De Havilland Spectre
| Spectre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| de Havilland Spectre on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford | |
| Type | Rocket engine |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | de Havilland |
| First run | 1952 |
| Major applications | Saunders-Roe SR.53 |
The de Havilland Spectre was a rocket engine built by de Havilland Engine Company in the 1950s. It was one element of the intended mixed powerplant for combination rocket-jet interceptor aircraft for the Royal Air Force, such as the Saunders-Roe SR.53.
The Spectre was a bipropellant engine burning kerosene and hydrogen peroxide. The power could be controlled from 10-100% delivering 8,000 lbf (35.7 kN) of thrust at full power. In the SR.53 it used the same fuel tanks as the turbojet engine and if run at full power was expected to consume the full load in about seven minutes.
In 1952 static testing commenced with the Spectre DSpe.l. The aircraft industry had no precedent for an engine which would gain in thrust with altitude and the required maximum thrust was estimated at between 2,000 lbf (8.9 kN) and 15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust. The design was based on a variable thrust which could be throttled from 8,000 lbf (36 kN) to 2,000 lbf (8.9 kN). Design philosophy was matched to the mixed power concept of an aircraft having both a turbojet and rocket engine for maximum operational flexibility.
Primary innovation was as the first to incorporate its turbo pump turbine upstream of its combustion chamber. Described then as low loss. Technological innovation embraced the Barske high-speed open-impeller centrifugal pumps, as formerly researched in the Walter organisation, regenerative cooling with pump stages both upstream and downstream, gauze catalyst packs, low-loss internal-flow turbine and the use of straight kerosene fuel. The aircraft tanks were to be pressurised to suppress pump cavitation problems.
It went through rig tests commencing in 1953, bench tests from mid-1954, and testing in two Canberras. From flight approval in Autumn 1956, flight experience again posed altitude starvation problems. Clearance was given for flight in the SR.53 prototype from May 1957.
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