‘A wonderful friend and a man who became the greatest engineer of this century. He was a modest genius and had many attributes other than just sheer technical brilliance. He had, in addition, courage, determination, dignity and generosity, together with an infectious sense of humour.’

The early decades of powered flight featured only piston engine propeller-driven machines. These marvels of human ingenuity strove to pack lighter and more powerful engines as snugly as possible, in order to fly ever faster and higher. However, military designers soon realised that their aircraft were clearly limited both in velocity and maximum altitude. Between the two World Wars, even the fleetest fighter could not exceed around 350 mph (560 kmph), because bigger engines meant greater weight that would, paradoxically, slow down the aircraft. Attempts to spin propellers more rapidly also hit up against compressibility effects as the tips approached the speed of sound. And climbing to high altitude in order to gain tactical advantage over enemy aircraft was difficult because the decreasing atmospheric density reduced both engine and propeller efficiency. When Frank Whittle realised that trying to make more powerful piston engines with larger propellers simply would not work, he dreamt of a gas turbine engine that could forcibly expel air out of an exhaust pipe at the rear, thus generating more propulsive force than any other aero engine in existence. Although some people also credit Hans von Ohain of Germany for independently inventing the jet engine, Whittle is widely regarded as the father of jet propulsion.

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle was born in Coventry, England, on June 1, 1907. The son of a mechanic, from a young age he had an aptitude for engineering and a keen interest in flying. His dreams of joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) were dashed because of his short stature, but at the third attempt he was accepted as an apprentice. Soon his remarkable talents won him a place on the pilot training course at RAF Cranwell. It wasn’t easy being an ex-apprentice amongst a group of highbrow ex-public schoolboys, but he surged ahead of the others and went solo after about 14 hours of dual flying.

In July 1928, Whittle was commissioned as a Pilot Officer. He was rated as an “exceptional to above average” pilot, stood second in class in academics, and won a prize for his course thesis outlining the fundamental concepts of a turbojet engine. He then converted to the Bristol fighter, excelling in daredevil low flying and aerobatics, and was posted to an instructor’s course at the Central Flying School. Here, despite his other responsibilities, he painstakingly designed a turbojet and filed the world’s first patent for a gas turbine to propel an aircraft directly by its exhaust gas, on January 16, 1930, at the age of 22. However, he received neither encouragement nor support from the Air Ministry and the project suffered many delays, mainly due to lack of finance. Yet he managed to create a prototype which first ran in 1937.

The constant setbacks and tension seriously affected Whittle’s health. He began to suffer stress-related ailments such as eczema, heart palpitations and weight loss. And still he continued to push himself but suffered a nervous breakdown in 1940. By early 1941, however, the 850 lbf (3.8 kN) thrust W.1engine was ready and was installed in a custom-built Gloster E.28/39, known as the Pioneer. On May 15, 1941, the Pioneer got airborne, flew for about 17 minutes and reached a speed of around 340 mph (545 kmph). Among the handful of people to witness the first flight at RAF Cranwell was test pilot Eric Brown, who later said, “It had no propeller and made an extraordinary whining noise.” Within days, the jet was touching 370 mph (600 kmph) at 25,000 feet, even exceeding the performance of the legendary Spitfires. Nearly every engine company in Britain then began their own frantic efforts to catch up.

The prototype’s successor, the Gloster Meteor, entered service with the RAF in 1944. However, in Germany, Hans von Ohain had progressed well ahead. His jet engine (which some claim was inspired by Frank Whittle’s freely available design) was installed in the He-178 aircraft, which made the world’s first jet-powered flight on August 27, 1939.