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Today Rolls Royce makes engines for British Army Aircraft and the navy, but from the beginning the Derby based company played a pivotal role in the development of flight.

Pre-war they mainly made luxury cars. In January 1915 the Admiralty ordered twenty five new engines for planes.

The Eagle first ran off a test bed at the Derby works in February 1915, after further testing it was decided to approve the engine for production.

The first engine flew on a Handley page O/100 bomber in December 1915 – the first flight of a Rolls Royce aero engine.

This development paved the way for huge innovations in aero engine and plane flight.

Today, Rolls Royce has a massive presence in Derby, employing thousands of people. They are still at the forefront of aero engine flight making many of the engines that power the planes in your skies.

Location: Rolls Royce Learning & Development Centre, Derby, DE24 9BD
Image shows: Testing a Rolls-Royce 'Eagle' Engine, salved from a damaged plane July 1918
Photograph courtesy of Imperial War Museums

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