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turboprop

engineering
Also known as: p jet

turboprop, hybrid engine that provides jet thrust and also drives a propeller. It is basically similar to a turbojet except that an added turbine, rearward of the combustion chamber, works through a shaft and speed-reducing gears to turn a propeller at the front of the engine.

The first experimental turboprop aircraft, a modified Gloster Meteor fighter equipped with two Rolls-Royce Trent units, flew in 1945 in England. The first turboprop commercial airliner to enter scheduled service was the Vickers Type 701 Viscount, April 18, 1953.

As a consequence of improvements in turbojet design, the turboprop—less efficient at high speeds—lost much of its importance in the 1960s, although it was retained for relatively short range aircraft.

Large jet engine with exposed metal components and fan blades, mounted on a stand outdoors.
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