Supermarine Spitfire several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, and trainer, and it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s. The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire that served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was strong enough and adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlins and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,340 hp (1,745 kW). As a result, the Spitfire's performance and capabilities improved over the course of its
Rolls-Royce RB162 change from vertical to horizontal installation. With the RB162 fitted the Trident 3B had a 15% increase in thrust over the earlier variants for an engine weight penalty of only 5%. A design study for a turbofan version of the RB162 was designated RB175. Another projected derivative, the RB181 was to be a scaled-down version of the RB162 producing approximately 2,000 lbs of thrust. Seven of these lift engines were to power the unbuilt Lockheed/Short Brothers CL-704 VTOL variant of the F-104 Starfighter. Rolls-Royce RB162 The Rolls-Royce RB162 was a simply constructed and lightweight British turbojet engine produced by Rolls-Royce