Day 053/23. The Bristol Proteus.

Many people stand puzzled over our Proteus engine on display in the museum. It's tough to figure out the airflow through it.
The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp. The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine drove no compressor stages, but only the propeller, this engine was classified as a free-turbine.
It powered the Bristol Britannia airliner, small naval patrol craft and hovercraft. It was also used to power the land-speed record car, Bluebird.