Experimental and theoretical studies of nonreacting swirling flow have been performed in a model of an axisymmetric dump combustor. A two-component laser Doppler velocimeter was used to obtain measurements of the three velocity components and numerous fundamental turbulence quantities in two series of tests with minimum disturbance to the combustor flowfield. The results showed the significant effects of swirl, with and without vortex breakdown, on the mean and turbulent flow fields. The experimental results were used to check the performance of a recently developed computer program which used the A>8 closure model. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results showed the inadequacy of the £-8 turbulence model in representing the complex structure of confined swirling flows.