Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle | |
---|---|
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 |
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
Early life
Whittle was born in a
After two years attending Milverton School, Whittle won a scholarship to a secondary school which in due course became
Entering the RAF
In January 1923, having passed the RAF entrance examination with a high mark, Whittle reported to
Whittle hated the strict discipline imposed on apprentices and, convinced there was no hope of ever becoming a pilot, he at one time seriously considered deserting.[9] However, throughout his early days as an aircraft apprentice (and at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell), he maintained his interest in model aircraft and joined the Model Aircraft Society, where he built working replicas. The quality of these attracted the eye of the Apprentice Wing commanding officer, who noted that Whittle was also a mathematical genius. He was so impressed that in 1926 he recommended Whittle for officer training at RAF College Cranwell.[2]
For Whittle, this was the chance of a lifetime, not only to enter the commissioned ranks but also because the training included flying lessons on the Avro 504.[2] While at Cranwell he lodged in a bungalow at Dorrington. Being an ex-apprentice amongst a majority of ex-public schoolboys, life as an officer cadet was not easy for him, but he nevertheless excelled in the courses and went solo in 1927 after only 13.5 hours instruction, quickly progressing to the Bristol Fighter and gaining a reputation for daredevil low flying and aerobatics.[9]
A requirement of the course was that each student had to produce a thesis for graduation: Whittle decided to write his on potential aircraft design developments, notably flight at high altitudes and speeds over 500 mph (800 km/h). 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
Of the few apprentices accepted into the Royal Air Force College, Whittle graduated in 1928 at the age of 21 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in July.[11] He ranked second in his class in academics, won the Andy Fellowes Memorial Prize for Aeronautical Sciences for his thesis, and was described as an "exceptional to above average" pilot.[2] However, his flight logbook also showed numerous red ink warnings about showboating and overconfidence,[2] and because of dangerous flying in an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin he was disqualified from the end of term flying contest.[9]
Development of the turbojet 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 driven compressor to provide the compressed air for the burner, a turbine could be used to extract some power from the exhaust and drive a compressor, similar as in a supercharger. The remaining exhaust thrust would power the aircraft.[12]
On 27 August 1928, Pilot Officer Whittle joined No. 111 Squadron, Hornchurch, flying Siskin IIIs. His continuing reputation for low flying and aerobatics provoked a public complaint that almost led to his being court-martialled.[13] Within a year he was posted to Central Flying School, at Wittering, for a flying instructor's course. He became a popular and gifted instructor, and was selected as one of the entrants in a competition to select a team to perform the "crazy flying" routine in the 1930 Royal Air Force Air Display at RAF Hendon. He destroyed two aircraft in accidents during rehearsals but remained unscathed on both occasions. After the second incident an enraged Flight Lieutenant Harold W. Raeburn said furiously, "Why don't you take all my bloody aeroplanes, make a heap of them in the middle of the aerodrome and set fire to them – it's quicker!"[13]
Whittle showed his engine concept around the base, where 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 in motion a chain of events that almost led to the engines being produced much sooner than actually occurred.[2]
Earlier, in July 1926, A. A. Griffith had published a paper on compressors and turbines, which he had been studying at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). He showed that such designs up to this point had been flying "stalled", and that by giving the compressor blades an aerofoil-shaped cross-section 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. At the time most superchargers used a centrifugal compressor, so there was limited interest in the paper.
Encouraged by his commanding officer, in late 1929 Whittle sent his concept to the Air Ministry to see if it would be of any interest to them. 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 sort 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 his comment to Whittle, referring to the design as being "impracticable".[2]
Pat Johnson remained convinced of the validity of the idea, and had Whittle patent[14] 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. Johnson arranged a meeting with British Thomson-Houston (BTH), whose chief turbine engineer seemed to agree with the basic idea. However, BTH did not want to spend the £60,000 it would cost to develop it, and this potential brush with early success went no further.[2]
In January 1930, Whittle was promoted to flying officer.[15] In Coventry, on 24 May 1930, Whittle married his fiancée, Dorothy Mary Lee, with whom he later had two sons, David and Ian.[13] Then, in 1931, he was posted to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe as an armament officer and test pilot of seaplanes, where he continued to publicise his idea. This posting came as a surprise for he had never previously flown a seaplane, but he nevertheless increased his reputation as a pilot by flying some 20 different types of floatplanes, flying boats, and amphibians.[9][16]
While at Felixstowe, Whittle met with the firm of
Every officer with a permanent commission was expected to take a specialist course, and as a result Whittle attended the Officers School of Engineering at RAF Henlow in 1932. He obtained an aggregate of 98% in all subjects in his entrance exam, which allowed him to complete a shortened one-year course. Whittle received a Distinction in every subject, except mechanical drawing, where he was described as "a very able student. He works hard and has originality. He is suitable for experimental duties."[18]
His performance in the course was so exceptional that in 1934 he was permitted to take a two-year engineering course as a member of Peterhouse, the oldest college of Cambridge University, graduating in 1936 with a First in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos.[2] On 1 February 1934, he was promoted to the rank of flight lieutenant.[19]
Power Jets Ltd
Still at Cambridge, Whittle could ill afford the £5 renewal fee for his jet engine patent when it became due in January 1935, and because the Air Ministry refused to pay it the patent was allowed to lapse. Shortly afterwards, in May, he received mail from
The agreement soon bore fruit, and in 1935, through Tinling's father, Whittle was introduced to Mogens L. Bramson, a well-known independent consulting aeronautical engineer.[21] Bramson was initially sceptical but after studying Whittle's ideas became an enthusiastic supporter.[22] Bramson introduced Whittle and his two associates to the investment bank O.T. Falk & Partners, where discussions took place with Lancelot Law Whyte and occasionally Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter.[2][23] The firm had an interest in developing speculative projects that conventional banks would not touch. Whyte was impressed by the 28-year-old Whittle and his design when they met on 11 September 1935:
The impression he made was overwhelming, I have never been so quickly convinced, or so happy to find one's highest standards met... This was genius, not talent. Whittle expressed his idea with superb conciseness: 'Reciprocating engines are exhausted. They have hundreds of parts jerking to and fro, and they cannot be made more powerful without becoming too complicated. The engine of the future must produce 2,000 hp with one moving part: a spinning turbine and compressor.'
— Lancelot Law Whyte[24]
However O.T. Falk & Partners specified they would only invest in Whittle's engine if they had independent verification that it was feasible.[25] They financed an independent engineering review from Bramson (the historic[23] "Bramson Report"[25][26]), which was issued in November 1935. It was favourable and Falk then agreed to finance Whittle.[27] With that the jet engine was finally on its way to becoming a reality.
On 27 January 1936, the principals signed the "Four Party Agreement", creating "Power Jets Ltd" which was incorporated in March 1936. The parties were O.T. Falk & Partners, the Air Ministry, Whittle and, together, Williams and Tinling. Falk was represented on the board of Power Jets by Whyte as chairman and Bonham-Carter as a director (with Bramson acting as alternate[28]).[29] Whittle, Williams and Tinling retained a 49% share of the company in exchange for Falk and Partners putting in £2,000 with the option of a further £18,000 within 18 months.[5][30] As Whittle was still a full-time RAF officer and currently at Cambridge, he was given the title "Honorary Chief Engineer and Technical Consultant". Needing special permission to work outside the RAF, he was placed on the Special Duty List and allowed to work on the design as long as it was for no more than six hours a week.[31] However he was allowed to continue at Cambridge for a year doing post-graduate work which gave him time to work on the turbojet.[32]
The Air Ministry still saw little immediate value in the effort (they regarded it as long-range research
Despite lengthy delays in their own programme, the Luftwaffe beat the British efforts into the air by nine months. A lack of cobalt for high-temperature steel alloys meant the German designs were always at risk of overheating and damaging their turbines. The low-grade alloy production versions of the Junkers Jumo 004, designed by Dr. Anselm Franz and which powered the Messerschmitt Me 262 would typically last only 10–25 hours (longer with an experienced pilot) before burning out; if it was accelerated too quickly, the compressor would stall and power was immediately lost, and sometimes it exploded on their first startup. Over 200 German pilots were killed during training. Nevertheless, the Me 262 could fly far faster than allied planes and had very effective firepower. Although Me 262s were introduced late in the war they shot down 542[40] or more[41] allied planes and in one allied bombing raid downed 32 of the 36 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.[42]
Financial difficulty
Earlier, in January, when the company formed,
Nevertheless, the team pressed ahead, and the Power Jets WU (Whittle Unit, or W.U.) engine began test runs on 12 April 1937. Initially, the W.U. showed an alarming tendency to race out of control, due to issues with the fuel injection, before stable speeds were reached. However, by August, Whittle acknowledged a major reconstruction effort was needed to solve the combustion problem and compressor efficiency.[43]
On 9 July, Falk & Partners gave the company an emergency loan of £250. On 27 July, Falk's option expired, but they agreed to continue financing Power Jets by loan. Also in July, Whittle's post-graduate stay at Cambridge was over, but then he was placed on the Special Duty List so he could work full-time on the engine. On 1 November, Williams, Tinling and Whittle took control of Power Jets.[5] Whittle was promoted to squadron leader in December.[44][45] Tizard pronounced it "streaks ahead" of any other advanced engine he had seen, and managed to interest the Air Ministry enough to fund development with a contract for £5,000 to develop a flyable version.[46] However, it was not until March 1938 that a contract was signed, when Power Jets became subject to the Official Secrets Act, limiting the ability to raise additional funds. In January 1938, BTH invested £2,500.[47]
In December 1937, Victor Crompton became Power Jets first employee, as an assistant to Whittle. Because of the hazardous nature of the work being carried out, development was moved largely from Rugby to BTH's lightly used Ladywood foundry at nearby
These delays and the lack of funding slowed the project. In Germany, Hans von Ohain had filed for a patent in 1935, which in 1939, led to the world's first flyable jet aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, powered by the Heinkel HeS 3.[49] There is little doubt that Whittle's efforts would have been at the same level or even 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.
Whittle's smoking increased to three packs a day and he suffered from various stress-related ailments such as frequent severe headaches, indigestion, insomnia, anxiety,
Changing fortunes
On 30 June 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 third reconstructed W.U. at 16,000 rpm for 20 minutes without any difficulty. One of the members of the team was the Director of Scientific Research,
Whittle had already studied the problem of turning the massive W.U. into a flyable design, with what he described as very optimistic targets, to power a little aeroplane weighing 2,000 lb with a static thrust of 1,389 lb.[53] The designed maximum thrust for the W.1 was 1,240 pounds-force (5,500 N), while that for the W.2, was 1,600 pounds-force (7,100 N) The W.2 was to be flown in the twin-engine Gloster Meteor fighter, designated F.9/40, but the engine was replaced with the W.2B, having a designed static thrust of 1,800 pounds-force (8,000 N). An experimental version of the W.1, designated W.1X, was used as a mock-up for the E.28 installation. A second E.28 was powered by the W.1A, that incorporated W.2 features such as air cooling of the turbine and a different compressor intake. On 26 March 1940, the jet engine was listed as a potential war winner by Air Marshal Tedder, and given the associated priority.[54]
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, a longer driveshaft but having a somewhat simpler layout. To reduce the weight of the driveshaft as much as possible, the W.2Y used a large diameter, thin-walled, shaft almost as large as the turbine disc, "necked down" at either end where it connected to the turbine and compressor.
In April, the Air Ministry issued contracts for W.2 production lines with a capacity of up to 3,000 engines a month in 1942, asking BTH,
On 19 July 1940, Power Jets abandoned effort to vaporize fuel, and adopted the controlled atomising burner for the combustion chamber, developed by Isaac Lubbock of
Rover
Meanwhile, work continued with the W.U., which eventually went through nine rebuilds in an attempt to solve the combustion problems that had dominated the testing. On 9 October the W.U. ran once again, this time equipped with Lubbock or "Shell" atomising-burner combustion chambers.[58] Combustion problems ceased to be an obstacle to development of the engine although intensive development was started on all features of the new combustion chambers.[59]
By this point it was clear that Gloster's first airframe would be ready long before Rover could deliver an engine. Unwilling to wait, Whittle cobbled together an engine from spare parts, creating the W.1X ("X" standing for "experimental") which ran for the first time on 14 December 1940.[60] Shortly afterwards an application for a US patent was made by Power Jets for an "Aircraft propulsion system and power unit"[61]
The W.1X engine powered the E.28/39 for taxi testing on 7 April 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.[6]
The definitive W.1 of 850
Within days the aircraft was reaching 370 mph (600 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,600 m), exceeding the performance of the contemporary Spitfires. Success of the design was now evident, and in 1941, Rolls-Royce, Hawker Siddeley, the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and de Havilland became interested in gas turbine aircraft propulsion.[63]
The stress on Whittle was expressed in a 27 May 1941 letter to Henry Tizard:
The responsibility that rests on my shoulders is very heavy indeed. We are faced with two alternatives – either we place a powerful weapon in the hands of the Royal Air Force or, if we fail to get our results in time, we may have falsely raised hopes and caused action to be taken which may deprive the Royal Air Force of hundreds of aeroplanes that it badly needs.[64][65]
In mid-1941, relations between Power Jets and Rover had continued to deteriorate. Rover had established a version of Power Jet's set-up at Waterloo Mill, associated with their Barnoldswick factory, near Clitheroe. Rover was working on an alternative to Whittle's "reverse-flow" combustion chambers, by developing a "straight-through" combustion chamber and turbine wheel. Rover referred to the engine as the B.26, sanctioned by the Directorate of Engine Development, but kept secret until April 1942, from Power Jets, the Controller of Research and Development, and the Director of Scientific Research.[66]
Rolls-Royce
Earlier, in January 1940, Whittle had met Dr
On 10 December 1941 Whittle suffered a
From 3 June until 14 August 1942 Whittle visited the United States. At the
On 11 December 1942 Whittle had a meeting with
When Rolls-Royce became involved, Ray Dorey, the manager of the company's Flight Centre at Hucknall Airfield on the north side of Nottingham, had a Whittle W.2B engine installed in the rear of a Vickers Wellington bomber.[73][74] [75] The installation was done by Vickers at Weybridge.[76]
Continued impact
Whittle wanted to improve the efficiency of the jet engine at lower speeds. According to Whittle, "I wanted to 'gear down the jet', ie to convert a low-mass high-velocity jet into a high-mass low-velocity jet. The obvious way to do this was to use an additional turbine to extract energy from the jet and use this energy to drive a low-pressure compressor or fan capable of 'breathing' far more air than the jet engine itself and forcing this additional air rearwards as a 'cold jet'. The complete system is known as a 'turbofan'." The first embodiment was referred to as a No 1 Thrust Augmentor, which consisted of an "aft fan", or additional turbine, in the exhaust of the main engine. In 1942, No 2 Augmentor, a conventional two-stage system with the fan blades external to the turbine blades, was used by GE in the Convair 990 Coronado. A No 3 Augmentor, known as the "tip turbine", had the turbine blades outside the fan. A No 4 Augmentor, in combination with the W2/700, included an afterburner, was the design powerplant for the Miles M.52 project. According to Whittle, "The first attempt at the turbofan proper, ie having the fan ahead of and supercharging the core engine, was the LR1 intended as the power plant of a four-engined bomber for operations in the Pacific. The mass flow through the fan of the LR1 was to have been 3–4 times that through the core engine, ie the 'bypass ratio' was 2–3." Filed in March 1936, Whittle's main turbofan patent 471368, expired in 1962.[77]
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,
Nationalisation
During a demonstration of the E.28/39 to Winston Churchill in April 1943, Whittle proposed to Stafford Cripps, Minister of Aircraft Production, that all jet development be nationalised. He pointed out that the company had been funded by private investors who helped develop the engine successfully, only to see production contracts go to other companies. Nationalisation was the only way to repay those debts and ensure a fair deal for everyone, and he was willing to surrender his shares in Power Jets to make this happen. In October, Cripps told Whittle that he decided a better solution would be to nationalise Power Jets only.[5] Whittle believed that he had triggered this decision, but Cripps had already been considering how best to maintain a successful jet programme and act responsibly regarding the state's substantial financial investment, while at the same time wanting to establish a research centre that could use Power Jets' talents, and had come to the conclusion that national interests demanded the setting up of a Government-owned establishment.[81] On 1 December Cripps advised Power Jets' directors that the Treasury would not pay more than £100,000 for the company.[5]
In January 1944 Whittle was appointed a
From the end of March, Whittle spent six months in hospital recovering from nervous exhaustion, and resigned from Power Jets (R and D) Ltd in January 1946. In July the company was merged with the gas turbine division of the RAE to form the National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE) at Farnborough, and 16 Power Jets engineers, following Whittle's example, also resigned.[85]
After the war
In 1946, Whittle accepted a post as Technical Advisor on Engine Design and Production to Controller of Supplies (Air); was made a Commander of the US
During a lecture tour in the US, Whittle again broke down and retired from the RAF on medical grounds on 26 August 1948, leaving with the rank of
Returning to work in 1953, he accepted a position as a Mechanical Engineering Specialist with
Turbine drilling is best used for drilling hard rocks at high bit RPMs with diamond impregnated bits, and can be used with an angled drive shaft for directional drilling and horizontal drilling. It competes though with moyno motors and increasingly with rotary steerable systems and is again out of favour.
Whittle left Shell in 1957 to work for Bristol Aero Engines who picked up the project in 1961,[88] setting up "Bristol Siddeley Whittle Tools" to further develop the concept. In 1966 Rolls-Royce purchased Bristol Siddeley, but the financial pressures and eventual bankruptcy because of cost overruns of the RB211 project led to the slow wind-down and eventual disappearance of Whittle's "turbo-drill". The concept eventually re-appeared in the west in the late 1980s, imported from Russian designs. (Russia needed the technology because it lacked high strength drill pipe.)
As part of his
In 1960 he was awarded an honorary degree, doctor techn. honoris causa, at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, later part of Norwegian University of Science and Technology.[91]
In 1967, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) by the University of Bath.[92] That year, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.[93]
In 1987, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Technology) by Loughborough University.[94]
In 2017, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.[95]
Later life
Whittle received the Tony Jannus Award in 1969 for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation.
In 1976, his marriage to Dorothy was dissolved and he married American Hazel S. Hall. He emigrated to the US and the following year accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland).[88] His research concentrated on the boundary layer before his professorship became part-time from 1978 to 1979. The part-time post enabled him to write a textbook entitled Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion, published in 1981.[2]
Having first met Hans von Ohain in 1966, Whittle again met him at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1978 while von Ohain was working there as the Aero Propulsion Laboratory's Chief Scientist. Initially upset because he had believed von Ohain's engine had been developed after seeing Whittle's patent, he eventually became convinced that von Ohain's work was, in fact, independent.[96] The two became good friends and often toured the US giving talks together.
In a conversation with Whittle after the war, von Ohain stated: "If you had been given the money you would have been six years ahead of us. If Hitler or Goering had heard that there is a man in England who flies 500 mph in a small experimental plane and that it is coming into development, it is likely that World War II would not have come into being."[97]
In 1986, Whittle was appointed a member of the Order of Merit (Commonwealth). He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Royal Aeronautical Society,[2] and in 1991 he and von Ohain were awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize for their work on turbojet engines.
Whittle became an atheist by degrees.[98]
Whittle died of lung cancer on 9 August 1996, at his home in Columbia, Maryland. He was cremated in America and his ashes were flown to England where they were placed in a memorial in a church in Cranwell.[6] Hazel Whittle died on 30 July 2007 aged 91.
Styles and promotions
- 1907–1923: Frank Whittle
- 1923–1926: Apprentice Frank Whittle
- 1926–1928: Officer CadetFrank Whittle
- 1928–1930: Pilot OfficerFrank Whittle
- 1930–1934: Flying OfficerFrank Whittle
- 1934–1938: Flight LieutenantFrank Whittle
- 1938–1940: Squadron LeaderFrank Whittle
- 1940–1941: Squadron Leader (Temp. Wing Commander) Frank Whittle
- 1941–1943: Wing Commander Frank Whittle
- 1943–1944: Wing Commander (Temp. Group Captain) Frank Whittle
- 1944–1946: Group Captain (Actg. CBE
- 1946–1947: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CBE
- 1947–1948: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CB, CBE
- 1948–1986: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, KBE, CB
- 1986–1996: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, FRAeS
Memorials
Coventry, England
- The "Whittle Arch" is a large double wing-like structure situated outside the Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Coventry City Centre.
- A statue of Whittle by Faith Winter is situated under the Whittle Arch. It was unveiled on 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 Whittle-powered Gloster E.28/39 on 15 May 1941.
- A school is named after Whittle in the Walsgravesuburb of Coventry. It was first called Frank Whittle Primary, then renamed in 1997 as Sir Frank Whittle Primary School. A jet engine replica sits in the reception area of the school, donated by Whittle himself during his life.
- A commemorative plaque marks the house in Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry, in which he was born and lived until age nine.[6]
- On Hearsall Common, near Whittle's Coventry birthplace, a plaque commemorates where Whittle gained inspiration when he saw an aircraft land. It says "on this common Frank Whittle, jet pioneer, first felt the power of flight."
- Coventry University named a building after him.
- The main hangar at the Midland Air Museum is called The Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre.
- Whittle house was one of the four "houses" at Finham Park School until they were renamed in 2008.
Lutterworth, England
- The Sir Frank Whittle Studio School is a studio school that opened in 2015. It is situated alongside Lutterworth College, both of which make up The Lutterworth Academies Trust.
- Lutterworth Museum hold a very large unrivalled collection of original papers including the 1936 Patent, Power Jets Autograph book from 1945 and the Champagne bottle signed by everyone at a party at RAF Cranwell on the night of the first flight plus many more artefacts and displays. Also Lutterworth Museum gives talks and put on displays all over the country.
- A memorial has been erected in the middle of a roundabout outside Lutterworth and a bust of Frank Whittle has been erected in Lutterworth, where much of Whittle's development on the jet engine was carried out.
- There is a bust of Sir Frank Whittle near the war memorial on the corner of Church and George street.
- The Sir Frank Whittle Public House was opened in 2010 and situated on the Greenacres estate in Lutterworth. It was replaced with a Co-operative convenience store much to the dismay of the residents.[100]
- Whittle Road in Lutterworth was named after Sir Frank Whittle.
Rugby, England
- In Rugby where Whittle produced his first prototype engines, a bronze sculpture named Frank Whittle – Father of the Jet Engine was installed at Chestnut Field near Rugby Town Hall in 2005. It was made by the sculptor Stephen Broadbent, and represents a propeller transformed into an internal turbine of a jet engine.[101][102]
Elsewhere
- In 2015, Whittle's college at the University of Cambridge, Peterhouse, opened the Whittle Building on its grounds.[103]
- The Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, has a Whittle Laboratory.[104]
- A full-scale model of the Gloster E28/39 Whittle has been erected just outside the northern boundary of Farnborough Airfieldin Hampshire, UK.
- The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer, normally resident in the UK, for outstanding and sustained achievement which has contributed to the well-being of the nation.[105]
- Two roads in Derby are named Sir Frank Whittle Road and Sir Frank Whittle Way, as a tribute to his work at Rolls-Royce.
- The main office complex at the Rolls-RoyceBristol site has been named Whittle House.
- Whittle Parkway in Burnham is named after him.
- One of the main buildings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell is called Whittle Hall. It houses the Officer & Aircrew Cadet Training Unit and the Air Power Studies Division of King's College London.
- A road in Cranford, on the site of the former Heston Aerodrome, is named Whittle Road.
- A road in Shaw, Oldham, is named Whittle Drive.
- A road in Rugby is named Whittle Close.
- Whittle Close in Clitheroe is named after him.
- Sir Frank Whittle Way, a new road in Blackpool Business park, Blackpool..
- 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 Gloster Meteor incorporated in part of its glass frontage.
- The bar/restaurant in Royal Mail's management college at Coton House, near Rugby, was named the Whittle Bar.
- A memorial stone was placed in the Royal Air Force Chapel in Westminster Abbey in his memory. The inscription on the stone reads: "Frank Whittle. Inventor & Pioneer of the Jet Engine. 1907–1996". The stone was carved by John Shaw.
- Sir Frank Whittle's national and international honours, medals, and awards (including the Order of Merit), are displayed in the Royal Academy of Engineering, London.
- The Frank Whittle house, with its own building existed at the now closed Fairham Comprehensive School Clifton, Nottingham.
- A building at Aero Engine Controls in Birmingham, UK has been named 'The Whittle Building' (1994).
- Whittle Hangar is one of the main Hangars at HMS Sultan, and is used to house Royal Navy marine gas turbines. The gas turbines are fully operational and used to train Royal Navy and foreign officers and sailors in gas turbine technology.
- A plaque has been placed at the Port of Felixstowe to honour his link with the town (August 2010).
- A plaque commemorating Whittle has been placed inside the hall of Binswood Sixth Form College in Leamington Spa, formerly Leamington College for Boys.
- A plaque commemorating Whittle has been placed on Walland Hill, near Chagford in Devon, the house where he lived from 1962 to 1976[106]
- One of the houses of Southam College is named after Whittle.
- One of the houses of Milverton County Primary School is named after Whittle.
- in 2023, King Charles III broke ground on the New Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.[107]
Bibliography
- Whittle, Frank (1953). Jet: The story of a pioneer. Frederick Muller Ltd. OCLC 2339557.
- Whittle, Frank (1981). Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion. Pergamon. ISBN 978-0-08-026718-0.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ S2CID 71191293.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Sir Frank Whittle Archived 7 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Telegraph, Obituaries, 10 August 1996
- ^ a b "Eminent Petreans". Peterhouse Cambridge. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Evans, R. L. "Whittle Power Jet Papers". Cambridge Digital Library. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Power Jets – A brief biography Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Sir Frank Whittle Commemorative Trust
- ^ a b c d e 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 Guardia. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Whittle's biography on the RAF history website p. 1 Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 18 July 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g Details from the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre display at the Midland Air Museum
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 24.
- ^ "No. 33414". The London Gazette. 21 July 1928. p. 5575.
- ^ Gentlemen, I give you the Whittle engine Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c "Sir Frank Whittle – Flying Career". Royal Air Force History. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007.
- ^ "Welcome to the Frank Whittle Website". Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "No. 33591". The London Gazette. 25 March 1930. p. 1896.
- ^ "power jets – frank whittle – gloster – 1951 – 0881 – Flight Archive". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 51–54.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 58–59.
- ^ "No. 34023". The London Gazette. 13 February 1934. p. 1004.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 66.
- ^ Kardos, Geza (1971). ECL 172: This Must Be Done! (Report). Engineering Case Library. American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ a b Golley 1987, p. 67.
- ^ Lee Payne, The Great Jet Engine Race... And How We Lost, Air Force Magazine, Vol. 65, No. 1 (January 1982) Archived 15 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Meher-Homji, Cyrus B. (2002). "Enabling the Turbojet Revolution – The Bramson Report" (PDF). 42 (1). American Society of Mechanical Engineers: 16–20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Bramson, Mogens (February 1979). "Report on the Whittle System of Aircraft Propulsion (Theoretical Stage) – 8 October 1935". Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 28.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 70.
- ^ Nahum 2004, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 69.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 35.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 77.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 71, 77.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 53.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 82.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 77, 80.
- ISBN 1563475200.
- ^ "Spain's forgotten jet-engine genius". english.elpais.com. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "El Museo del Aire acoge una réplica del motor a reacción que diseñó Virgilio Leret". www.aerotendencias.com. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ISBN 0883656663.
- ISBN 0684839156.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 222–223.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 86–91.
- ^ "No. 34461". The London Gazette. 7 December 1937. p. 7661.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 94–96.
- ^ a b Nahum 2004, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 92–95, 109.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 96–108, 114.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 80.
- ^ a b Golley 1987, pp. 149, 150.
- ^ Nahum 2004, pp. 79–80, 89.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 119–124, 128.
- ^ "The Early History of the Whittle Jet Propulsion Gas Turbine" Air Commodore F. Whittle, James Clayton Memorial Lecture 1945, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, p. 423, Fig. 4
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 132, 139, 143, 154–156.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 61.
- ^ "No. 34866". The London Gazette. 7 June 1940. p. 3437.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 125, 152–153.
- ^ Developed by Isaac Lubbock of the Shell combustion laboratories in Fulham.Nahum 2004, pp. 80–81
- ^ "The early history of the Whittle jet propulsion Gas Turbine" Air Commodore F. Whittle, James Clayton Memorial Lecture 1945, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, pp. 428–430
- ^ a b Nahum 2004, p. 89.
- ^ "Aircraft propulsion system and power unit". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Frank Whittle: A Daredevil Who Built Jets, Bloomberg BusinessWeek
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 171, 178.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 57.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 173.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 174, 189–191.
- ^ Hooker 2002, p. 52.
- ^ Hooker 2002, p. 68.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 183–185, 188–189, 200.
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 182–183, 192–199.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Golley 1987, pp. 202–205.
- ^ Hooker 2002, p. 106.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 206.
- ^ Verbal evidence from Flight Test Engineer W R (Bill) Grose who operated the Whittle engine in the Wellington and had previously been involved in ground test running of the Whittle engine at either Lutterworth or Rugby
- ISBN 1844154270, p. 85
- ^ Golley 1987, pp. 262–264.
- ^ a b c Golley 1987, p. 180.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 187.
- ^ Golley 1987, p. 179.
- ^ Nahum 2004, pp. 101, 105.
- ^ "No. 36309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 17.
- ^ "No. 36092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1943. p. 3200.
- ^ Nahum 2004, p. 102.
- ^ Nahum 2004, pp. 118–119.
- ^ "No. 38311". The London Gazette. 4 June 1948. p. 3372.
- ^ "No. 38397". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1948. p. 4860.
- ^ a b c d "Sir Frank Whittle – After the RAF". Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), RAF history website - ^ "Welcome to the Frank Whittle Website". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-521-85636-2
- ^ "Honorary doctors at NTNU". Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Corporate Information". www.bath.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
- ^ "Loughborough University – Honorary Graduates & University Medallists". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Enshrinee Sir Frank Whittle". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ Verbatim transcript of a two-day conference, An Encounter Between the Jet Engine Inventors, held at Wright-Patterson Air Base 3–4 May 1978 Archived 20 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 19 July 2008
- ^ Margaret Conner, Hans von Ohain: Elegance in Flight (Reston, Virginia: American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 2001)
- ISBN 978-1907472008.
Although he had occasionally cut Church Parade, he had once held very strong religious beliefs, but these had eroded to such an extent that he had come to regard himself as an atheist. "By degrees", he said, "I was forced to the conclusion that my beliefs were inconsistent with scientific teaching. Once the seeds of doubt were sown the whole structure of my former religious beliefs rapidly collapsed, and I swung to the other extreme.
- ^ Note the image has been reversed left to right and is the wrong way round
- ^ "Residents fighting Proposal for new Co-op store". Harborough Mail. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ^ "sir Frank Whittle, Inventor of the Jet Engine". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Winning ways to hail jet pioneer". CoventryTelegraph. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "The College's needs". Peterhouse Cambridge. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Introduction – CUED Division A". www-diva.eng.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ The Royal Academy of Engineering website Archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 20 July 2008
- ^ Ralls, Mike. "F. Whittle".
- ^ "The King breaks ground on Cambridge's New Whittle Laboratory". Cam. University of Cambridge. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
Sources
- Brooks, David S. (1997). Vikings at Waterloo: Wartime Work on the Whittle Jet Engine by the Rover Company. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. ISBN 1872922082.
- Campbell-Smith, Duncan (2020). Jet Man: The Making and Breaking of Frank Whittle, Genius of the Jet Revolution. Head of Zeus. ISBN 978-1788544696
- Golley, John (1987). ISBN 978-0906393826.
- Golley, John (1997). Genesis of the Jet: Frank Whittle and the Invention of the Jet Engine. Crowood Press. ISBN 185310860X.
- ISBN 1853102857.
- Jones, Glyn (1989). The jet pioneers. The birth of Jet-Powered Flight. London: Methuen. ISBN 041350400X.
- Nahum, Andrew (2004). Frank Whittle: Invention of the Jet. Icon Books Ltd. ISBN 1840465387.
- Roland, John (1967). The Jet Man: the Story of Sir Frank Whittle. New York: Roy Publishers, Inc. OCLC 1414376.
External links
- A documentary about Sir Frank Whittle with interviews of him and Hans Von Ohain
- Whittle grave marker in Westminster Abbey
- Whittle Archive Archived 19 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- 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
- Flight, October 1945 – "Early History of the Whittle Jet Propulsion Gas Turbine" by Air Commodore Frank Whittle abstract
- Early History of the Whittle Jet Propulsion Gas Turbine by Frank Whittle[permanent dead link] Full text of the first James Claydon lecture
- Air of Authority – Sir Frank Whittle
- "Jet Liners for Short Range" a 1949 Flight report of a Frank Whittle lecture to the Aero Club de France
- "The Secret Years" a 1951 Flight article
- Whittle Power Jet Papers – Correspondence from the archives of Peterhouse College in Cambridge Digital Library
- The Papers of Sir Frank Whittle held at Churchill Archives Centre
- Feilden, G. B. R. "Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67854. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Newspaper clippings about Frank Whittle in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW