The paper sets out to state clearly the influence of saturation on torque production and energy flow in a doubly salient machine. A comparison is made between the performances of a series of switched reluctance motors, which are identical in all respects except for the iron used. The differences include the use of ideal non-saturating iron; the introduction of saturating material in the pole faces; the use of real iron throughout; and the introduction of a magnetic constriction in the pole faces of a real machine. General conclusions are drawn concerning specific output and volt-ampere demand.