Armstrong Siddeley Screamer

1950s British aircraft rocket engine

Screamer

Screamer engine on display at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, Derby
Type  | Rocket engine
National origin | United Kingdom
Manufacturer  | Armstrong Siddeley
First run  | 19 May 1954

The Armstrong Siddeley Screamer was a British rocket engine intended to power the Avro 720 manned interceptor aircraft (Avro's competitor to the Saunders-Roe SR.53 for a rocket-powered interceptor). Thrust was variable, up to a maximum of 8,000 lbf (36 kN).[1][2][3]

## Design and development

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Work on the Screamer started in 1946, with the first static test at Armstrong Siddeley's rocket plant at Ansty in March 1954.[4] The programme was cancelled, as was the Avro 720, before flight testing.[5]

In 1951, a Gloster Meteor F.8 was experimentally fitted with a Screamer mounted below the fuselage.[1][6]

The Screamer project was cancelled in March 1956, at a reported total cost of £650,000.[7]

## Engines on display

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* A preserved Screamer is part of the engine collection on display at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust in Derby.

## Specifications

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### General characteristics

* Type: Variable thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine
* Length: 78.5 in (199.4 cm)
* Diameter: 27 in (68.6)
* Dry weight: 470 lb (213.2 kg)
* Fuel: Kerosene
* Oxidiser: Liquid oxygen (LOX) and filtered water (coolant)

### Components

* Pumps: Three pumps

### Performance

* Thrust: 9,500 lb (42 kN) at 40,000 ft (12,200 metres) (estimated)
* Burn time:

## See also

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Comparable engines

* Bristol Siddeley 605
* de Havilland Spectre
* Napier Scorpion

Related lists

* List of aircraft engines

## References

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1. ^ a b "Armstrong Siddeley Screamer". Flight (PDF): 160–164. 27 July 1956. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
2. ^ Allen, S., RAeS (7 December 1951). "Rockets for Aircraft Propulsion". The Aeroplane.`{{cite journal}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Allen, S., RAeS (19 October 1956). "ROCKET-MOTOR DESIGN: A Paper by the Chief Engineer of Armstrong Siddeley Motors (Rocket Division)". Flight (PDF): 637–638. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2014.`{{cite journal}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. ^ "Scorpion and Screamer". Flight: 76. 13 July 1956. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2018.
5. ^ C.N. Hill (2001). A Vertical Empire: The History of the UK Rocket and Space Programme, 1950-1971. Imperial College Press. p. 28\. ISBN 1-86094-268-7.
6. ^ Keith Meggs. "A Man and his Machines". Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
7. ^ "Cancelled projects: the list up-dated". Flight: 262. 17 August 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2018.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armstrong Siddeley Screamer.

* "Sectional drawing of the Screamer" (image). Flight International.

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Armstrong Siddeley aero engines

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