Leading on a jet plane

From modest beginnings, Frank Whittle went on to invent something that would forever dramatically transform the modern world

- Stephen Roberts

On April 12, 1937, the ‘WU’ (Whittle Unit) screamed into life, roaring like a ferocious lion, heralding the onset of the jet age. We would soon have jet fighters and jet travel as the world shrank and was transformed by this new invention.

For Frank Whittle, having a father who was a mechanical engineer, and owned a small company, was a boon. He was a youngster much inclined towards all things mechanical. He helped out in the workshop and thereby acquired some practical experience. He was born on June 1, 1907, at Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry. From these modest beginnings, he was destined to become an RAF officer and pilot, and successfully develop the turbojet engine.

Whittle’s initial attempts to join the RAF failed. He was found to be too small for his age. It was only on his third application in 1923 that he was accepted as a boy entrant, aged 16 (moral – ‘never give up’). He qualified as a pilot officer in 1928, having completed his training at RAF College, Cranwell, and was married in 1930 to Dorothy (Lee), with whom he had two sons. Initially posted to a fighter squadron, Whittle later served, first as a flying instructor, then as a test-pilot (1931-32). Not only was he a pilot; he undertook further studies at both the RAF Engineering School and at Cambridge University (1934-1936).