The Bristol Siddeley Olympus 320 jet engine was used on the TSR-2 aircraft, a Cold War plane which was considered state-of-the art but never went into action due to spiralling costs.
The engine was built at the Bristol Siddeley factory in Filton in the 1960s.
It is described on internet auction website eBay as a ‘stunning museum piece’. The seller, Jet Art Aviation Ltd, says it a "monumental piece of aviation heritage".
The firm suggests the engine – which was later developed and used in Concorde – would make a "serious addition to any major collection".
It says: "The engine is in its original transport stand. Overall a seriously impressive piece of engineering.
"The LP1 fan is mirror polished titanium. A stunning display engine ready to exhibit. The photos paint a thousand words."
The cost of postage alone for the engine is listed as £1,200.
The engine was part of Rolls-Royce forerunner Bristol Siddeley and the British Aircraft Corporation’s Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance Mach 2 Aircraft (TSR-2), a joint venture with the RAF.
The aircraft design and development was considered ahead of its time and the plane was seen as the country’s most advanced and capable military aircraft prior to the cancellation of the project in April 1965.
The newly-appointed government of the day deemed the project to be too expensive, with projected costs of almost £2 billion over 15 years, and cancelled it with immediate effect.
Only one prototype aircraft reached the test flight stage. Later it was ordered that all aircraft, engines, blueprints and tooling be destroyed to prevent state-of-the-art technology reaching enemy hands.
Two completed but untested aircraft survived and are now preserved, with one at the RAF museum at Cosford, Shropshire, and the other at the Duxford Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire.
Sources:
http://www.southwestbusiness.co.uk
http://www.4-traders.com
