1943.
The Rover W2B/#101 engine was re-fitted to W4046/G for further flights, but on
July 30, when passing 37,000 feet in a ceiling climb, test-pilot Sqdn. Ldr.
Davie, found the ailerons had frozen (by ice) and W4046/G entered an inverted
spin. Davie was thrown from the cockpit at 33,000 feet, becoming the first jet
pilot to abandon his aircraft in flight! He lost his goggles, a glove and his
oxygen mask and only survived by sticking the tube of his emergency oxygen
supply into his mouth. He suffered severe frostbite, taking twenty-seven minutes
to descend by parachute, landing safely at nearby town of Guildford.
The
Rolls-Royce W2B/23 Welland
This turbo-jet was the first British production engine. The
prototype F.9/40, DG202/G, powered by Rolls-Royce 1,700 lb W2B/23 engines, was
flown by Michael Daunt, from Barford St. John airfield on July 24, 1943. In
November this aircraft was delivered to the Rolls-Royce base at Hucknall for
Welland development.
Two Rolls-Royce Welland turbo-jets were installed in the first production Meteor
Mk.1, EE210/G, which was test flown by Michael Daunt on January 12, 1944. This
Meteor was then sent to the United States in exchange for a General Electric
J31-GE-powered Bell YP-59 Airacomet, RG362/G. The Meteor was first flown at
Muroc AFB by John Grierson on April 15. Several test flights followed. By
December, the Meteor had been shipped back to the U.K.
The Rolls-Royce Welland entered service with the RAF Meteor Mk.1 jet fighters
EE211-229 and Meteor Mk.3/EE230-244. The first of these Meteors was delivered to
No.616 Squadron RAF in May 1944, equipped with 1,600 lb thrust engines rated
at180-hours between overhauls. Flying from RAF Manston, near the English
channel, the Squadron first saw action against the V-1 flying-bombs en-route to
London on July 27, 1944. The first of thirteen V-1s to be destroyed was on
August 4, when Flying Officer Dean used his wing tip to tip a V-1 off its course
and saw it crash onto open ground.
From October 1943, a total of 167 Wellands, were dispatched from the Rolls-Royce
facility at Barnoldswick. These were the last of the Whittle “reverse-flow”
turbo-jets, but the design continues today in many smaller turbo-fan, turbo-prop
and turbo-shaft engines.
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