Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593

< Rolls-Royce

Olympus 593
On display at the Aerospace Bristol museum
Type Turbojet
National origin United Kingdom/France
Manufacturer Rolls-Royce Limited/Snecma
First run June 1966
Major applications Concorde
Developed from Rolls-Royce Olympus

The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 was an Anglo-French turbojet with reheat, which powered the supersonic airliner Concorde. It was initially a joint project between Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL) and Snecma, derived from the Bristol Siddeley Olympus 22R engine. Rolls-Royce Limited acquired BSEL in 1966 during development of the engine, making BSEL the Bristol Engine Division of Rolls-Royce.

Until regular commercial flights by Concorde ceased in October 2003, the Olympus turbojet was unique in aviation as the only turbojet with reheat powering a commercial aircraft.

The overall efficiency of the engine in supersonic cruising flight (supercruise) was about 43%, which at the time was the highest figure recorded for any normal thermodynamic machine.