The Rolls-Royce RB.108 was a British jet engine designed in the mid-1950s by Rolls-Royce specifically for use as a VTOL lift engine. It was also used to provide horizontal thrust in the Short SC.1.
Rolls-Royce RB.108
The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft. It was developed by Short Brothers. It was powered by an arrangement of five Rolls-Royce RB.108 turbojets, four of which were used for vertical flight and one for conventional horizontal flight. The SC.1 had the distinction of being the first British fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and the first one to transition between vertical and horizontal flight modes; it was also the first VTOL-capable aircraft with a fly-by-wire control system.
Short SC.1
Short SC1 XG900 prototype at Yeovilton
XG900 Short SC.1 at the SBAC show in 1961, showing the oleo leg fairings and the lift engine automatic inlet louvres added in mid-1960
The first Short SC.1, XG900, at the 1958 SBAC show at Farnborough