The BOl.1 first ran on 16 May 1950 and was designed to produce thrust and to be free from destructive rotating stall on start up to idle speed and to be free from surging on fast accelerations to maximum thrust. The engine started without a problem and Hooker, supervising the first test run and displaying the confidence he had in the design, slammed the throttle to give a surge-free acceleration to maximum power. The thrustmeter showed . The next development was the BOl.1/2 which produced thrust in December 1950. Examples of the similar BOl.1/2A were constructed for US manufacturer Curtiss-Wright which had bought a licence for developing the engine as the TJ-32 or J67 for the projected F-102. The somewhat revised BOl.1/2B, ran in December 1951 producing thrust. The engine was by now ready for air testing and the first flight engines, designated Olympus Mk 99, were fitted into a Canberra "WD952" which first flew with these engines derated to thrust in August 1952. In May 1953, this aircraft reached a world record altitude of . (Fitted with more powerful Mk 102 engines, the Canberra increased the record to in August 1955.) The first production Olympus, the Mk 101, entered service in late 1952 at a rated thrust of 11,000 lb, a weight of 3,650 lb, and with a TBO of 250 hours.