A swirling apparatus for directing air into an annular combustion chamber is disclosed comprising a substantially elliptical vane array disposed around a cylindrical fuel injector. The vanes comprising the vane array extend substantially radially from the fuel injector and define first and second air passages therebetween. The first air passages permit an air mass flow through the vane array having a tangential component greater than that of the air mass flow permitted by the second air passages. Each vane has a helical pitch of 60 degrees and comprises a radially outermost edge, a leading edge and a trailing edge. The vane array has major and minor axes of predetermined length with the length of the major axis being greater than the length of the minor axis by a factor of at least 1.3. When used in conjunction with a conventional annular combustion chamber, the minor axis of each of the elliptical vane arrays is aligned radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the combustion chamber. By aligning the swirlers in this manner, circumferential flow within the combustor is enhanced.
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