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Rolls-Royce Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation
01 May 2004
Tuesday 4 May 1904 marked the first meeting of Henry Royce and the Hon Charles Rolls. Two years after that Rolls-Royce Ltd was formed, and a year later the motoring press hailed the latest model, the Silver Ghost, "the best car in the world". Throughout 2004, Rolls-Royce plc plans to celebrate its centenary with a series of special events planned in the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, North America and the Far East.
From humble beginnings in a small factory in Manchester, Rolls-Royce moved to Derby where the first aero engine, the Eagle, was developed and built. This engine became a major contributor to the First World War. Motor car and aero engine production continued in the interwar years, and the Bentley marque was acquired in 1931.
Royce's final (and most famous) design before his death in 1933, was of the Merlin engine which first powered the Hurricane in 1935, and the Spitfire a year later. These aircraft were to come to the nation's defence during the Battle of Britain, and for the rest of the war, during which thousands of engines were built.
By the end of the war Frank Whittle had invented the jet engine, and it was Rolls-Royce that converted his designs into production engines.
A boom in both military and civil aircraft followed over the following decade.
The merger of Rolls-Royce with Bristol Siddeley in 1966 led to the Olympus engine for supersonic Concorde and the unique Pegasus engine for the Harrier jump jet.
In 1971 development costs of the programme for the innovative RB211 engine, brought Rolls-Royce's to its knees, and the company was taken into state ownership.
The car division, now at Crewe, was sold off. The RB211 engine flew successfully, firstly in Lockheed's TriStar and then in Boeing's jumbo jet, the 747.
In 1987, the company returned to the private sector. A range of RB211 engines followed which formed the basis of the Trent family of engines.
Trent derivatives not only power virtually all available modern civil aircraft, but will also power the giant Airbus A380 and Boeing's 7E7 'Dreamliner' in the future.
Today Rolls-Royce is a world leader in gas turbine technology for civil and defence aerospace, marine and energy propulsion engine systems. The company is focusing on the technology it needs for the future with a structured research and technology 'Vision' programme.
www.rolls-royce.com
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