Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle – the Man who invented the Turbo Jet by Robert L Evans, 188 pages HB, 24 B&W illustrations, Air World £25 ISBN 1036111806
As might be expected of an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the author has assembled this biography with logic, skill and attention to detail. It is his contention that Frank Whittle was an engineer fit to rank with the great pioneers of steam power – Watt and Stephenson. Whittle’s mechanical skills were partly inherited, partly self-taught and then burnished by the RAF and Cambridge University. The author carefully explains the ground-breaking ingenuity of Whittle’s concepts of turbo jet and turbo prop propulsion in terms a layman can understand. As well as being a gifted engineer, Whittle had ‘above average’ flying skills, serving as an instructor and a seaplane test pilot. He was therefore able to apply this empirical knowledge to the practical application and development of the jet engine. While still a serving officer, he became a partner in the start-up company Power Jets Ltd in 1936. The first trial of his prototype engine took place on 12th April 1937, proving that the concept was valid – subject to much hard work refinement, which would come to take a considerable toll on Whittle’s physical and mental health. By 1940, he was a Squadron Leader on the Special Duties List and had forged links with industry to further the development and, eventually, production of a viable (light, strong and heat-resistant) aero engine. However, the more the Air Ministry realised the potential of the jet engine, the more it took control, which was a double edged sword for Whittle. He had funding and backing at the highest level but his, perhaps unrealistic, dream of Power Jets becoming a major manufacturing company was steadily edged into the background. He also suffered a great deal of stress, as so much depended upon him. There was also a great deal of bureaucratic wrangling and conflict involving the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aircraft Production, Rover, British Thomson-Houston and, eventually, Rolls-Royce. The author describes all of this in detail and it can clearly be imagined just how much this would have added to the pressure on Whittle. He also gives a very clear explanation of the technical challenges which had to be overcome while all of the above was ongoing.
On 15th May 1941, the Gloster E28/39 (the 28th specification issued by the Air Ministry in 1939) took to the skies from RAF Cranwell in the hands of the company’s Chief Test Pilot, Gerry Sayer and flew for 17 minutes entirely successfully. Whittle’s dream had been achieved but at a high price, as the ‘endless skirmishes and battles’ wore him down.
Whittle received many honours, including a knighthood and the Order of Merit, as well as promotion to Air Commodore by the time he was 40. He also benefited from a considerable sum awarded to him by the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors. Yet the remaining almost 50 years of his life seemed to be an anticlimax. He retired from the RAF on medical grounds in 1948 and while he had many consultancy positions and made a large number of extensive lecture tours, the main thrust of his working life was over.
I enjoyed this book as it examines the man as well as the technology. The author has immersed himself in his subject and the result is a most interesting and valuable study.
