British Royal Air Force engineer and air officer (1907–1996)
Frank Whittle
Born
(1907-06-01)1 June 1907 Coventry, England
Died
8 August 1996(1996-08-08) (aged 89) Columbia, Maryland, US
Buried
Cranwell, England
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
Royal Air Force
Years of service
1923–1948
Rank
Air Commodore
Battles/wars
Second World War
Awards
Member of the Order of Merit Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Rumford Medal Louis E. Levy Medal Fellow of the Royal Society[1] Honorary Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society Charles Stark Draper Prize Prince Philip Medal
Spouse(s)
Dorothy Lee
(m. 1930; div. 1976)
Hazel Hall
(m. 1976)
Other work
BOAC technical advisor, Shell engineer, engineer for Bristol Aero Engines, NAVAIR Professor at the US Naval Academy
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS[1] (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with having invented the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for a similar invention which was technically unfeasible at the time. Whittle's jet engines were developed some years earlier than those of Germany's Hans von Ohain, who designed the first-to-fly (but never operational) turbojet engine.
Whittle demonstrated an aptitude for engineering and an interest in flying from an early age. At first he was turned down by the RAF but, determined to join the force, he overcame his physical limitations and was accepted and sent to No. 2 School of Technical Training to join No 1 Squadron of Cranwell Aircraft Apprentices. He was taught the theory of aircraft engines and gained practical experience in the engineering workshops. His academic and practical abilities as an Aircraft Apprentice earned him a place on the officer training course at Cranwell. He excelled in his studies and became an accomplished pilot. While writing his thesis he formulated the fundamental concepts that led to the creation of the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930. His performance on an officers' engineering course earned him a place on a further course at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated with a First.[2][3]
Without Air Ministry support, he and two retired RAF servicemen formed Power Jets Ltd to build his engine with assistance from the firm of British Thomson-Houston.[4] Despite limited funding, a prototype was created, which first ran in 1937. Official interest was forthcoming following this success, with contracts being placed to develop further engines, but the continuing stress seriously affected Whittle's health, eventually resulting in a nervous breakdown in 1940. In 1944 when Power Jets was nationalised he again suffered a nervous breakdown, and resigned from the board in 1946.[5]
In 1948, Whittle retired from the RAF and received a knighthood. He joined BOAC as a technical advisor before working as an engineering specialist with Shell, followed by a position with Bristol Aero Engines. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1976 he accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy from 1977 to 1979. In August 1996, Whittle died of lung cancer at his home in Columbia, Maryland.[6] In 2002, Whittle was ranked number 42 in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[7]
^ abFeilden, G. B. R.; Hawthorne, W. (1998). "Sir Frank Whittle, O.M., K.B.E.. 1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 44: 435–452. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1998.0028. S2CID 71191293.
^Cite error: The named reference tele was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Eminent Petreans". Peterhouse Cambridge. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^Evans, R. L. "Whittle Power Jet Papers". Cambridge Digital Library. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference trust was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Frank Whittle. Whittle – the Jet Pioneer. The History Channel (TV broadcast) & Quantal films (extended DVD of broadcast). Archived from the original (History Channel broadcast & DVD) on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
^Wells, Matt (22 August 2002). "The 100 greatest Britons: lots of pop, not so much circumstance". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
Air Commodore Sir FrankWhittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air...
The Sir FrankWhittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer, normally resident in the United Kingdom, for outstanding...
where it is accelerated to high speed to provide thrust. Two engineers, FrankWhittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept...
The Whittle Arch is a public art installation in Coventry, England. It is dedicated to Sir FrankWhittle, the inventor of the turbojet engine, who was...
southwest of Coventry City Centre. It is the birthplace of aviation pioneer FrankWhittle. Most shops and restaurants are laid out on Earlsdon Street, the suburban...
technical problems involved could not begin to be solved until the 1930s. FrankWhittle, an English inventor and RAF officer, began development of a viable...
place in the War Memorial Park, Coventry was held at Hearsall Common. FrankWhittle, the aerospace engineer and jet pioneer, was born in Earlsdon, and the...
Power Jets was a British company set up by FrankWhittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines. The company was nationalised in 1944...
the Sun - FrankWhittle". PBS. Retrieved 26 March 2010. "History - FrankWhittle (1907–1996)". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2010. FrankWhittle, "Improvements...
heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by FrankWhittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in...
designer of the first turbojet engine to power an aircraft. Together with FrankWhittle he has been described as the co-inventor of the turbojet engine however...
Jet Engine – Sir FrankWhittle – Hans Von Ohain Ohain said that he had not read Whittle's patent and Whittle believed him. (FrankWhittle 1907–1996). Warsitz...
Retrieved 29 March 2014. "Sir FrankWhittle, Inventor of the Jet Engine". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 14 June 2021. "FrankWhittle (1907–1996)". History. BBC...
town also contains a number of well preserved half-timbered buildings. FrankWhittle, inventor of the jet engine, developed some of the world's first jet...
The Power Jets WU (Whittle Unit) was a series of three very different experimental jet engines produced and tested by FrankWhittle and his small team...
the Gloster E28/39 with a single turbo-jet engine (invented by Sir FrankWhittle) took off from the company's flight test airfield at Brockworth. This...
Borough Council on 4 June 2014. The Preston architecture company the FrankWhittle Partnership Limited (the FWP group), who have been involved in the successful...
Establishment. 1930: Having found no interest from the RAF for his idea, FrankWhittle patented the design for a centrifugal gas turbine for jet propulsion...
using viscous forces by adding an ejector, as first envisaged by Whittle. FrankWhittle envisioned flight speeds of 500 mph in his March 1936 UK patent...
this time. The jet engine was clearly an idea whose time had come. FrankWhittle submitted his first patent in 1930. By the late 1930s there were six...
which produced an "artificial silk" later known as viscose rayon. Sir FrankWhittle, the inventor of the jet engine, was from the city, as was the inventor...
This speed limitation led to research into jet engines, notably by FrankWhittle in England and Hans von Ohain in Germany. This also led to propellers...
1928: FrankWhittle formally submitted his ideas for a turbo-jet engine. In October 1929, he developed his ideas further. On 16 January 1930, Whittle submitted...
developed by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian, the jet engine by FrankWhittle and the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee. The United Kingdom continues...
Global Information