Frank Whittle
Born	1 June 1907(1907-06-01) Earlsdon, Coventry, England. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Earlsdon is a suburb of Coventry, England. It is the birth place of Aviation pioneer Frank Whittle. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
Died	9 August 1996 (aged 89) Columbia, Maryland. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Columbia is a Census-designated place and planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. United States
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Burial place	Cranwell, England
Nationality	English
Education	Peterhouse, University of Cambridge
Occupation	RAF officer
Employers	Royal Air Force
Title	Sir
Known for	Development of the jet engine
Spouse	Dorothy Lee (1930–1976) Hazel Hall
Children	2 sons

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907–9 August 1996) was an English Royal Air Force officer. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung. Cranwell ( the name means the spring where cranes are found) is a village situated in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Peterhouse is the oldest college in the University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the specific --->A jet engine is a Reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of Fluid to Air Commodore ( Air Cdre in the RAF, AIRCDRE in the RNZAF and RAAF, A/C in the former RCAF) is a rank in The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Founded in 1866 The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the entire global Aerospace Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland An officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority Sharing credit with Germany's Dr. Hans von Ohain for independently inventing the jet engine, he is hailed as a father of jet propulsion. Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain ( December 14 1911 March 13 1998) was one of the inventors of jet propulsion. specific --->A jet engine is a Reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of Fluid to ^[1] By the end of World War II, Whittle's efforts resulted in engines that would lead the world in performance through the end of the decade. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Early life

Whittle's birthplace in Earlsdon, Coventry, England. Earlsdon is a suburb of Coventry, England. It is the birth place of Aviation pioneer Frank Whittle. (photo 2007)

Whittle was born in a terraced house in Earlsdon, Coventry, England on 1 June 1907, the son of a mechanic. In Architecture and City planning, a terrace(d or row house or townhouse (though the latter term can also refer to Patio houses Earlsdon is a suburb of Coventry, England. It is the birth place of Aviation pioneer Frank Whittle. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year ^[1] When Whittle was nine years old, the family moved to the nearby town of Royal Leamington Spa, where his father purchased the Leamington Valve and Piston Ring Company, which comprised a few lathes and other tools, and a single-cylinder gas engine. Leamington Spa, properly Royal Leamington Spa, commonly Leamington (ˈlɛmɪŋtən and "Leam" to locals is a Spa town in central Whittle became an expert on the engine. ^[1][2]

Whittle won a scholarship to Leamington College, but when his father's business faltered there was not enough money to keep him there. He left in 1923 to join the RAF.

In January 1923, having passed the RAF entrance examination, Whittle reported to RAF Halton as an aircraft apprentice. RAF Halton is one of the larger Royal Air Force (RAF stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton Buckinghamshire. He lasted only two days: only five feet tall and with a small chest measurement, he failed the medical. ^[2] He then put himself through a vigorous training program and special diet to build up his physique, only to fail again six months later. He then applied again under an assumed name and was ordered to RAF Cranwell where he passed the physical. RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford.

Through his early days as an Aircraft apprentice, first at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, and latterly at RAF Halton, he maintained his interest in the Model Aircraft Society, where he built replicas. The Aircraft Apprentice Scheme (1920-1993 was a training program for British ground crew personnel The Royal Air Force College ( RAFC) is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing RAF Halton is one of the larger Royal Air Force (RAF stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton Buckinghamshire. The quality of these attracted the eye of his commanding officer, who felt that Whittle was also a mathematical genius. He was so impressed that in 1926 he recommended Whittle for officer training at Cranwell, a rarity for a "commoner" in what was still a very class-based military structure. In British law a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. For Whittle, this was the chance of a lifetime: not only to enter the officer corps but also because the training included flying lessons.

Of the few apprentices that were accepted, only about one percent completed the course. Whittle graduated in 1928 at the age of 21. He ranked second in his class in academics and was described as an "exceptional to above average" pilot. ^[2]

A requirement of the course was that each student had to produce a thesis for graduation: Whittle decided to write his on future developments in aircraft design, notably high-speed flight at high altitudes and speeds over 500 mph (800 km/h). (For the South African airport with IATA code "KMH" see Johan Pienaar Airport. In Future Developments in Aircraft Design he showed that incremental improvements in existing propeller engines were unlikely to make such flight routine. Instead he described what is today referred to as a motorjet; a motor using a conventional piston engine to provide compressed air to a combustion chamber whose exhaust was used directly for thrust—essentially an afterburner attached to a propeller engine. A motorjet is a rudimentary type of Jet engine which is sometimes referred to as thermojet, a term now commonly A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a Heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating Pistons to convert The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs The idea was not new and had been talked about for some time in the industry, but Whittle's aim was to demonstrate that at increased altitudes the lower outside air pressure would increase the design's efficiency. For long-range flight, using an Atlantic-crossing mailplane as his example, the engine would spend most of its time at high altitude and thus could outperform a conventional powerplant.

Development of the jet engine

Whittle continued working on the motorjet principle after his thesis work but eventually abandoned it when further calculations showed it would weigh as much as a conventional engine of the same thrust. Pondering the problem he thought "Why not substitute a turbine for the piston engine?" Instead of using a piston engine to provide the compressed air for the burner, a turbine could be used to extract some power from the exhaust and drive a similar compressor to those used for superchargers. A supercharger is an air compressor used for Forced induction of an Internal combustion engine. The remaining exhaust thrust would power the aircraft. ^[3]

In August 1928 Whittle joined No. 111 squadron flying Armstrong Whitworth Siskins, but was soon posted to Central Flying School, Wittering, for a flying instructor's course. The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a British Biplane single-seat Fighter aircraft of the 1920s produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. He showed his engine concept around the base, and it attracted the attention of Flying Officer Pat Johnson, formerly a patent examiner. Johnson, in turn, took the concept to the commanding officer of the base. This set into motion a chain of events that almost led to the engine being produced much sooner than actually occurred. ^[2]

Earlier, in July 1926, A. A. Griffith published a paper on compressors and turbines, which he had been studying at the RAE. Alan Arnold Griffith ( 13 June 1893 &ndash 13 Oct 1963) was an English engineer who among many other contributions is best known The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE England, was a British research establishment latterly under the UK Ministry of Defence He showed that such designs up to this point had been flying "stalled", and that by giving the compressor blades an aerofoil shape their efficiency could be dramatically improved. The paper went on to describe how the increased efficiency of these sorts of compressors and turbines would allow a jet engine to be produced, although he felt the idea was impractical, and instead suggested using the power as a turboprop. A turboprop engine is a type of aircraft powerplant that uses a Gas turbine engine to drive a Propeller. At the time most superchargers used a centrifugal compressor, so there was limited interest in the paper. Centrifugal compressor, (sometimes referred to as radial compressors) are a special class of radial-flow work-absorbing Turbomachinery that includes pumps

In late 1929 Whittle sent his concept to the Air Ministry to see if it would be of any interest to them. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force. With little knowledge of the topic they turned to the only other person who had written on the subject and passed the paper on to Griffith. Griffith appears to have been convinced that Whittle's "simple" design could never achieve the sorts of efficiencies needed for a practical engine. After pointing out an error in one of Whittle's calculations, he went on to comment that the centrifugal design would be too large for aircraft use and that using the jet directly for power would be rather inefficient. The RAF returned comment to Whittle, referring to the design as being "impracticable". ^[2]

Others in the RAF were not so sure. In particular Pat Johnson convinced Whittle to patent the idea in January 1930. Since the RAF was not interested in the concept they did not declare it secret, meaning that Whittle was able to retain the rights to the idea which would have otherwise been their property. This rejection would later turn out to be a stroke of luck.

In 1931 Whittle was posted to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe as a test pilot of seaplanes, and armament officer. The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment was a British military research and test organisation Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. He was recommended for and moved onto the Officers' Engineering Course at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire in 1932 and then exceptionally to Peterhouse, a college of Cambridge University, in 1934. RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a County in England that forms part of the East of England region. Peterhouse is the oldest college in the University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the He graduated in 1936 with a First in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos. The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours Bachelor's degree by Tripos ( a word which has an obscure ^[2]

Power jets

Whittle's jet engine patent lapsed in 1935 because he could not afford the renewal fee of £5. Soon after he was approached by Rolf Dudley-Williams and James Collingwood Tinling, both ex-RAF servicemen, who wanted to expand the development of his engine. Sir Rolf Dudley Dudley-Williams 1st Baronet (originally (Rolf Dudley Williams, 17 June, 1908 &ndash 8 October, 1987) was a James Collingwood Burdett Tinling ( 24 March 1900 - 1983 was an ex- RAF officer who joined with Rolf Dudley-Williams and Frank Whittle They introduced him to two investment bankers, Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter and Lancelot Law Whyte, who had an interest in developing speculative projects that conventional banks wouldn't touch.

Whyte met with the twenty-eight-year-old Whittle on September 11, 1935, and was left with a positive impression:

With Bonham-Carter and Whyte's backing to the tune of £2,000, Dudley-Williams, Tinling and Whittle incorporated as "Power Jets Ltd. " in 1936. Work was started on an experimental engine at a factory in Rugby, Warwickshire belonging to British Thomson-Houston (BTH), a steam turbine company. Rugby is a Market town in Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon. The RAF still saw no value in the effort, but since Whittle was still a pilot they placed him on the Special Duty List and allowed him to work on the design as long as it took no more than six hours a week.

The Gloster E.28/39, the first British aircraft to fly with a turbojet engine

Funding development of the first engine, known as the WU (Whittle Unit) was a serious problem. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Most potential investors shied from a privately funded project that appeared to be semi-secret yet had no RAF backing; if the project was going to work, why didn't the RAF fund it? Once again it seemed not everyone was so sceptical of Whittle's ideas and in October 1936 Henry Tizard, the rector of Imperial College London and chairman of the Aeronautical Research Committee, sent details of Whittle's engine to Griffith once again. Sir Henry Thomas Tizard ( 23 August 1885 in Gillingham, Kent – 9 October 1959 in Fareham, Hampshire Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine as given in its Royal Charter It is one of only three universities to have reached Griffith himself had by this time started construction of an engine design, and perhaps to avoid tainting his own efforts he returned a much more positive review. He remained highly critical of some features, notably the use of jet thrust, seemingly ignoring the fact that the performance of Whittle's design at high speed and altitude was the crucial aspect of the programme.

Despite these problems Power Jets were able to complete the WU, which ran successfully on April 12, 1937. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Tizard pronounced it "streets ahead" of any other advanced engine he had seen and managed to interest the Air Ministry enough to fund development with a contract for £6,000 to develop a flyable version. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force. Nevertheless it was a year before all of the funds were available, greatly delaying development. Meanwhile testing continued with the WU, which showed an alarming tendency to race out of control. Due to the dangerous nature of the work being carried out, in 1938 development was largely moved from Rugby to BTH's semi-disused Ladywood foundry at nearby Lutterworth in Leicestershire where there was a successful run of the WU in March that year. Lutterworth is a Market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. Leicestershire (ˈlɛstəʃə(r or ˈlɛstəʃɪə(r abbreviation Leics Although the potential of the engine was obvious, the Air Ministry remained focused on the production of piston engine designs.

These delays and the lack of funding slowed the project. In Germany, Hans von Ohain had started work on a prototype in 1935 and had by this point passed the prototype stage and was building the first flyable design, the Heinkel HeS 3. Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain ( December 14 1911 March 13 1998) was one of the inventors of jet propulsion. The HeS 3 was the world's first operational Jet engine to power an aircraft There is little reason to believe that Whittle's efforts would not have been at the same level or more advanced had the Air Ministry taken a greater interest in the design. When war broke out in September 1939, Power Jets had a payroll of only 10 and Griffith's operations at the RAE and Metropolitan Vickers were similarly small. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as

The stress of the continual on-again-off-again development and problems with the engine took a serious toll on Whittle. He suffered from stress-related ailments such as eczema and heart palpitations, while his weight dropped to 9 stone (126 lb / 57 kg). Eczema (from Greek έκζεμα) is a form of Dermatitis, or Inflammation of the Epidermis. In order to keep to his 16-hour workdays, he sniffed Benzedrine during the day and then took tranquilizers and sleeping pills at night to offset the effects and allow him to sleep. Benzedrine is the trade name of the Racemic mixture of Amphetamine (dl-amphetamine Over this period he became irritable and developed an "explosive" temper.

Following the outbreak of World War II the Air Ministry changed priorities and once again looked at the various advanced projects underway. By 1939, Power Jets could barely afford to keep the lights on when yet another visit was made by Air Ministry personnel. This time Whittle was able to run the WU at high power for 20 minutes without any difficulty. One of the members of the team was the Director of Scientific Research, H. E. Wimperis, who walked out of the demonstration utterly convinced of the importance of the project. A contract for full-scale development was immediately sent to Power Jets, along with a number of tenders to various companies to set up production lines for up to 3,000 engines a month in 1942. Power Jets had no manufacturing capability, so the Air Ministry offered shared production and development contracts with BTH, Vauxhall and the Rover Company. Vauxhall Motors is a British automobile company It is a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GM and is part of GM Europe. The Rover Company was a British Motor vehicle manufacturing company originating in Coventry in 1904 which moved to Solihull after World War II However, the contract was eventually taken up by Rover only. They also sent out a contract for a simple airframe to carry the engine, which was quickly taken up by Gloster. The Gloster Aircraft Company Limited, known locally as GAC was a British aircraft manufacturer

Whittle had already studied the problem of turning the massive WU into a flyable design, and with the new contract work started in earnest on the "Whittle Supercharger Type W. 1. " However, Rover was unable to deliver the W. 1 production engine before Gloster's experimental airframe was ready. Whittle then cobbled together an engine built from various test parts and called it the W. 1X ("X" standing for experimental), which ran for the first time on December 14 1940. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1940: Events January January 6 - During the Winter War between This engine powered the Gloster E.28/39 for taxi testing on April 7 1941 near the factory in Gloucester, where it took to the air for two or three short hops of several hundred yards at about six feet from the ground. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1941: Events Jackie Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the ^[1]

The "full" W. 1 of 3. 8 kN (850 lbf) thrust ran on April 12, 1941, and on May 15, 1941 the W. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 1-powered E. 28/39 took off from Cranwell at 7:40 pm, flying for 17 minutes and reaching a maximum speed of around 340 mph (545 km/h). Within days it was reaching 370 mph (600 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,600 m), exceeding the performance of the contemporary Spitfires. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Success of the design was now evident and nearly every engine company in Britain started their own crash efforts to catch up with Power Jets.

The W2/700 engine flew in the Gloster E.28/39, the first British aircraft to fly with a turbojet engine, and the Gloster Meteor. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Work on a new design known as the W. 2 was then started. Like the W. 1 it featured a "reverse flow" design of the burners, in which the heated air from the flame cans was piped back towards the front of the engine before entering the turbine area. This allowed the engine to be "folded", with the flame cans lying around the turbine area, thereby creating a shorter engine. Power Jets also spent some time in May 1940 drawing up the W. 2Y, a similar design with a "straight through" airflow that resulted in a longer engine and (more critically) driveshaft but having a somewhat simpler layout. To reduce the weight of the driveshaft as much as possible, the W. 2Y used a large cylindrical shaft almost as large as the turbine disk, "necked down" at either end where it connected to the turbine and compressor.

The Air Ministry was eager to obtain an operational jet aircraft and authorised BTH to press ahead with the design of a twin-engined jet interceptor, which would evolve into the Gloster Meteor. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Meteor was intended to use either the W. 2 or the similar Halford H.1 (later named "Goblin") but de Havilland later decided to keep all the Halfords for their own design, the Vampire. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The de Havilland Aircraft Company (less commonly spelled de Haviland was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Rover

In 1941 the Rover Company set up a new laboratory for Whittle's team along with a production line at their disused Barnoldswick factory as well as a parallel effort with their own engineers at Waterloo Mill, Clitheroe. The Rover Company was a British Motor vehicle manufacturing company originating in Coventry in 1904 which moved to Solihull after World War II Barnoldswick (colloquially known as Barlick) is a town and Civil parish within the West Craven area of the Pendle district of Lancashire Clitheroe is a town and Civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Here Adrian Lombard attempted to develop the W. 2 into a production quality design, dispensing with Whittle's "reverse flow" burners and developing a longer but simpler "straight-through" engine instead. Work at Barnoldswick continued on Whittle's original design, now known as the W. 2B/23, while Lombard's new design became the W. 2B/26. Whittle was upset by this course of events, feeling that all work should concentrate on producing a single design as soon as possible.

By late 1941 it was obvious that the arrangement between Power Jets and Rover was not working. Whittle was frustrated by Rover's inability to deliver production-quality parts, as well as with their "we know better than you" attitude and became increasingly vocal. Rover was losing interest in the project after the delays and constant harassment from Power Jets.

Rolls-Royce

In 1940, Stanley Hooker of Rolls-Royce had met with Whittle and later introduced him to their current CEO, Ernest Hives. Sir Stanley George Hooker ( September 30, 1907 – May 24, 1984) was a Jet engine Engineer, first at Rolls-Royce For the present day company see Rolls-Royce plc. For other uses see Rolls-Royce (disambiguation. Ernest Walter Hives 1st Baron Hives CH MBE ( 21 April 1886 - 24 April 1965) was the one-time head of the Rolls-Royce Hooker led the supercharger division at Rolls-Royce, which was naturally suited to jet engine work. Hives agreed to supply key parts to help the project and it was Rolls engineers who helped solve the surging problems seen in the early engines. In early 1942 Whittle contracted Rolls for six engines as well, known as the WR. 1, identical to the existing W. 1.

The problems at Rover became a "public secret" and eventually Spencer Wilkes of Rover met with Hives and Hooker at the Swan and Royal pub near the Barnoldswick factory. They decided to trade the jet factory at Barnoldswick for Rolls' tank engine factory in Nottingham. The Rolls-Royce Meteor (also sometimes known as the Rover Meteor) was a British Tank engine developed from the Rolls-Royce Merlin A handshake sealed the deal. The handover took place on January 1, 1943, although the official date was later. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rolls closed Rover's parallel plant at Clitheroe soon after, although they continued development of the W. Clitheroe is a town and Civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. 2B/26 that had been developed there.

Testing and production was immediately stepped up. In December Rover had tested the W. 2B for a total of 37 hours, but within the next month Rolls-Royce tested it for 390 hours. The W. 2B passed its first 100-hour test at full performance of 725 kgf (7. The unit kilogram-force ( kgf, often incorrectly just kg) or kilopond ( kp) is defined as the Force exerted by Earth's gravity 11 kN) on May 7, 1943. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The prototype Meteor airframe was already complete and took to the air on June 12, 1943. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Production versions started rolling off the line in October, first known as the W. 2B/23, then the RB. 23 (for Rolls-Barnoldswick) and eventually the Rolls-Royce Welland. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Barnoldswick was too small for full-scale production and turned back into a pure research facility under Hooker, while a new factory was set up in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Newcastle-under-Lyme, known simply as "castle" to many local people is a Market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal The W. 2B/26, as the Rolls-Royce Derwent, opened the new line and soon replaced the Welland, allowing the production lines at Barnoldswick to shut down in late 1944. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Despite lengthy delays (Hitler initially demanded the Me 262 be a bomber), the Luftwaffe beat the British efforts into the air by nine months, which in turn, had also been delayed at Rover. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Since their German counterparts were forced to deal with a serious shortage of high temperature alloys, the Junkers axial-flow engines, designed by Dr. Axial compressors are rotating aerofoil based compressors in which the working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation Anselm Franz, would typically last 10–25 hours (longer with an experienced pilot) and sometimes exploded on their first startup. Anselm Franz (1900— November 18[[ 994]] was a pioneering Jet engine Engineer, known for the development of the Jumo 004 turbojet in Germany Thus the engines that powered the Meteor were much more reliable by comparison. The equivalent British engine would run for 150 hours between overhauls and had twice the power-to-weight ratio and half the specific fuel consumption. Power-to-weight ratio (specific power is a calculation commonly applied to Engines and other mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another Specific fuel consumption, often shortened to SFC, or TSFC is an Engineering term that is used to describe the Fuel efficiency of an Engine By the end of the war every major engine company in Britain was working on jet designs based on the Whittle pattern, or licensed outright.

Continued development

A cutaway General Electric J31 (I-16) turbojet engine based on the W. The General Electric J31 was the first Jet engine produced in quantity in the United States, essentially a production version of the prototype Whittle W 1/W. 2B

With the W. 2 proceeding smoothly, Whittle was sent to Boston, Massachusetts in mid-1942 to help the General Electric jet programme. GE, the primary supplier of turbochargers in the U. A turbocharger, or turbo, is an air Compressor used for forced-induction of an Internal combustion engine. S. , was well-suited to quickly starting jet production. A combination of the W. 2B design and a simple airframe from Bell Aircraft flew in autumn of 1942 as the Bell XP-59A Airacomet. The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an Aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of Fighter aircraft for World War WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Whittle's developments at Power Jets continued, resulting in the improved W. 2/500 and later the W. 2/700. Both were fitted for testing on Meteors, the W. 2/700 later being fitted with an afterburner ("reheat" in British terminology), as well as experimental water injection to cool the engine and allow for higher power settings without melting the turbine. The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs Water injection, also known as anti-detonant injection, is a method for cooling the Combustion chambers of Engines by adding Water to the incoming Whittle also turned his attention to the axial-flow engine type as championed by Griffith, designing the L. R. 1. Other developments included the use of fans to provide greater mass-flow, either at the front of the engine as in a modern turbofan or at the rear, which is much less common but somewhat simpler. A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine

Whittle's work had caused a minor revolution within the British engine manufacturing industry, and even before the E. 28/39 flew most companies had set up their own research efforts. In 1939, Metropolitan-Vickers set up a project to develop an axial-flow design as a turboprop but later re-engineered the design as a pure jet known as the Metrovick F.2. Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as A turboprop engine is a type of aircraft powerplant that uses a Gas turbine engine to drive a Propeller. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Rolls-Royce had already copied the W. 1 to produce the low-rated WR. 1 but later stopped work on this project after taking over Rover's efforts. In 1941, de Havilland started a jet fighter project, the Spider Crab – later called Vampire – along with their own engine to power it; Frank Halford's Goblin (Halford H. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Major Frank Bernard Halford ( 7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English Aircraft engine designer WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 1). Armstrong Siddeley also developed an axial-flow design, the ASX but reversed Vickers' thinking and later modified it into a turboprop instead, the Python. Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century The ASX, likely short for Armstrong Siddeley eXperimental, was an early Axial flow Jet engine built by Armstrong Siddeley that first ran in April The Armstrong Siddeley Python was an early British Turboprop engine designed and built by the Armstrong Siddeley company

With practically every engine company producing their own designs, Power Jets was no longer able to generate realistic income. In April 1944 Power Jets was nationalised, becoming the "National Gas Turbine Establishment" at the original Ladywood experimental site. In 1946 it was reorganised with the RAE divisions joining them.

After the War

Frank Whittle speaking to employees of the Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory (Now known as the NASA Glenn Research Center), USA, in 1946

Whittle, disenfranchised, quit what was left of Power Jets in 1948. NASA John H Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field (see History for previous names is a NASA center located within the cities of Brook Park Long a socialist, his experiences with nationalisation changed his mind and he later campaigned for the Conservative Party (especially for his friend Dudley Williams, who was Managing Director of Power Jets and became Conservative Member of Parliament for Exeter). Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Sir Rolf Dudley Dudley-Williams 1st Baronet (originally (Rolf Dudley Williams, 17 June, 1908 &ndash 8 October, 1987) was a The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Exeter is a Borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He also retired from the RAF, complaining of ill health, leaving with the rank of Air Commodore. Shortly afterwards he received £100,000 from the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors, partly to pay him for turning over all of his shares of Power Jets when it was nationalised. He was made a Knight of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in that same year. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.

He joined BOAC as a technical advisor on aircraft gas turbines and travelled extensively over the next few years, viewing jet engine developments in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The British Overseas Airways Corporation ( BOAC) was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 He left BOAC in 1952 and spent the next year working on a biography, Jet: The Story of a Pioneer. He was awarded the Royal Society of Arts' Albert Medal that year. The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts Manufactures and Commerce ( RSA) is a British multi-disciplinary institution based in London. This article describes the Albert Medal for distinguished merit in promoting Arts Manufactures and Commerce

Returning to work in 1953, he accepted a position as a Mechanical Engineering Specialist in one of Shell Oil's subsidiaries. Here he developed a new type of self-powered drill, driven by a turbine running on the lubricating mud that is pumped into the borehole during drilling. Normally a well is drilled by attaching rigid sections of pipe together and powering the cutting head by spinning the pipe, but Whittle's design removed the need for a strong mechanical connection between the drill and the head frame, allowing for much lighter piping to be used. He gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1954 on the The Story of Petroleum. The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have been held in London annually since 1825

Whittle left Shell in 1957 but the project was picked up in 1961 by Bristol Siddeley Engines, who set up "Bristol Siddeley Whittle Tools" to further develop the concept. Bristol Siddeley was a British aero-engine manufacturer formed in 1959 from the merger of Bristol Aero Engines and Armstrong Siddeley Motors. In 1966 Rolls Royce purchased Bristol Siddeley, but the financial pressures and eventual bankruptcy due to cost overruns of the RB211 project led to the slow wind-down and eventual disappearance of Whittle's "turbo-drill". The Rolls-Royce RB211 is a family of high-bypass Turbofan engines made by Rolls-Royce plc and capable of generating 37400 to 60600 pounds-force (166 The design would eventually appear only in the late 1990s, when it was combined with continuous coiled pipe to allow uninterrupted drilling at any angle. "Continuous-coil drilling" has the ability to drill straight down into a pocket of oil and then sideways through the pocket to allow the oil to flow out faster.

In 1976 Whittle emigrated to the US and the next year he accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the US Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland). The United States Naval Academy is an undergraduate college in Annapolis, Maryland, United States that educates and commissions officers of the United States Annapolis is the capital of the US state of Maryland, as well as the County seat of Anne Arundel County. His research concentrated on the boundary layer before his professorship became part-time from 1978 to 1979. In Physics and Fluid mechanics, a boundary layer is that layer of Fluid in the immediate vicinity of a bounding surface The part-time post enabled him to write a textbook entitled Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion, published in 1981. It was at this time that he met Hans von Ohain, who was working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain ( December 14 1911 March 13 1998) was one of the inventors of jet propulsion. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of At first upset because he believed von Ohain had developed his engine after seeing Whittle's patent, he eventually became convinced that von Ohain's development was his own. The two became good friends and often toured the US giving talks together. In 1991 von Ohain and Whittle were awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize for their work on turbojet engines. The National Academy of Engineering awards annually the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about

Later life

Frank Whittle married Dorothy Lee in May 1930 and they had two sons. ^[1] While at Cranwell he lodged in a bungalow at Dorrington. Dorrington is a parish and Village of fewer than 300 people in North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England, 2km south of Digby The marriage was dissolved in 1976 and Whittle re-married to Hazel Hall. He died on 8 August, 1996 of lung cancer, at his home in Columbia, Maryland, USA. Columbia is a Census-designated place and planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. He was cremated in America and his ashes were flown to England where they were placed in a memorial in a church in Cranwell (United Kingdom). Cranwell ( the name means the spring where cranes are found) is a village situated in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. ^[1]

Memorials

Statue of Sir Frank Whittle under the Whittle Arches, Coventry

In Coventry, England, UK

• The "Whittle Arch" statue is a large double wing-like structure situated outside the Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Coventry City Centre. The Coventry Transport Museum (formerly known as the Museum of British Road Transport) is a major motor Museum, located in Coventry, England Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England.

The Whittle Arches in Coventry

• A statue of Whittle by Faith Winter is situated under the Whittle Arch in Millennium Place, Coventry. It was unveiled on the 1 June 2007 by his son, Ian Whittle, during a televised event. It shows Whittle at RAF Cranwell looking towards the sky observing the first test flight of a Gloster-Whittle E28/39 on 15 May 1941. RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
• In the Walsgrave suburb of Coventry, there is a school named after Whittle. Walsgrave-On-Sowe was a village located about 3 miles north-east of Coventry, West Midlands in England. It was called Frank Whittle Primary up until 1997, before being re-named Sir Frank Whittle Primary School. A jet engine replica sits in the reception area of the school, Whittle himself donating it before his death.
• There is a commemorative plaque on the house in Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry, where he was born and brought up in up to the age of nine years. Earlsdon is a suburb of Coventry, England. It is the birth place of Aviation pioneer Frank Whittle. ^[1]
• On Hearsall Common, near to Whittle's birthplace in Coventry, a plaque commemorates where Whittle gained inspiration when he saw an aircraft land. Hearsall Common is located in Earlsdon, Coventry in the West Midlands central England.
• Coventry University has named one its buildings after him. Coventry University is a post-1992 University in Coventry, West Midlands, England.
• The main hangar at the Midland Air Museum is called the The Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre. The Midland Air Museum (MAM is situated just outside the village of Baginton in Warwickshire, England, and is adjacent to Coventry Airport.
• Whittle house is one of the four "houses" at Finham Park School

Outside Coventry

Sir Frank Whittle's memorial at Farnborough Aerodrome

• A full-scale model of the E. The house system is a traditional feature of British Schools and schools in ex- British colonies, similar to the collegiate system of a University Finham Park School is situated on Green Lane in Finham, Coventry, England. 28/39 Whittle has been erected just outside the northern boundary of Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport (previously called RAE Farnborough) is an airport situated in Farnborough, Hampshire Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain
• A similar memorial has been erected in the middle of a roundabout outside Lutterworth where much of Whittle's development, including the invention of the jet engine, was carried out. A roundabout is a type of Road junction at which Traffic enters a one-way stream around a central island Lutterworth is a Market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.
• The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an Engineer,normally resident in the United Kingdom, for outstanding History Founded in 1976, the Academy was initially known as the Fellowship of Engineering.
• Two roads in Derby are named Sir Frank Whittle Road and Sir Frank Whittle Way, as a tribute to his work at Rolls-Royce. Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dˈɑːbɪ/ is a city in the East Midlands of England. For the present day company see Rolls-Royce plc. For other uses see Rolls-Royce (disambiguation.
• Whittle Parkway in Burnham is named after him. Burnham lies north of the River Thames, and sits on the border with Berkshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough.
• One of the main buildings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell is called Whittle Hall. The Royal Air Force College ( RAFC) is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing It houses the Officer & Aircrew Cadet Training Unit and the Air Power Studies Division of King's College London. King's College London is a British Higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the federal University of London.
• Cambridge University Engineering Department has a Whittle Laboratory.
• A road in Rugby is named Whittle Close. Rugby is a Market town in Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon.
• Whittle Close in Clitheroe is named after him. Clitheroe is a town and Civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England.
• Sir Frank Whittle Way, a new road in Blackpool Business park, Blackpool.
• The Jet public house in Leamington Spa is named in honour of Whittle and was actually called The Jet and Whittle until recent times.
• The Whittle Gas field in the Southern North Sea operated by BP.
• The Whittle Inn near the Gloster Aircraft Company's former test runway in Hucclecote, Gloucestershire is named after Whittle; the nearby Tesco has a picture of a Meteor incorporated in part of its glass frontage. The Gloster Aircraft Company Limited, known locally as GAC was a British aircraft manufacturer Hucclecote is a Village in Gloucestershire, England situated on the old Roman road connecting Gloucester with Barnwood, History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain

See also

• Timeline of jet power

References

• Frank Whittle (1953). Jet: The story of a pioneer. Frederick Muller Ltd.
• Frank Whittle (1981). Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion. Pergamon.
• John Golley (1997). Genesis of the Jet: Frank Whittle and the Invention of the Jet Engine. Crowood Press. ISBN 1-85310-860-X.
• David S Brooks (1997). Vikings at Waterloo: Wartime Work on the Whittle Jet Engine by the Rover Company. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. ISBN 1-872922-08-2

External links

• News report - Memorial for University of Cambridge Student who Invented The Jet Engine
• More about Frank Whittle.
• More about Frank Whittle and the jet age at the 'Royal Air Force History' website