Rolls-Royce Dart

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The Rolls-Royce RB.53 Dart was a long-lived turboprop engine. First produced in the early 1950s, it was still in production until the last F-27s were produced in 1985.

Largely associated with the very successful Vickers Viscount medium range airliner it powered a number of other European and Japanese designs in the 1950s and 60s. The list includes

• Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy medium-range transport (C Mk 1 variant)
• Avro 748 Feeder airliner
• Breguet Alizé anti-submarine aircraft
• Fokker F.27 small airliner
• Handley Page Dart Herald small airliner
• Hawker Siddeley Andover military transport
• NAMC YS-11 short/medium range airliner (Japanese Aircraft)
• Some Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft have been upgraded to use Darts. DC-3's in BEA service which received this update were called Pionairs.

Power output was around 1,500 hp (1,120 kW) in early versions, close to twice that in late versions.