The Rolls-Royce Conway was the first turbofan jet engine to enter service. Developed from Rolls-Royce research into bypass engines, it introduced a more efficient alternative to the pure turbojets then powering early jet aircraft.
Development began in the 1940s under engineer Alan Arnold Griffith and other Rolls-Royce designers. The Conway used a bypass stream of air around the engine's core, improving fuel economy and reducing some of the limitations of turbojets. Its name followed Rolls-Royce's practice of naming gas-turbine engines after rivers; Conway refers to the River Conwy in Wales.
The engine entered airline service in 1960 on the Boeing 707-420 and Douglas DC-8-40. It was also used on the Handley Page Victor and Vickers VC10. Although its service career was relatively short, it established the turbofan as the dominant direction for large commercial jet engines.
The Conway is often confused with the Spey, another important Rolls-Royce turbofan. The Spey came later and became more widely used in military and civil aircraft, while the Conway holds the historical distinction of being first into service.