SULTAN Say Good Bye to the Olympus – with the impending demise of the Helicopter Carrier ILLUSTRIOUS, due to pay off next year (2014) the need to train marine engineers on this type of main engine has run its course.   The Olympus gas turbine has powered Destroyers, Frigates, as well as the (old) Carriers, and came to prominence as the engine for the VULCAN bomber and of course CONCORDE.   Described as the greatest British engine of its generation the Instructors at the Royal Navy’s Engineering School after 35 years of training marine engineers at HMS SULTAN (Gosport), as the ILLUSTRIOUS is the last vessel to be powered by the Olympus.

The Bristol Aero Engine company ran the first Olympus in 1950, and by the 1960s the Royal Navy was looking to adapt the by now highly successful engine in their ships as they began to shift from steam.  The Royal Navy successfully experimented with the Type 14 Frigate EXMOUTH and pioneered the COGOG concept in 1966, when the Frigate was refitted with a combined gas or gas arrangement.    The success of the Type 21, Type 22 Frigates in service plus the Type 42 Destroyers illustrates the success.   The Olympus also powered the INVINCIBLE Class of Aircraft Carriers with four (4) Olympus engines driving two shafts, allowing speeds of up to 28 knots to be achieved.

To replace the Olympus of course HMS SULTAN is gearing up to train the next generation gas turbine, the MT30, which will drive Aircraft Carriers QUEEN ELIZABETH and PRINCE OF WALES – the MT30 are one and a half times more powerful than the Olympus,