History is known to be full of interesting coincidences. For example, today's date is not only the day of the first manned flight into space. It can also be called the birthday of jet aviation, since on April 12, 1937, that is, exactly 80 years ago, the first test launch of the world's first gas turbine engine took place.
Thanks to such power plants, turbojet aircraft eventually supplanted piston aircraft and occupied a dominant position in the sky, since other types of jet engines - rocket, pulsating, ramjet and motor-compressor - did not gain popularity in aviation due to their impracticality. They still occupy this position, and it is unlikely that something more effective will appear in the foreseeable future.
The first turbojet engine was designed by the English engineer Frank Whittle, who received a patent for it back in 1930, at the age of only 22 years. However, more than six years passed between the project and the construction of the prototype, since the British authorities did not understand the prospects for the invention and refused to allocate funds for its implementation. Whittle had to make his own money and find sponsors, which was not easy in the midst of the economic depression.
Only by the spring of 1937 were the engine and a test bench built for it, and on April 12, tests began. The first prototype of the engine was not intended for installation on an aircraft. It was a purely experimental product to test the performance of the very idea of a gas turbine power plant. The tests were completed successfully. The engine worked, emitting a high-pitched whistle and developing a thrust of 400 kg, which exceeded its own weight.
Soon a second prototype appeared, followed by a third. With him on May 15, 1941, the first English turbojet aircraft, Gloucester Pioneer, took off for the first time. Curiously, Whittle was only a few months ahead of the German inventor Hans von Ohain with his engine, who launched his own turbojet engine in the fall of 1937. But Ohain immediately developed not an experimental model, but a turbojet engine intended for practical use, moreover, more powerful than Whittle's firstborn, which allowed the Germans to overtake the British in creating the first turbojet aircraft. However, that's another story.
The splash screen shows Frank Whittle at the test bench with his first gas turbine engine, which had a very peculiar configuration.
Whittle in his office and military uniform. After the outbreak of World War II, he was enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
Modern working model of Whittle's first engine. The original has not survived.
