Frank Whittle has akways been regarded as the inventor of the turbojet engine. From Wili:
Whittle's
jet engines were developed some years earlier than those of Germany's
Hans von Ohain who was the designer of the first
operational turbojet engine.
[2]
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 there he formulated the fundamental concepts that led to the creation of the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930.
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.
[5] Despite limited funding, a prototype was created, which first ran in 1937