Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor, and Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He helped to create the turbojet engine. In 1921, Maxime Guillaume applied for a patent for a similar invention, but it was not possible to build at that time. Whittle’s jet engines were developed earlier than those of Germany’s Hans von Ohain, who designed the first turbojet engine to fly, and Austria’s Anselm Franz.

Whittle showed an interest in engineering and flying from a young age. At first, the RAF did not accept him, but he worked hard to join the force. He overcame physical challenges and was accepted into No. 2 School of Technical Training to join No. 1 Squadron of Cranwell Aircraft Apprentices. He studied the theory of aircraft engines and gained hands-on experience in engineering workshops. His skills earned him a place in officer training at Cranwell. He performed well in his studies and became a skilled pilot. While writing his thesis, he developed the ideas that led to the turbojet engine. He received a patent for his design in 1930. His success in an engineering course earned him a place at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated with top honors.

Without support from the Air Ministry, Whittle and two retired RAF members started Power Jets Ltd to build his engine with help from British Thomson-Houston. Despite limited money, they created a prototype that worked in 1937. After this success, officials showed interest and ordered more engines. However, the pressure affected his health, leading to a nervous breakdown in 1940. In 1944, when Power Jets became government-owned, he suffered another breakdown and left the board in 1946.

In 1948, Whittle retired from the RAF and was knighted. He worked as a technical advisor for BOAC, then as an engineering specialist for Shell, and later for Bristol Aero Engines. In 1976, he moved to the United States and became a 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. In 2002, he was ranked number 42 in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

Early life

Frank Whittle was born on June 1, 1907, in a row house on Newcombe Road in Earlsdon, Coventry, England. He was the oldest child of Moses Whittle and Sara Alice Garlick. At age nine, his family moved to Royal Leamington Spa, a nearby town. His father, a skilled engineer and mechanic who loved creating new ideas, bought a small business called the Leamington Valve and Piston Ring Company in Clinton Street. The business had a few lathes, tools, and a single-cylinder gas engine, which Whittle learned to operate well. From an early age, Whittle showed a desire to explore and take risks, along with a strong interest in flying.

After attending Milverton School for two years, Whittle earned a scholarship to a secondary school that later became Leamington College for Boys. However, when his father’s business had financial problems, Whittle could no longer afford to stay there. While helping in his father’s workshop, he quickly learned practical engineering skills. He also spent much of his free time at the Leamington reference library, reading about astronomy, engineering, turbines, and the science of flight. At 15, determined to become a pilot, Whittle applied to join the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Entering the RAF

In January 1923, after passing the RAF entrance exam with a high score, Whittle joined RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire as an Aircraft Apprentice. He stayed only two days because he was too short and had a small chest, which caused him to fail the medical exam. He then followed a strict training program and special diet created by a physical trainer at Halton to improve his health. However, he failed the medical again six months later, even though he had grown taller and had a larger chest. He was not given another chance. Determined, he re-applied using a false name and joined the No. 2 School of Technical Training at RAF Cranwell. This time, he passed the physical exam. In September 1923, 364365 Boy Whittle, F, began his three-year training as an aircraft mechanic in No. 1 Squadron of No. 4 Apprentices Wing at RAF Cranwell, because RAF Halton’s No. 1 School of Technical Training could not take all apprentices at that time.

Whittle disliked the strict rules for apprentices and felt there was no chance to become a pilot. At one point, he seriously thought about leaving. However, during his time as an apprentice and later at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, he continued to build model airplanes and joined the Model Aircraft Society. His skill in creating working models caught the attention of the Apprentice Wing commander, who also recognized Whittle’s talent in mathematics. Impressed, the commander recommended Whittle for officer training at RAF College Cranwell in 1926.

This opportunity was important for Whittle, as it allowed him to join the officer ranks and included flying lessons on the Avro 504. While at Cranwell, he lived in a bungalow at Dorrington. As an ex-apprentice among mostly former public school students, life as an officer cadet was difficult for him. However, he excelled in his courses and earned his pilot’s license in 1927 after only 13.5 hours of training. He later flew the Bristol Fighter and became known for risky low-altitude flights and aerial stunts.

A requirement for graduation was writing a thesis. Whittle chose to focus on future aircraft design, especially flying at high altitudes and speeds over 500 mph (800 km/h). In Future Developments in Aircraft Design, he argued that small improvements to existing propeller engines would not allow such speeds. Instead, he described a design now called a motorjet, which uses a piston engine to compress air, which is then burned to create thrust. While the idea was not new, Whittle explained that flying at high altitudes, where air is thinner, would make the motorjet more efficient. He believed that for long flights, such as crossing the Atlantic, this engine could outperform traditional engines. Whittle wrote, "…I came to the general conclusion that if very high speeds were to be combined with long range, it would be necessary to fly at very great height, where the low air density would greatly reduce resistance in proportion to speed."

Of the few apprentices accepted into the Royal Air Force College, Whittle graduated in 1928 at age 21 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in July. He ranked second in his class academically, won the Andy Fellowes Memorial Prize for Aeronautical Sciences for his thesis, and was described as an "exceptional to above average" pilot. However, his flight logbook also included many warnings in red ink about showing off and overconfidence. He was disqualified from the end-of-term flying contest due to dangerous flying in an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin.

Development of the turbojet engine

Frank Whittle continued working on the motorjet principle after completing his thesis but stopped when calculations showed it would weigh as much as a traditional engine with the same power. He wondered, "Why not use a turbine instead of a piston engine?" Instead of using a piston engine to power a compressor, a turbine could take energy from the exhaust to run the compressor, like a turbocharger. The leftover exhaust would then push the aircraft forward.

On August 27, 1928, Pilot Officer Whittle joined No. 111 Squadron at Hornchurch, flying Siskin IIIs. His skill in low flying and aerobatics caused public complaints and nearly led to a military trial. Within a year, he was sent to the Central Flying School at RAF Wittering for training as a flight instructor. He became a well-liked and talented instructor and was chosen to participate in a competition to create a "crazy flying" routine for the 1930 Royal Air Force Air Display at RAF Hendon. He crashed two planes during rehearsals but was not hurt either time. After the second accident, Flight Lieutenant Harold W. Raeburn angrily said, "Why don’t you take all my planes, pile them up in the middle of the airfield, and burn them—it’s quicker!"

Whittle shared his engine idea with others at the base, where it caught the attention of Flying Officer Pat Johnson, a former patent examiner. Johnson brought the idea to the base commander, starting a process that could have led to the engine being built earlier.

Earlier, in July 1926, A. A. Griffith published a paper on compressors and turbines while working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). He explained that previous designs were inefficient but showed that using aerofoil-shaped compressor blades could greatly improve performance. He suggested that better compressors and turbines could allow a jet engine to be built, though he thought the idea was impractical and instead recommended using the power as a turboprop. At the time, most superchargers used centrifugal compressors, so interest in Griffith’s paper was limited.

Encouraged by his commander, Whittle sent his engine design to the Air Ministry in late 1929. He met with an officer from the Ministry’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and Griffith, who was then part of the Aeronautical Research Committee. Afterward, Griffith wrote to Whittle, saying that his "simple" design lacked the efficiency needed for a working engine. He noted an error in Whittle’s calculations and explained that centrifugal compressors would be too large for aircraft and that using jet power directly would be inefficient. Griffith called the design "impracticable" because materials at the time could not handle high temperatures. However, he added, "The internal combustion turbine will almost certainly be developed into a successful engine, but improvements in compressors and turbines are needed first. Your idea is interesting, and I welcome any suggestions from service members."

Whittle received a report stating that a jet engine could not be made by a single inventor and that engineers and material scientists would be key to future progress. He found the response discouraging.

Pat Johnson believed in Whittle’s idea and helped him patent it in January 1930. Since the RAF was not interested, the concept was not classified, so Whittle kept the rights. Johnson arranged a meeting with British Thomson-Houston (BTH), whose chief turbine engineer agreed with the idea. However, BTH refused to spend £60,000 to develop it, and the opportunity passed.

In January 1930, Whittle was promoted to flying officer. On May 24, 1930, he married Dorothy Mary Lee in Coventry, with whom he had two sons, David and Ian. In 1931, he was posted to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe as an armament officer and test pilot for seaplanes, where he continued promoting his idea. This assignment surprised him, as he had never flown a seaplane before, but he gained recognition by flying 20 different types of floatplanes, flying boats, and amphibians.

At Felixstowe, Whittle met with Armstrong Siddeley and their technical advisor, W.S. Farren. The firm rejected his proposal, doubting that materials could handle the high temperatures required. Whittle’s turbojet design needed a compressor with a pressure ratio of 4:1, while the best supercharger at the time had only half that ratio. In addition to writing a paper on superchargers, Whittle published The Case for the Gas Turbine. According to John Golley, the paper included calculations showing how gas turbines could become more efficient at high altitudes due to lower air temperatures and explained how range depends on altitude for turbojet aircraft.

All officers with a permanent commission were required to take a specialist course, so Whittle attended the Officers School of Engineering at RAF Henlow in 1932. He scored 98% on his entrance exam, allowing him to complete a shortened one-year course. He 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."

His performance was so outstanding that in 1934, he was allowed to take a two-year engineering course at Peterhouse, the oldest college at Cambridge University, graduating in 1936 with a First in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos. The Ministry permitted him to work with aerodynamicist Melvill Jones for an additional year after graduation. On February 1, 1934, he was promoted to flight lieutenant.

While at Cambridge, Whittle could not afford the £5 renewal fee for his jet engine patent when it became due in January 1935. The Air Ministry refused to pay, so the patent expired. Soon after, in May, he received a letter from Rolf Dudley-Williams, a former colleague. Williams arranged a meeting with Whittle, himself, and James Collingwood Tinling, a retired RAF officer. They proposed a partnership to seek public funding for development. Whittle believed improvements to his original idea could be patented, noting, "Its virtue lies entirely in its extremely low weight, and that it will work at heights where atmospheric density is very low." This led to three provisional specifications being filed as the group worked to develop the design.

After the war

In 1946, Whittle became a Technical Advisor on Engine Design and Production for the Controller of Supplies (Air). He was made a Commander of the US Legion of Merit and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1947. In May 1948, Whittle received a special award of £100,000 from the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors for his work on the jet engine. Two months later, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. By the end of 1947, the British government had paid back £12 million in jet engine development costs and had bought about £8.5 million worth of jet engines from de Havilland and Rolls-Royce. Between 1945 and 1946, foreign governments had bought about £1 million of jet engines from these companies, and in 1947, they bought £6 million. As a result, by the end of 1947, the British Treasury received £300,000 each year in commissions from de Havilland and Rolls-Royce. This was because the government allowed these companies to use Whittle’s patents in exchange for a 5% share of their overseas sales.

During a lecture tour in the US, Whittle became unwell again and retired from the RAF on medical grounds on August 26, 1948, leaving with the rank of air commodore. He joined BOAC as a technical advisor on aircraft gas turbines and traveled widely over the next few years, visiting jet engine developments in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He left BOAC in 1952 and spent the next year writing a biography titled Jet: The Story of a Pioneer. He was awarded the Royal Society of Arts’ Albert Medal that year.

In 1953, Whittle returned to work and accepted a position as a Mechanical Engineering Specialist with Shell. There, he developed a new type of self-powered drill driven by a turbine that used lubricating mud pumped into the borehole during drilling. Normally, wells are drilled by connecting rigid sections of pipe and spinning the pipe from the surface to power the cutting head. Whittle’s design eliminated the need for strong mechanical connections between the drill and the head frame, allowing lighter piping to be used. He gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1954 on The Story of Petroleum.

Turbine drilling is best used for drilling hard rocks at high speeds with diamond-impregnated bits. It can also be used with angled drive shafts for directional or horizontal drilling. However, it faces competition from Moyno motors and rotary steerable systems and is no longer widely used.

In 1957, Whittle left Shell to work for Bristol Aero Engines. The company took over his project in 1961 and created "Bristol Siddeley Whittle Tools" to continue developing the concept. In 1966, Rolls-Royce purchased Bristol Siddeley. However, financial problems and the high costs of the RB211 project led to the gradual decline and eventual end of Whittle’s "turbo-drill." The concept later reappeared in the West in the late 1980s, brought from Russian designs. Russia needed the technology because it lacked strong drill pipe.

As part of his socialist beliefs, Whittle proposed that Power Jets be owned by the government, as he believed private companies would profit from wartime technology. By 1964, he no longer supported socialist ideas and criticized the Labour candidate in Smethwick.

In 1960, he was awarded an honorary degree, doctor techn. honoris causa, by the Norwegian Institute of Technology, later part of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In 1967, he received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) from the University of Bath. That same year, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Technology) by Loughborough University. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

Later life

Whittle received the Tony Jannus Award in 1969 for his notable contributions to commercial aviation.

In 1976, his marriage to Dorothy ended, and he married American Hazel S. Hall. He moved to the United States and the following year took a job as NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland). His research focused on the boundary layer before his professorship became part-time from 1978 to 1979. This part-time position allowed him to write a textbook titled Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion, published in 1981.

He first met Hans von Ohain in 1966. In 1978, he met von Ohain again at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where von Ohain worked as the Chief Scientist of the Aero Propulsion Laboratory. At first, Whittle was upset because he believed von Ohain’s engine had been developed after seeing Whittle’s patent. Eventually, he became convinced that von Ohain’s work was independent. The two became close friends and often gave talks together in the United States.

In a post-war conversation, von Ohain said: "If you had been given the money, you would have been six years ahead of us. If Hitler or Goering had learned that there was a man in England who flew 500 mph in a small experimental plane and that it was being developed, it is likely that World War II would not have happened."

In 1986, Whittle was appointed a member of the Order of Merit (Commonwealth). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society. In 1991, he and von Ohain were awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize for their work on turbojet engines.

Whittle gradually became an atheist.

Whittle died of lung cancer on 9 August 1996 at his home in Columbia, Maryland. He was cremated in America. The British Embassy in Washington informed British Airways of Whittle’s death, and the airline arranged for its Boeing 777-236 (registration G-ZZZA), named Sir Frank Whittle, to fly his ashes back to the United Kingdom. Plans were made to bury his ashes in the Air Force Chapel at Westminster Abbey, but this was not possible. After some delay, St Michael’s Church at RAF Cranwell was chosen as his final resting place. To transport his ashes there, the RAF borrowed two vintage aircraft scheduled to perform at the 1998 Farnborough Air Show. A Gloster Meteor NF11, serial number WM167 (registration G-LOSM), piloted by a retired Air Marshall, carried his ashes from Bournemouth to RAF Cranwell. This aircraft was accompanied by a de Havilland Vampire T55 flown by his son, Ian Whittle. A memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 16 November 1996, with the principal eulogy given by Sir Michael Graydon, Chief of the Air Staff.

Hazel Whittle died on 30 July 2007 at age 91.

Styles and promotions

• From 1907 to 1923: Frank Whittle
• From 1923 to 1926: Apprentice Frank Whittle
• From 1926 to 1928: Officer Cadet Frank Whittle
• From 1928 to 1930: Pilot Officer Frank Whittle
• From 1930 to 1934: Flying Officer Frank Whittle
• From 1934 to 1938: Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle
• From 1938 to 1940: Squadron Leader Frank Whittle
• From 1940 to 1941: Squadron Leader (Temp. Wing Commander) Frank Whittle
• From 1941 to 1943: Wing Commander Frank Whittle
• From 1943 to 1944: Wing Commander (Temp. Group Captain) Frank Whittle
• From 1944 to 1946: Group Captain (Actg. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CBE
• From 1946 to 1947: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CBE
• From 1947 to 1948: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CB, CBE
• From 1948 to 1986: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, KBE, CB
• From 1986 to 1996: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS

Memorials

The "Whittle Arch" is a large, double-wing-like structure located outside the Coventry Transport Museum at Millennium Place in Coventry City Centre. A statue of Frank Whittle, created by Faith Winter, is placed under the Whittle Arch. It was revealed on 1 June 2007 by his son, Ian Whittle, during a live broadcast event. The statue shows Whittle at RAF Cranwell looking toward the sky as he watches the first test flight of a Whittle-powered Gloster E.28/39 on 15 May 1941.

A school in the Walsgrave suburb of Coventry is named after Whittle. It was originally called Frank Whittle Primary School and later renamed Sir Frank Whittle Primary School in 1997. A jet engine replica is displayed in the school’s reception area, donated by Whittle during his lifetime.

A commemorative plaque marks the house on Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry, where Whittle was born and lived until he was nine years old. On Hearsall Common, near Whittle’s birthplace, a plaque notes that Whittle gained inspiration when he saw an aircraft land. It states, "On this common, Frank Whittle, jet pioneer, first felt the power of flight."

Coventry University has a building named after Whittle. The main hangar at the Midland Air Museum is called The Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre. Whittle House was one of four "houses" at Finham Park School until they were renamed in 2008.

The Sir Frank Whittle Studio School, which opened in 2015, is located alongside Lutterworth College, both part of The Lutterworth Academies Trust. Lutterworth Museum holds a large collection of original documents, including Whittle’s 1936 patent, a Power Jets autograph book from 1945, and a champagne bottle signed by attendees of a party at RAF Cranwell after the first jet engine flight. The museum also gives talks and displays across the country.

A memorial has been placed in the center of a roundabout outside Lutterworth, and a bust of Frank Whittle stands in Lutterworth, where much of his jet engine development took place. A bust of Sir Frank Whittle is also located near the war memorial on the corner of Church and George Street.

The Sir Frank Whittle Public House, opened in 2010 on the Greenacres estate in Lutterworth, was later replaced by a Co-operative convenience store, disappointing local residents. Whittle Road in Lutterworth was named after Sir Frank Whittle.

In Rugby, where Whittle built his first prototype engines, a bronze sculpture titled "Frank Whittle – Father of the Jet Engine" was installed at Chestnut Field near Rugby Town Hall in 2005. The sculpture, created by Stephen Broadbent, shows a propeller transforming into a jet engine turbine.

In 2015, Peterhouse, Whittle’s college at the University of Cambridge, opened the Whittle Building on its grounds. The Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge has a Whittle Laboratory. A full-scale model of the Gloster E28/39 jet engine is located near the northern boundary of Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire, UK.

The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is given yearly by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer in the UK who has made significant contributions to national well-being. Two roads in Derby—Sir Frank Whittle Road and Sir Frank Whittle Way—are named in his honor for his work at Rolls-Royce.

The main office complex at the Rolls-Royce Bristol site is called 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, housing 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 called Whittle Drive. A road in Rugby is named Whittle Close. Whittle Close in Clitheroe is also named after him. Sir Frank Whittle Way, a new road in Blackpool Business Park, is named in his honor.

The Whittle Gas field in the Southern North Sea, operated by BP, is named after him. The Whittle Inn near the Gloster Aircraft Company’s former test runway in Hucclecote, Gloucestershire, is named after Whittle. A nearby Tesco store includes a depiction of a Gloster Meteor in its glass frontage.

The bar/restaurant at Royal Mail’s management college at Coton House, near Rugby, is named the Whittle Bar. A memorial stone in the Royal Air Force Chapel at Westminster Abbey honors Whittle. The stone reads, "Frank Whittle. Inventor & Pioneer of the Jet Engine. 1907–1996." The stone was carved by John Shaw.

Sir Frank Whittle’s honors, medals, and awards, including the Order of Merit, are displayed at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London. A building at Aero Engine Controls in Birmingham, UK, is named "The Whittle Building" (1994).

Whittle Hangar is one of the main Grade II listed aircraft hangars at HMS Sultan. It contains elements of leadership training used by the Marine Engineering Training Group and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School. Originally part of RAF Gosport from 1914 to 1945, Whittle Hangar was the site of parade ceremonies for trainees during bad weather.

A plaque at the Port of Felixstowe honors Whittle’s connection to the town (August 2010). A plaque inside the hall of Binswood Sixth Form College in Leamington Spa commemorates Whittle. A plaque on Walland Hill, near Chagford in Devon, marks the house where Whittle lived from 1962 to 1976.

One of the houses at Southam College and one at Milverton County Primary School are named after Whittle. In 2023, King Charles III broke ground on the New Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.