The main priority was the continued development of the Mk320 Olympus engine for installation in the new TSR.2 aircraft. The work was carried out under the directorship of Dr Stanley Hooker, who had made his reputation at Rolls Royce working with superchargers and later, gas turbine engines. This engine produced a healthy 30,610 wet (with reheat) thrust but there were problems which arose from BSEL's decision to remove the centre shaft bearing and to use a larger diameter shaft instead. This caused a resonance at high rpm which had a detrimental effect on the engine and limited the engine to lower power settings until BSEL managed to overcome the problem.
Unfortunately the TSR.2 project was scrapped by the govenment of the day after little more than a handful of flights but the engine was in an ideal position for selection as the powerplant for the new supersonic passenger aircraft, Concorde.
1958 saw work start on a project which produce the unique vectored thrust engine, the Pegasus, which powers the equally unique Harrier aircraft. The Pegasus was essentially an Orpheus engine with the addition of the first three LP compressor stages of the Olympus added on to the front as a fan section.
BSEL expanded further in 1961 with the incorporation of Blackburn engines and de Havilland engines and continued to support and develop the various engines now in its portfolio, namely the Viper, Gyron Junior and Gnome.
BSEL was bought out by Rolls Royce in 1966, the latter wanting to prevent BSEL from entering into certain collaberative projects with other engine manufacturers which would have threatened its own products.
