Of Gods And Serpents. The Story Of The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba Turboprop Engine

The brief history of the competition between Armstrong Siddeley, Rolls Royce, and the Mamba engine, culminating with the Double Mamba that equipped aircraft such as the Fairey Gannet.

The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba was a British turboprop engine produced by Armstrong Siddeley in the late 1940s and 1950s, producing around 1,500 effective horsepower (1,100 kW).

Armstrong Siddeley gas turbine engines were named after snakes.

The Mamba was a compact engine, with a 10-stage axial compressor, six combustion chambers, and a two-stage power turbine. The epicyclic reduction gearbox was incorporated in the propeller spinner. Engine starting was by cartridge. The Ministry of Supply designation was ASMa (Armstrong Siddeley Mamba). The ASMa.3 gave 1,475 ehp and the ASMa.6 was rated at 1,770 ehp. A 500-hour test was undertaken in 1948 and the Mamba was the first turboprop engine to power the Douglas DC-3 when in 1949, a Dakota testbed was converted to take two Mambas.

The Mamba was also developed into the form of the Double Mamba, which was used to power the Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft for the Royal Navy. This was essentially two Mambas lying side-by-side and driving contra-rotating propellers separately through a common gearbox.

A turbojet version of the Mamba was developed as the Armstrong Siddeley Adder, by removing the reduction gearbox.

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